Title: Forced to leave work then fired for attendance

Question:
I live in Kentucky, which is an "at will" state which means an employer can fire an employee at any time for any reason except an illegal one.

My husband worked for a company that used the point system. If you get too many points you are fired for attendance. He was still within his first 90 days so he was only allotted 2 points. His car broke down on the way to work one day and he received half a point for being late. Another time he received a half a point for leaving early (less than half the shift remaining) due to kidney stones causing him to be violently ill. On Monday he was not feeling too well so he went to his supervisor's office to get some nausea medication. The supervisor informed him the medication had been moved to a different location of the building and attempted to hand my husband his card and instructed him to retrieve the medication himself. He informed his supervisor he didnt think he could make it himself (for fear of vomiting) and his supervisor took this as my husband saying he could not do anything. He then determined that my husband was too ill to work and needed to be seen by a doctor. Without asking my husband any questions he picked up the phone and said "I'm calling for an ambulance". As I said earlier my husband was within his first 90 days, therefore his insurance was not in effect yet, so he declined the ambulance. He told his supervisor he did not feel like he was too sick to work and did not want to leave. He simply wanted some nausea medication. He also informed his supervisor that if he left he would get a full point (beginning of shift) and he would "point out" and be fired for attendance. His supervisor then told him he had no choice but to leave and go see a doctor. He told him he had to either leave by ambulance or he had to have someone pick him up and take him to the doctor. His supervisor told him he must go to the doctor and be cleared to work before returning and he could talk with HR to try to keep his job the next morning. So my husband left and went to the doctor. HR fired him for attendance because he pointed out even after it was explained he was forced to leave.
His supervisor required him to go to the ER and rack up medical bills with the hope of keeping his job, and he was fired anyways.
Now we have to pay for the trip to the ER he did not need and my husband is unemployed. Is there anything that can be done about the way they treated my husband even though Kentucky is an "at will" state?

Answer:
 This sucks and I'm sorry but unfortunately you should look at this one from the employers viewpoint, your husband was sick and needed medicine but too sick to go get medicine so logically he was too sick to work in their eyes and unfortunately hit his point cap. Sucky, but legal. Also, places that run on point systems for attendance are ridiculous Answer #2: >Is there anything that can be done about the way they treated my husband even though Kentucky is an "at will" state?

No.
Answer #3: >Is there anything that can be done about the way they treated my husband even though Kentucky is an "at will" state?

No.
Answer #4: This sucks and I'm sorry but unfortunately you should look at this one from the employers viewpoint, your husband was sick and needed medicine but too sick to go get medicine so logically he was too sick to work in their eyes and unfortunately hit his point cap. Sucky, but legal. Also, places that run on point systems for attendance are ridiculous


Title: MN - Can I be required to pay for the birth of my son if my girlfriend is on state healthcare?

Question:
Alright, so my girlfriend is entering her 3rd trimester of pregnancy. She is unemployed right now and has state health insurance. I work full time and have insurance through my company, however she is not on my plan as we are not married nor do I think she would qualify as a domestic partner as we haven't been living together for 6 months.

Yesterday a friend of mine mentioned that I should check into this as he seems to think it's possible that because I'm employed that if I sign the birth certificate the state will come after me to pay the costs of the child's birth.

I contacted another friend of mine who went through this exact situation with his gf and he showed me a horrifying bill. But said that neither he, nor she were asked to pay a dime of it, and that the state covered it completely. Now he also mentioned that he wasn't making much money at all during that time.

I have no idea how this works, or who to even ask about this. I very much want to be the legal guardian of this child and plan to be a part of my child's life indefinitely, I'm a bit nervous right now however that by signing the paper that legally makes me the father I'm opting into a massive bill that I cannot afford for the birth of the child.

I don't need to hear about how signing opts me into child support in the event we split up...I'm not worried about that and understand that. I'm only curious about the birthing bill.

Thanks!

TL;DR: Girlfriend (legally single) is pregnant, unemployed, and on state healthcare. I (legally single) am employed and on my company's insurance. If I sign the birth certificate can her insurance company come after me to pay the bill for our child's birth?

Answer:
 I get that the birth of a child is expensive, however the cost is not an easy one to bear for anyone.

At least under my insurance a child is a qualifying life event and maternity and birth care are 100% covered.

You will want to check with your insurance about this and determine what steps you need to take now in order to get this handled.

Obviously you are responsible for some portion of this expense, but there are often options to help new parents with this sort of thing.

Your girlfriends state health insurance is likely going to cover some of it, your own insurance may cover some of it, and for the rest, work it out with the hospital. They often have payment plans and financial assistance available for these kinds of events.

Congratulations on being a new dad BTW.Answer #2: The government doesn't need you to sign the birth certificate to come after you. They just need to prove you're the father.   If you care about this child though you will accept full responsibility for him or her.Answer #3: So here's how it works. IANAL

Any expenses related to the mothers care while in the hospital will be billed to HER insurance. That has nothing to do with you and wont come back to you. You have 30 days after the baby is born to put him on a health insurance plan in order to have his costs covered, up to the plan limits. He can go on either insurance policy. Since you guys arent married I do not think the state would come after you to pay his costs. You guys would just be responsible for whatever the insurance wont cover which is usually just deductibles.


Title: Have i been robbed?

Question: A few months ago I payed this video director to shoot a video for me and we did, and it was all going smoothly until the dude just stopped responding to my calls/texts/e-mails, its been a couple months now and the dude doesn't respond to me but he is still very active on his social media. So I guess im asking is there anything I can do? or have I just been robbed. Location is NYC but im pretty sure he lives in NJ.

Answer: You have not been robbed, but you can sue him.


Title: Indiana -- Stolen Vehicle Recovery from Canada....with a twist.

Question:
Ok, this is weird. But follow along......

Sold a Chrysler Pacifica on August 25th last year. Like 3-4 days later, it was stolen from the new owner who never did the title/registration transfer, nor did he report it stolen to the police (for reasons that later became obvious as he had a warrant he got picked up on anyway). Out of my hands, but I tried to help where I could as the title with my identifiable information was IN the vehicle when stolen.

Fast forward to last week. Get a call from Ontario of all places. Some customs official tracked me down, the Pacifica is in impound in Canada and apparently has been since early September. Thieves got hemmed up by the law there. Ok, cool, I give him the new owners info. Wash my hands of it again.

Fast forward to today. Gentleman in Canada calls back. They talked to FWPD, and since the title was never transferred, I am still the registered legal owner. They won't work with anyone but me since it's legally still my vehicle.  So looks like I'm going to Canada to pick up the Pacifica I sold. But wait......there's more.

The guy I sold it to. His phone isn't accepting calls, nor is it accepting texts. His mother had called me while he was in jail last fall asking about the Pacifica (sweet lady), so I went through my phone records and spoke to her today. She said she randomly hears from her son and doesn't have a direct point of contact for him as of now either. She made it seem like he may or may not be in contact with me.

So now I'm left in a conundrum. TECHNICALLY (and morally), it's not my vehicle. LEGALLY, it still is per the law and title/registration. The ONLY person customs in Canada is going to release it to is me because my name is on the title still. So obviously I'm going to pick it up. Then beckons the question......how long do I sit on it for before removing it from my possession if I don't hear from the guy? I can't just drop it off to his mother because she's in Montana. He travels all over the place (circus guy).  Like what are my legal obligations here?  He paid for the vehicle, and I will do my due diligence to get him the vehicle back after picking it up, but am I bound by a timeframe to do so?  If I don't hear from the guy after six months and it's sitting idle outside my house, is it reasonable/legal to expect me to keep sitting on it?  I'm just not sure how to proceed after picking it up given the high likelihood I won't ever be contacted by the guy.  Even his mother said if it turns into a couple of months just sell it to someone else.  I don't want to end up in a lawsuit or something over this when I'm going to go out of my way (3.5 hour one way trip to pick up) to get the vehicle back and try to help.

Answer:
 Since the title was never transferred, it’s still your car.... and your problem.

The logical approach would seem, in my humble opinion, to go to Canada and retrieve the car, as you are apparently obligated to do. Keep track of all your expenses. Upon return, refund the buyer’s money *minus the amount you spent  retrieving it*, via check payable to him, mailed certified to his mother.

Resell the car.Answer #2: Keep track of your expenses for retrieving the car, and see what the going rate is for car storage.  Don't overlook minimum insurance cost.  Lawyer will advise on the eventual disposal/re-sale issues.


Title: I got subpoenaed

Question:
So a sheriff just went by my mom’s house to issue me a subpoena for a felony shooting trial due to me being a witness. The trial starts the first day of finals week & I have two finals that day. My professor will most likely take it on a different date, but I’d rather not because it could be a harder exam than what the rest of the class gets. Is there any way to get out of this? I was shitfaced, it was like 230 am, and there’s no way I could identify the shooter or anything.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 A felony trial is Serious Business. It is unlikely the prosecutor is going to give you any deference to a final exam schedule, especially if you could take it on another date.

If you don't know anything, and can't recall anything, call the prosecutor and let them know that this is the case. They will probably stand by the subpoena anyway, but that's really your only recourse, because no judge will quash a material witness subpoena in a felony trial. Answer #2: No you cannot get out of it. You can call and ask if they are able to change the date. They might be able to.


Title: Why are lawsuits more prevalent in the U.S compared to other places?

Question:
As a European, I find it odd that Americans seem to sue for the smallest things ([https://abovethelaw.com/2015/12/top-10-frivolous-lawsuits-list-is-frivolous-but-funny/](https://abovethelaw.com/2015/12/top-10-frivolous-lawsuits-list-is-frivolous-but-funny/)) which can sometimes result in establishments being forced to put a sign up explaining a rule which is common sense (i.e don't put your hands in boiling water). Maybe this happens in Europe, but I've never heard of frivolous lawsuits like these.

Why are lawsuits so prevalent in the U.S? Is there some kind of law that most European nations have that the U.S don't?

Answer:
 I'd also argue that our lack of socialized medicine feeds into it. Most private lawsuits are over some sort of injury. As we're responsible for our own medical costs (even if it's buying our own insurance) a lot of people are a bad injury away from being completely bankrupt which actively encourages people to sue to try and get medical bills covered. I believe that percolates through the system making other types of lawsuits more common as well since it starts to normalize the idea of suing for any type of injury real or imagined, bogging down the system.

I mean in the U.K. if your kid slipped and fell on the sidewalk, breaking their arm, you'd just take them to the hospital and let the NHS patch him/her up. Inconvenient and painful for the kid but so long as it was a simple break then there's no real long term damage. In the U.S. if the family has no insurance or only has a high deductible PPO insurance then they could be looking at paying their kid's medical bills vs their mortgage payment. It's actually more cost effective to hire an attorney on commission, sue whoever was supposed to maintain the sidewalk, and hope you get enough to pay off the attorney/medical bills.


Title: Accidental pregnancy by not-husband, but with husbands consent. Now husband wants out? CA

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I saw this episode!  It's your husband's baby, he's really biracial himself and ashamed of it for some reason thus he never told you./

Everyone else has given you the real advice.  The baby is legally his unless/until he succesfully contests paternity.  If he is successful, you can pursue child support from the other dude.  If he's not successful he has to pay child support but doesn't have to have a relationship with the baby.Answer #2: This feels like the trolliest of all troll posts ; but:

Yes, he can chose to divorce you, and although he is the presumed father under the law, during the divorce proceedings if he disclaims paternity and gets the other guy to acknowledge paternity, then he wouldn't have to pay child support. It doesn't matter whose idea it was.

It won't affect the property division at all, it'll still be an even split of the community property.

What kind of male escort doesn't wear protection? And who uses an escort without also wearing protection?

You can book the escort for another gig, then tell him he's a dad and file for child support. Although I'm betting a lot of his income is under the table, and tough for the child support enforcement to get at.


Title: [TX] I think I need to report my neighbor to Child Protective Services, but I worry about retribution.

Question:
Forgive me if I'm not posting this in the correct place.

I live in a rental home that has a small studio apartment attached to it. We share a wall with our neighbor, and his driveway (where he usually lets his kids play) is directly next to our living room window, so we can hear him as if he were in the same room.

Over the past several months, we've heard him scream at his kids (If I were guessing, I'd say they are 4 and 6/7) relentlessly. I don't know if this is considered abuse, but he frequently reams them with profanity. It seems he only communicates in phrases like "Get in the fucking bed!" or "Put that the fuck down" or "What in the fuck is wrong with you?" We've never heard anything that would suggest actual physical abuse, except the phrase "Do ______ or I'm getting my belt," and that seems to scare the shit out of these poor kids. I don't know if this is abuse, or just being a jackass mean parent, but I digress. Today, I heard quite clearly (interjection of a current rant I can hear as I type this: "Are you fucking stupid?") his say to his kid "If you break that I will break something on you," to which his kid (the younger one) responded, "Would that make you happy, to break something on me?"

I don't know if any of the above is illegal, but it breaks my heart. I feel like even if it *isn't* illegal, that maybe it should be reported so a professional could look into the things we can't see. This is where I'm worried.

I know I can anonymously report, but since we share a wall with this guy, I feel like it'd be pretty obvious that it was us. Also, because of our close proximity, I worry about him harrassing us or trying to get us in trouble...which brings me to the crux of my issue.

 (interjection, he's still yelling: "Get your fucking shit and get you stupid ungrateful ass inside" Kid: "You don't have to yell at me all the time.")

This guy is scary. This guy keeps scary company. He's been in and out of jail since he moved in. I can't help but think that he will know it was us that reported him, and considering how much he threatens his own children, it worries me.

So my question is, are there any legal protections in place for anonymous reporters of this stuff? If he continues living there, is there anything that I can do to protect myself? Is there anything here worth reporting, or is this guy just a horrible shitty parent? Would I have to be involved with this at all after reporting?

Answer:
 It may or may not be abuse. But either way, you are not the legal entity to decide that. You are concerned for kids welfare. So call Cps and let them investigate. Even if it isn't huge crazy abuse, CPS can still help the family.

All and report anonymously. You don't have to give your info. Answer #2: Make it vague enough so he doesn't know it's you. I really doubt you're the only one who has noticed this. Also, is he doing anything else illegal you can report him for? Answer #3: If he's been in and out of jail whilst he's been there then he may be on parole. If you call CPS and they discover he has committed a crime that would like breech said possible parole order, sending him back to prison, solving your dilemma and likely getting the kids the help they need. Answer #4: Please call. Please please call. The threat with the belt should be enough to at least warrant a conversation with the guy, and then the experts can decide if further resources should be expended. I totally understand the concern for your own safety, but you have some options there, and the kids have none.


Title: A female friend of mine was attacked by her live-in ex-boyfriend with a knife and the cops removed him from the premises. She comes home from work today and he's back on the couch watching football. She's looking for a way to get him out of the house as soon as possible

Question:
If I took the time to list every thing that this asshole has done to her, I would take all night. This guy has abused her in every way possible. Mental, emotional, sexual, and physical. Her Current financial status prevents her from moving out on her own.

She told him that they were done like 3 months ago and she's doing everything to let him know that they are not together. She sleeps in the guest room and refuses every physical advance that he makes reminding him that they are done. I guess this guy just does not want to believe it. Last night he got a little too drunk and tried to make a sexual Advance towards her. She pushed him away and reminded him for the umpteenth time that they are not a couple anymore and went to her room and locked the door. He kicked the door off of the hinges and was holding a knife to his neck claiming he was going to kill himself if she didn't have sex with him. She still refused because they had been through this dog-and-pony show before and he swung the knife at her, cutting her hand. She called the cops, which he tried to stop her from doing by trying to grab her cell phone.

She gets the cops over there and she tells her side of the story while he tells his. He was claiming that it was self-defense and that she had attacked him first which was obvious bullshit. I don't know all the details except that the cops didn't even handcuffed him, they just took him by the arm and took him to his dad's house for the night. The cops said that there will probably be a court date soon about this and that was the end of it. No business cards, no phone numbers for people to call about more information. I told her to call the police station non-emergency number and ask to speak to whoever would be able to give her more information about what's going on. She called but the front desk person said that she would have to call back tomorrow during business hours.

To be honest, I don't know if I 100% believe her version of events. She isn't really known to embellish things or the huge details out as far as I know, but this just seems so wildly unrealistic the way that domestic violence laws are in most of the states. I don't know about Ohio, but I know in a lot of states that the police are mandated to arrest at least one person when they get a domestic violence call. If all of this is as she says, this just seems unbelievably irresponsible, to allow an abusive ex-boyfriend back into the house where he literally attacked somebody with a knife the day prior. If she is telling the truth about everything, what can she do to protect herself from him?

Answer: Did she file for a restraining order?


Title: [NY] Step-grandfather trying to cut grandmother out of will.

Question:
Hello, I am new to the sub so forgive me if anything is common knowledge or against the rules. I am too pressed for time to go through everything. Here's the scoop:

Step-grandather has been hiding the fact that he has cancer from my grandmother. She just found out. He doesn't have much time left and now he is trying to cut her out. There is a lot of fishy behaviour. It appears that he is trying to secretly will away their assets to his children. We found out on Zillow that he sold their home to his son a few years back for $1. He denies it and told her he sold the land or some other BS. The family doesn't like her and will likely try to remove her from her home as soon as he dies.

What can he legally give away of hers and how can she protect herself. I am aware that she should lawyer up but she is stubborn, trying to persuade her.

Answer:
 > What can he legally give away of hers and how can she protect herself.

He can't give away things that are hers.  However, things that are theirs he may be able to dispose of.

Under New York Law, a spouse can elect to take the spousal share if the will only leaves them a small amount (or nothing).  This is 1/3 of the estate.

If he is disposing of property improperly prior to dying, then the executor may be able to challenge those transfers, and/or the estate can be challenged.

Honestly, too many possibilities out there and too little information in your post.  She should speak to an attorney to protect her rights and learn more about what happens when and if she is cut out of a will.


Title: [MA] Taxi Driver hit and totaled my car. What can I do?

Question:
I'm 24 and never had an accident before. I was turning into my driveway, on the right, had my blinker on, and a taxi comes flying down the road and passes me on the breakdown lane (so she illegally passed me on the right when I was turning to the right?) clipping the side of my car. My bumper was destroyed and my wheel totally dislodged. A cop was there quickly and after surveying the crash he told me he believed my story over hers, that she was likely driving recklessly, and that I probably wouldn't be found at fault.

Well, I checked my insurance and they'll compensate me for my car but I've been driving it for almost 7 years now and it had a lot of miles on when I bought it, so it's worth basically nothing now. I need this car to drive to and from work. I'm going to probably have to buy a whole new car and it's just a massive hassle. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I feel like she should have to make this right, if it's found out to be her fault. Is there a way I can get her taxi company to pay for a new car? Do I need to find a lawyer or something? I really have no idea what I'm even able to do at this point, so I'd appreciate at least being pointed in the right direction or told what my options are. Thank you.

Answer:
 > Is there a way I can get her taxi company to pay for a new car?

No.  You're owed either your actual damages, or the fair market value of the vehicle, whichever is less.  If your vehicle isn't worth much, you won't get much.  They don't owe you more than what you actually lost.


Title: Bf and I have reach The End, we are currently paying off a house mortgage that is in both our names and have been living there for 1 year. What are my legal rights and options?

Question:
I'm sorry if I seem a bit confused because I don't understand anything much about legal rights and real estate maths and financial side of things.
My ex boyfriend and I have been together for almost 3 years, we brought a house a year ago, in both our names, and we've been living there since.

I'm not too sure where to start or what to say or ask here so I will just put things I *think* may be relevant

* I live in Australia (in case the legal system is different to other countries)
* we own a house that is under both our names
* We have lived together in said house for 1 year
* I have been physically assaulted by him in the past but no photo evidence
* I can't afford to pay him out as I don't want to sell the house and split it 50/50

**My questions are:**

* Because we only bought and moved into the house a year ago, when one of us leaves, what happens to the names of the house as it's under both our names?
* Will the mortgage stay the same if one of us move out?
* If I somehow can afford to pay him out and he moves, and I get another renter, how does it work? Do they pay the same amount each month as my ex bf?
* If I pay him to move out, what amount am I supposed to pay? Is it half of the amount of the house sold price?

I'm really sorry if I'm asking dumb questions.

Answer:
 /r/auslegal might be a better place for this.Answer #2: Ok, I'm in Texas so no wild idea about AUS, but...

Here in this situation you both are what's called tenants-in-common, which means you both own an undivided 50% of the property and both have a right to use and access 100% of the property. The remedy for a tenant in common who wants their 50% of the property free from the other person is a suit for a partition. Courts here prefer a partition in kind if possible, such that if there was just 100 acres of dirt then the court would give each of you 50 acres in only your individual names and be done. Obviously it's hard to physically divide a house, so those are usually partitioned by sale. After going to court to put on evidence of the fair market value of the house, the house is sold and each of you get 50% of the profits (if any), or 50% of the remaining debt.

Of course if you can get the entirety of the mortgage refinanced in your name alone, and with only your income / credit rating, then you can make your ex an offer to buy him out. If either of you simply move out and trust the other to make payments then you are crazy foolish, as that will certainly end badly.

That's my general take from across the world, can an AUS licensed attorney confirm / deny accuracy?


Title: [MO] I am a victim of criminal identity theft from 2005-2009, and I still have fraudulent charges on my criminal record

Question:
Current Location: MO, USA

As of today, my name, date of birth, and SSN bring up 5 misdemeanors and a felony, mostly for drug possession and one for domestic violence.  All of these charges are dated from 2005-2009 at various courts in Houston, Texas.  I've never been to Houston.

I first became aware of this in 2009, when I was applying for my first apartment.  At that time, my mother filed a police report and the police suggested I or my mother contact the Harris County police department.  Neither of us did this.  I filled out a request for reinvestigation to the background check company and they found no criminal records, so I thought that was the end of it.

At the end of 2015, another background check was run and these charges once again appeared associated with my name, date of birth, and SSN.  From a few articles I've googled about it, I'm under the impression that my next step is to petition the courts for a criminal identity theft expunction and correction of these records.  Will I need a lawyer to do this?

Answer: https://www.houstontx.gov/courts/HowDoIExpungeMyRecord.html has a link to https://texaslawhelp.org/. Maybe they can help you.


Title: Capital One

Question:
I am being sued by Bleier & Cox (LA California) who are representing Capital One. The amount they claim I owe is slightly over $5,000. I responded to the papers I was served by denying everything based on lack of contract. All they have provided me is a copy of statenents from 2014 - 2015. Nothing has my signature. I had an account with them for several years - not just 2014 & 2015. I was served in March & the case is set to be heard by a judge in early January 2018.

Does anyone who has experience with a similar situation have any advice? I am prepared to attend the hearing in January. If they show up without an original contract, will everything be dismissed? If they even show up.. I have read that other people have experienced this to be a bullying tactic and it is likely no one will show up.

In the paperwork I was served, there were blatant falsifications. They described a woman (allegedly me but description does not fit my appearance) came out onto the balcony & yelled at them in Spanish to go away. The apt I lived in at the time did not have a balcony & I do not speak Spanish. In another description of an alleged attempt to serve me, it was described that a woman (who also does not fit my description) answered the door to accept the papers. I did not accept the papers - my roommate did while I was not home. My roommate at the time was a tall, skinny, bald, African American male. Why would they make up these lies?

Thank you for any help.

Answer:
 First and foremost, do you owe them money?Answer #2: They aren't going to need a written contract to prove you had a credit card with them.

Also the judge isn't going to care about any service issues.

If you want any chance of winning, hire a lawyer.


Title: [OK] Speeding ticket - is it worth going to court and what should I say?

Question: I just went and bought a new car today, my first proper family car. On my way home I was on the highway, still getting used to being in a car twice the size of my old car and was going about 75-80 (80mph speed limit). Another car was up on my ass and every time I moved over he followed. We were approaching a construction zone with a 55mph speed limit so I slowed down and had another car to my right. The Mustang slowed down a little but was still going faster than me and was almost in the back of me so I sped up past the car to my right and moved out of it's way. It finally overtook and sped off doing around 80mph. The car I just overtook turned out to be a cop car and pulled me over. I got a ticket for $350 but I was just so upset I didn't want to argue with the cop. I want to go to court to have it waived but is it worth it? And if I do, do I explain what happened and say I was trying to get out of the way of another reckless driver or would it be best for me to just say I made a mistake and I'm sorry?

Answer:
 > or would it be best for me to just say I made a mistake and I'm sorry

This. Someone else's poor driving isn't an excuse for yours. You said it yourself that you were speeding (even if unintentionally) prior to encountering the other bad driver.


Title: California - I started with more PTO than most employees, and now we disagree about progression

Question: [deleted]

Answer: I'd be inclined to agree with the employer's interpretation because the handbook clearly caps PTO for all employees at 25 days per year.  It also doesn't say "you get 5 more days per year", it says "X days".  If there's nothing in the handbook that references getting more than 25 days, then you've already progressed as outlined in the handbook.


Title: Friend's mom blackmailed and forced to take care of someone who was bit by her dog or else the person would contact animal control. Friend's mom contracted an STI and was not notified the person had an STI. What kind of lawyer or practice area should we look for?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >we've called over 60 personal injury lawywers and nobody is willing to help or take on the case.

Not sure where you're located, but if you've consulted with that many lawyers, it likely means that you do not have a case that will result in any recovery to you or to a potential attorney working on contingency.


Title: [CA] Insurance company wants to send out appraiser pre-court date

Question:
My brand new car was rear ended last year and the third party insurance company paid to have the bumper replaced. I tried to get the insurance company to pay for the loss of value or diminished value. I even had a local diminished value appraiser look at the car and after his $600 fee he wrote me up a nice 40-page diminished value report. The third party insurance company still said I failed the prove any diminished value and refused to give me anything. So after a few back and forth letters, I sued the driver in small claims court. The court date is in two weeks. Today I received a call from the third party insurance company asking if they can send out a diminished value appraiser to look at my car. They said the appraiser is a neutral third party.

Basically I'm wondering if I should allow them to come out and look at the car or will this help their defense or do they just want to settle out of court?

This is in California.

Answer:
 Imo you should let them do it as the worst thing that can happen is that you argue with them on their discrepancy with the diminished value. If the inspection was done correctly there should be little difference, any large difference would get the judge's notice.

By not doing it, the insurance could argue that you are trying to get a quick profit by removing their ability to determine if your claim is true and etc.

edit: Oh yea and they will likely use that as a basis for an out of court settlement (which is a good thing).


Title: [PA] Current guest in my Airbnb was arrested last month for using false identities and fraudulent credit cards.

Question: Names and where they're are from match the official press release. I'm just wondering what I can/should do.

Answer:
 You can contact AirBNB and see if there is any recourse with them.

Generally speaking, a person who has been charged with a crime can still enter into valid contracts.


Title: My mom is incapable of taking care of my siblings

Question:
I live in Missouri and once before, I have called cps on my mom for her not taking care of my half siblings and when she lived in Missouri as well. Now she moved back to Washington, unfortunately when I called I told them everything and here's the issue, they couldn't do anything because I didn't have her address. Despite I told them they were being neglected and abused. The kids (5) of the 6 of them aren't in school. I think they are being neglected by and my mom is and has been known to abuse drugs and the oldest child my little brother wants to live with me, I want to call child protection services once more, but I am afraid that since she's in Washington and I'm here in Missouri... They won't be able to do anything.

I was abused by her for years and I go to therapy because of her and my stepfather.

Is there anything I can do, I do not have her address I'm not afraid to turn her over to the right authorities. She doesn't deserve to hurt them anymore and I've discussed this with my grandmother who thinks it's wrong if I call in. Because I shouldn't hurt her like that. I'm at a loss here. Any advice would be very very much appreciated. Sorry if this is a dumb post as well. I'm just stressed.
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer: Do what you can to get her address and call. Worst case something happens to one of your siblings and you'll never forgive yourself.


Title: Car accident ten years ago resulted in a settlement. I may need surgery for an injury likely sustained from that car accident. Am I likely to have to pay out of pocket?

Question: Massachusetts, not at fault car accident. I settled with an attorney, and received a modest amount, which I have likely paid most towards medical costs over the last ten years. Most recent doctor is suggesting surgery, am getting a second opinion. Is it likely that my insurance company will tell me that I am 100% responsible for paying for it, since a settlement came from this?

Answer: The car insurance (or other driver) won't have to pay this since you already received a settlement, and are likely way over the SOL in any case. Your health insurance should still apply with your normal terms.


Title: [California] Is my apartment complex able to legally tow 50+ cars in a week?

Question:
I apologize for the wall of text and the poor formatting (mobile), and I appreciate the advice. This is my first time posting (finally motivation to make an account).

 Anyways, this morning, I woke up to take an exam that would determine whether or not I would pass my engineering class. Irrelevant, but as I went to my car, I first noticed 3 tow trucks, preparing different cars, and then that my car was missing. In fact, the majority of the cars were gone. I had to miss my exam, Über to the tow yard, and deal with a very rude man yelling at me to get out of "his" garage, and when confronted, told us (me and a couple others) that the owner wasn't there and he's invulnerable. He also yelled at me, tried to give me the wrong car, so on and so forth.

When he finally got to the paperwork, he refused to tell me why my car got towed and when I finally signed because I needed my car, he said something along the lines of "boom, read the fine print, we aren't liable for any damage, get out of my garage." When I talked to my apartment manager, it was because they were renovating the parking lot and apparently handed out announcements.

When I finally saw one for the first time in her office, it was full of typos, wrong dates, etc. Our apartment complex has about 50 units each with 4-6 apartments. Or 50 apartments with 4-6 units? Basically it's a lot of cars, and there isn't nearly enough parking, so when they block off half the parking lot for renovations and tow the cars in the other half, I'm beginning to question this.

 There have been other issues with the management in the past, and they refuse to cooperate with the residents. I see laws about towing on a normal circumstance, but I'm wondering if you guys can help me either get my money back from the towing company or a reimbursement from the apartment company due to towing in this case.

In addition, I saw my neighbor go to stop the towing of his range rover which I know is his right against towing companies. However, when I got to the yard, surprise surprise, his range rover was there. I'll check up with him later.

TL;DR
Apartment management towed 50+ cars today to renovate parking lot with a poorly worded flier as a notice. Towing company was extremely rude and the arrogance of one of their drivers hinted at shady activity. Need help arguing for reimbursement.

Edit: They also towed my father's car, and when he got it back, it had a dent in it. The person who towed his car has a picture of the car before towing it apparently with the dent already in it. However the picture is taken from far back of the entire car, is in the shade, and the dent is not visible. For this would I make a claim against the towing company or the complex? And would it be a separate claim or should I file it with mine?

Edit 2: The notice that they handed out has one line stating that they are going to do a seal and stripe, a line that says they will tow if your car is parked in designated car ports at certain dates. However the dates are wrong and I was parked in general parking and not a car port.

Answer:
 The people who authorized the tow are responsible for your fees and damages if the tow wasn't legal, so if you were legally allowed to park in the lot, and you weren't properly notified of the renovation, tell the complex to pay for your fees and then file a small claim against them when they don't.

You should also get your car checked by a mechanic for damage since tow trucks can harm the vehicle and include that in your suit.


Title: Wife arrested for obstruction a police officer in Nevada

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 >I posted her bail through my phone lol.

Nothing about any of this is funny.  We'll wait to find out *why* she refused to say that her friend was driving the car.

>Is this something I should get a lawyer for?... If this goes on her record she could lose her job.

Sounds like it's time for an attorney.

>Will a misdemeanor revoke that?

Maybe, but it's unlikely.  Security clearance revocation and issuance relies on a whole person concept.  A single errant incident of minor misconduct wouldn't merit a revocation.  Concealing that it happened or lying about it certainly could.  Again, my biggest concern here is why she lied about the friend wrecking the car.  The background there may have enough facts to trip a revocation.Answer #2: Your wife is facing 6 months in jail and/or $1000 fine.

She could lose her job and her security clearance.

This sub does not do recommendations for lawyers.  [Try the state bar of Nevada referral service](https://www.nvbar.org/lawyerreferral/lawyer-referral-information-service/).


Title: Georgia DUI second offender requirement: UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT?

Question:
Back in November 2011 I was in a motor vehicle accident and totaled my car. Because I was on probation for something else entirely in another county, it was a violation and I went to jail. Probation violation judge gave me an option: 5 years of probation and a felony that stays (due to the original charge) OR 1 year RSAT (Residential Substance Abuse Treatment) in a prison. I took prison, I knew I needed the help. Graduated with 4 certificates because I did so well. Even worked as a teacher's aid while there. Also had to attend a month of after care which I also successfully completed.

Ok so fast forward to 2013. I get out. I'm in absolutely NO hurry to get my license reinstated. In fact, sometimes just being in a car would cause anxiety for me (I've been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder / Social Anxiety Disorder and PTSD, unrelated to accident). This weekend I'm in day 2 of DUI school when the teacher tells us ALL of the requirements, Some which my probation officer (for the DUI county, not Prob. Vio. county) NEVER listed for me. Interlock device is one, which I don't even have a vehicle or one to put it in, let alone someone willing to let me but that's another issue - One HUGE thing stands out in particular and really threatens to turn my world upside down: having to put my photo and name in the paper as a habitual violator.

Now before anyone gets mad, yeah, I agree I deserved everything I got. But 7 years after the fact, through years of seeing a psychiatrist, getting counseling, not to mention the 1 year in prison boot camp / RSAT I chose to do and successfully completed with after care - I haven't had ANY trouble with the law since 2011, and after all this time, NOW they want to do this. The whole public humiliation thing seems like unusual punishment. In fact, when that photo gets in the paper, I WILL lose my job. I will have a lot of blow back mentally. The danger of relapsing right back is really high should these things happen, and chances are the level of that humiliation at this point will be nothing but counterproductive to this seven year fight I've had inside that I continue to battle and get mental help for.

Is there no way to get around this requirement? I understand doing this to people right after their offense. But after 7 years of being on the straight & narrow it seems... just wrong. And why is this done? Pedophiles pictures are in there. I get that, you need to be able to identify someone messing with kids or in the neighborhood. But a motorist? How does letting everyone know you messed up 7 years ago and have a disease help anyone? Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.

Answer:
 You are a habitual violator by GA's standards. Nothing that they're putting in the paper is going to be anything that can't be found with 5 minutes on Google.

As the license reinstatement is an administrative issue, not a criminal penalty, this is up to the DMV. They have latitude for a wide variety of requirements in situations like this.Answer #2: Wait, why are you in DUI school five years after after you got out of prison, and at the end of your probation?  Did you get another DUI?


Title: [VA] My friend (16F) was raped by a star D1-bound college athlete at her high school 1 month ago. What can she do to get justice?

Question: I don't have much information on this situation but I wanted to get all the possible advice I can from what I know so I can help out the suspect. I recently found out that my girlfriend's sister was raped 1 month ago. I don't know all the details of the situation, but I do know that DNA evidence is pretty low at this point about \~30 days after the incident. She has been on anti\-depressants and had many suicidal thoughts recently.  Is this case worth reporting to authorities? What steps can she start to take to try and get justice?

Answer: She can call the police. Answer #2: She should file a police report. And be in counseling. Don't make unqualified assumptions about evidence.


Title: Dated my boss. Now we have broken up and he is cutting my hours, and threatening to fire me. What can I do?

Question:
This may be a long one guys but I really need help here. As a disclaimer, I know that this was a terrible decision... now here is the story.

I started my job at a tech startup company in March 2016. In the beginning, it was just myself, the owner, and one other coworker.

From March until the end of October we had a strictly professional relationship, but in November 2017 he had begun to pursue me. I was 23 and he was 31. I, of course, went back and forth on actually starting to date him, but being naive I thought we may have had a deeper connection and that if anything were to happen, after working with him for almost a year I had judged his character and thought that we would both be mature enough to end things cleanly if it got to that point. I was looking for love, and for the first time in my life took a risk.

We made it official in February of 2017 after dating for four months and taking things really slow. He presented himself in those months as mature, responsible, logical, and overall a respectable person. Once we made it official, however, things took a turn for the worse.

In March he began to show his true colors. He was controlling, angry, and possessive. He would explode at me, berate me, and make me feel worthless, constantly accusing me of cheating on him (which I wasn't) and isolating me from my friends and family.

After a few months of this it was almost summer. I had kept thinking things would change but now I was in too deep. I knew deep down with all these red flags that this was not the dream man I was hoping to be with, but I realized knowing what he was really like, that breaking it off would affect my job negatively and was scared that he would fire me, cut my hours, or make the job so unbearable that I would just quit.

On top of all of this, we had moved in together in April. I had tried to resist, but if there was a night I didn't stay over, he would explode at me, saying that I had a secret bachelor pad that I kept to cheat on him. Once again, I made a stupid mistake and thought that by fully moving in the accusations and arguments would stop and we could finally be a solid, healthy couple.

I loved my job, and loved the company we had all built together. It was my dream job coming fresh out of school and I had put so much work into it that I didn't want to risk losing it. Through the summer it was all about pleasing him. I stayed home, I didn't go out, I worked 10 hour days 6 days a week, and essentially my life became completely about his happiness and his mood. I worked so hard to keep the company together, and our relationship together but it just got worse and worse.

 By September, he was more and more explosive in our relationship, and I was walking on eggshells around him at all times trying to not do anything to upset him. In the beginning, we had many conversations and promises to keep work and our relationship separate, but now everything in our relationship was transferring to my work.

The original coworker and I were now managers, and we had moved from a basement to a store location. My job had expanded to sales, customer service, management, web work, content and media management and more, and all these things were at peak performance and quality (in my opinion and the other managers opinion as well)

However, as our relationship declined, he started to berate me at work in front of coworkers, having explosive rages at me over "mistakes" or "problems" that either did not exist or were too minuscule to warrant such reactions. He began to threaten to fire me in arguments we would have personally. And personal arguments became more and more extreme, with him shoving me and his tantrums getting so bad and so degrading that I became depressed and at one point almost called the cops because of how scared I was.

This went on until three days ago. We finally broke up. I packed my stuff and left. And as I packed my things he spat on me, called me a whore, and threw my things at me while I continued to pack with my head down, trying to avoid any further escalation.

Cut to this work week. I don't know what I was hoping to expect. On Monday I came in and he cut me after 15 minutes, then called me to come back in, then cut me again after an hour all the while saying I had made all these mistakes on spreadsheets, invoices, etc (that were not really mistakes) and that he was *This close* to firing me. Then again today, he exploded in the morning again and told me to leave after only half an hour of being there.

Now, I am in a horrible position. Not only do I feel stupid for letting myself get in this position, I am in the middle of a horrible break up coming out of an abusive relationship and my livelihood is being threatened. I still love my job so much, but he is making it unbearable. I don't know if I should just quit and risk having no finances coming in for a while, (my industry is very small where I live in Nova Scotia Canada with little to no job openings and I have no family to stay with) or stick it out and hope it gets better.

What are my options here as far as legal action, do I have any pull or because I agreed to this relationship is it my fault and there is really nothing I can do?

Thank you so much in advance for any advice you guys, I really appreciate it and I know this all looks really bad on me, but I was stupid, and naive and do take full responsibility for putting myself in this situation.

Answer: I don't know anything about Canada, but 90% of this post is not really relevant legally.  Here's your TLDR:  "Dated my boss and we broke up.  Now he wants to fire me for fake reasons.  Legal?"  Also I believe province matters in Canada.


Title: Electricity/gas has been on since before we moved on, but we have not created an account with PG&E. It's been nearly a year and they just now contacted us that we owe them money from since we moved in. Do we really?

Question:
Girlfriend and I have been living in our current apartment for nearly a year. When we moved in, the electricity and gas was already on and, due to work/life, we forgot to begin our account with PG&E, but the power was never cut off. Fast forward to now and we today received a letter that we owe them money backdated to the day that we moved in. The utilities are not included in our rent/lease.

Do we really owe them payment backdated to when we began our lease even though we never moved out account/service to this location? Or do we just owe them from this point on? When girlfriend talked to them on the phone, they seemed to think that we only owed gas, but as the conversation went on, they realized it was electric, too. The conversation ended with them saying that billing department will have to look at everything and call us back.

What do we really owe? Live in California on a one year lease.

EDIT: Awesome. Thanks all.

Answer:
 >The utilities are not included in our rent/lease.

Not included like the landlord pays them, or not included like you are responsible for the utilities separately?

If you are responsible for obtaining and paying your own utilities, of course you owe for all the months that you haven't paid.


Title: Remade a video game (Duck Hunt) for school. How should I go about using it in my portfolio without receiving backlash from the IP owner?

Question:
Alright, I'll try to make it short.

I made a clone of Duck Hunt for my freshman java class a few years ago and I am now starting to work on my portfolio/resume/website/what ever people call it. The [sprites](https://puu.sh/rhQN1/0ceaf216ed.png) and [background](https://puu.sh/rhQMt/040c2f743a.png) I used are copies of the original.

Am I right in assuming that using it in my portfolio would no longer fall under fair use?

Is there a way to use it in its current form in my portfolio without violating any copyrights/trademarks?

If not, would creating my own art assets be enough to avoid violating any copyrights/trademarks?
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: You can draw new sprites and backgrounds and generally be in the clear because the concept of Duck Hunt is not protected.  You also need new sound.


Title: Any advice? Family dispute over revoked will.

Question:
Edit:Thank you everyone for helping me out at first I didn't know what to say or ask so here is a revised layout of what happened.

(OREGON) So my grandma recently passed away from cancer and the last 3-4 months she had to live in a home for special care i.e pain meds and had to watch her because she fell alot. Her cancer was incurable and she chose not to have any intervention to delay the inevitable. The 1st month in the home she still had her wits with her and she understood and engaged in normal conversations. She had 4 kids total but one of my uncles passed away around 12yrs ago as well as her husband around 15yrs ago. When my uncle passed all he had was a daughter due to his wife leaving him a few years earlier. So when my grandma initially was put in the home my Dad asked her if she had a will and she said yes and for him to find it. When they found it they read through it and it stated that everything goes to the kids and or the next of kin of any deceased. She said she would like to revoke the will and make my mother the trustee and had the lawyer there and an assistant for her to sign the POA agreement and gave my mother overall powers of everything. She did this due to the stress that it was putting through her daughter and my dad that was with her everyday taking care of her. Her other son lived on the other side of the state but came the last two weeks of her death and was involved over phone through the entire process.  So my grandma didnt have much basically a house and her social security check. So when she was put in the home my mother had an estate sale for all of her belongings so she could pay the fees of keeping her in the home. During all of this her distant brother all of the sudden showed up and started asking for a will. Out of courtesy they gave him the old will but said that it is null and void due to my mother taking over. He agreed of the process and disappeared off to where ever he lives. While my grandma was still alive obviously my mom was put on her bank account to pay the bills and she re did the deed to her house to accurately reflect her kids that were still alive. When she passed we payed the last bills and had her cremated and thought we were done after we sold the house which is probably $120k on a good day. While setting all of this up we got a random call from a lawyer stating that the deceased sons daughter is suing for her portion of whatever was of value. Apparently her distant brother decided he was going to pay for a lawyer to represent her grandaughter in fighting for that share. We are not sure if he made a deal with her that he would get some money out of this or not but it sounds fishy. Well the big thing is that she wasnt dead yet and had the house transferred over as well as all of her assets so basically she owned nothing when she passed. So now we are in the process of should we fight this because the grandaughter was never close and hasnt had really any contact since she was born. The overall big question is does she have any ground to stand on? Or should her children just settle and give her an equal share. Of course common sense we all think that it should go to the living kids and not to 1 of several grandkids randomly but this is all personal feelings. So I think I answered all the questions anymore ill answer them later on in the evening.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Answer:
 Maybe.  I know in Kazakhstan a will is only valid if it is signed in blood.  Was this most recent will signed in blood?

Edit:  Okay, now you identified Oregon.  Next, how was the will revoked?  Did she make a new one, specifically revoking all prior wills, or did she just destroy the old one (with no copies anywhere else), or did the attorney have her do something else?

[Here is the Oregon statute on specific revocation.](http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/112.285)  If the will was destroyed, were there also two witnesses?

Whether or not the daughter has a claim will depend on if the will was properly revoked.


Title: Copyright law for teachers. Help?

Question:
I am a first year music teacher located in the Northern Marianas Islands, a commonwealth of the USA.

During my education courses at the university, copyright was always discussed but nobody really knew what the copyright laws are. Some people thought there are exceptions to copyright law for educators.

Can anyone clarify? Specifically, as a music teacher, say I have 50 students in my choir class. Would it be legal for me to buy 50 copies of the music, make 50 copies, have the kids use the copies, and then throw them out when we are finished using them? I have seen teachers do this in the past because kids do not treat the music well and trash it, but I have never been given a straight answer to whether it is legal or not. Help?

Answer: [This article](https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf) from the copyright office is pretty comprehensive, [this](https://nafme.org/my-classroom/united-states-copyright-law-a-guide-for-music-educators/) from the National Association for Musical Educators should also be useful.


Title: Ambulance in MN

Question: Can I refuse an ambulance if one is called on me and I'm not obviously not intoxicated in any way? Furthermore to the (EMT)  have the right to use force?

Answer: Yes. But if you are a danger to yourself or others they can force you. If you are in police custody they can force you.


Title: AL: Can my ex's lawyer legally call my firm and tell them things about me?

Question:
I posted here a few weeks ago about my ex boyfriend who claims he is suing my dad for wrongful termination due to an incident that happened after office hours outside the office.

Now he is saying that his lawyer is going to call the firm I'm about to start working for in the same industry and tell them that I am involved in a litigation with my dad's firm and that I wouldn't be a good fit because of it. Not legal, right?

Answer:
 His lawyer is not going to do that.Answer #2: Why *would* his lawyer do that? Just no sense of professionalism whatsoever...?Answer #3: In the general case, anyone can call your firm and tell them anything truthful or any opinion they want.  So yes, it would be perfectly legal for someone to call your new firm, tell them you're involved in litigation, and offer the opinion that you would not be a good fit.

There may be an ethical issue there on the attorney's part; I'll let someone with a better knowledge of the ethical rules to chime in there.


Title: [WaPo] This genius is selling selling a fake package that's booby-trapped with a blank shotgun shell.

Answer:
 FYI for anyone not familiar with guns: blanks can still harm or even kill you at close range.

This guy is upset at people stealing packages delivered to his house, so he made a fake package with a blank shotgun shell inside that detonates when the package is moved. He also believes that putting up warning signs will make him immune from civil or criminal liability.
Answer #2: I don't know if you can do this in the US, but here in Canada you can have Canada Post deliver your package to a post office near you. You get a PO box like address, but it's held directly at the post office and you get SMS/email notification when they get the package so you can go and pick it up. No more "You weren't home" tags, no more chasing your package, no more stolen/lost packages. It's free, and most post offices are in drugstores and are open 9am to 9pm including Saturday so it's very convenient.

Much safer than trying to scare thieves with shotgun blanks.


Title: Permanent resident in California applying for citizenship wondering how traveling out of the states for longer than 6 months affects the naturalization process

Question:
I got my green card in April 2014. To my knowledge, applicants may send the applications 3 months prior to the 5th year so that will be in 1 month (January 2019). I was in college since 2014 and I took a gap year to travel outside of the US for 8 months. I worried there would be a problem coming back to the US because I had not obtained an advance parole before leaving, but there was no issue at the airport. Fast forward to now, should I still send in my application in January or would I have to wait 8 months?

Some relevant information:
- I had a bank account open in the US for the duration of my travel. (Not a significant amount of deposit but it was open nonetheless)
- I was and am still a student at the college I am attending.
- other than aforementioned dates, I never traveled outside of the US

Answer:
 Being absent more than 6 months but less than one year [creates a presumption of a break in continuous residence](https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter3.html#S-C).

If you can document that you still considered the US home during your time abroad, then it's not an insurmountable issue and the presumption can be overcome. But, the burden is on you to do this.

> Fast forward to now, should I still send in my application in January or would I have to wait 8 months?

The requirement is for *continuous* residence. If there is a break in residence, you would not be waiting a period equivalent to the the 8 months you were gone, you would be waiting another 4-5 years from the time you returned because you must be continually resident for 5 years to be eligible to naturalize.


Title: [California] Tenant broke the lease and moved out claiming "breach of implied warranty of habitability"

Question:
Hi all,

Week 1.  So I bought a condo and moved in a tenant a month ago.  It was newly renovated from the previous owner.  During lease signing tenant complained of a mildew smell and suspected mold.  I told tenant I wasn't going to go looking for mold, but if some was found I would repair.

Week 2. Tenant suffers from allergies/asthma.  Since moving in they have complained of aggravated symptoms and rashes, headaches, etc.  They are convinced there's mold.  They complain of high humidity due to moving boxes becoming moist and wrapping.  Tenant purchases a dehumidifier and uses it.  Tenant purchases a home mold test kit and various odor absorbers/moisture absorbers.  Mold test kit initially returns no positive result, but some time later, there's a small line for one of the molds (test kit specifically states results invalid after 20 min, this line appeared much later than 20 min)

Week 3. So I go hire a leak detector to find any areas of water leaks or water intrusion.  They find none.  Tenant continues to complain of the mildew smell, still convinced there's mold, yet produces no professional report or any evidence other than her health symptoms.  So I hire an air quality person/HVAC person, they inspect and find the air filter is really old, they replace it, recommend that they use the dehumidifier and run the ac/fans for a while.

Week 4. Tenant at this point is convinced there's hidden mold, behind walls, covered up by the previous owner, whatever.  So I'm like, okay sure, I guess I'll hire a mold inspector.  But before I am able to do so.  Tenant decides to break the lease and move out, due to "breach of covenant of implied habitability."

Every thing from beginning to end is pretty much exactly one week.

They are also demanding full return of their security deposit due to my unable to remedy the "mold issue" within 30 days.  As a note here, tenant stated that they always want to be present for any inspections or whatever.  So I let the tenant schedule the appointments and that probably contributed to some of the schedule slip.  I guess in the future, I'll just give 24hr notices and ignore tenant wishes to cover my self even better.

So what should I do here?  Is tenant right in breaking the lease?  Did I have a responsibility to do more than I did?

Thanks

Answer: The tenant is not in the right to break the lease. You worked extensively with them. They have no evidence of an issue. I suggest talking to the tenant about it and letting them know that if they want to break the lease they'll have to abide by the terms of the lease and give proper notice.


Title: My grandfather died, in Zephyr Hills Florida. They won’t let my mother into his house.

Question:
He lived in a trailer home/ RV home park type areas that is called “Leisure days resort” on “leisure days drive”
Newby management (wow) runs this establishment.

(My mother has been back and forth from New York to Florida, over the past four months, dealing with my grandpa, and he just passed away a week ago. He does in hospice after a painful journey of a couple months.)

According to the law of Florida, she is allowed to go into his house.

Accorded to the Newby Management, they cannot let her into his house, trailer, whatever. (They are saying she needs power of attorney.)

My mother even called the police, but they didn’t seem to care that they weren’t letting her in to collect ashes, belongings, etc.

My mother believes this is because they went into his house and took his valuables.
Apparently, he had a lot of valuable gold coins?

His beloved dogs ashes that he rescued to live out the rest of his days with are in the house as well.

How can this be resolved?

He wanted his ashes to be thrown into the ocean, and as luck would have it, we have an anon going there next month for a golf tournament I believe.

Basically, the people won’t unlock the “house” for her to collect his belongings.

What should we do?

I don’t know if there’s enough time to get a lawyer because that may take a couple weeks. It was supposed to be a simple thing.

Please, if you have any experience with this, or know anything about this, help.

Thank you for reading.

P.S
He was renting the housing unit. The rent is paid in full for another 2 months.

Whomper

Answer:
 While it's certainly possible that his valuables have been stolen (and if you find that is the case, file a police report), it's actually much more likely that the management company is just covering their posterior: they don't know who is the next of kin or the person authorized to deal with the estate, and they don't want to be held liable for allowing the wrong person access.

The management company is not required (and, mostly, not ALLOWED) to give access to anyone who is not either 1) named on the lease, or 2) in possession of a court order appointing them as executor or personal representative of the estate ("letters of administration"). Your mom needs to consult a Florida attorney about being named as the personal representative. It is at least possible she can get the papers by the beginning of next month, but she'll need to move quickly.


Title: I trolled a subreddits..

Question: I didn't know you could get ban from reddit please help I was just messing around using alt profiles but I guess the things I said were pretty offensive but it's just about a game I apologized on there subreddits will I really get banned?

Answer: That is up to their mods, if they ban you then they ban you.


Title: (OR) Can I cut a neighbors bushes that encroach into the sidewalk right of way?

Question: There is a city ordinance to keep the right of way clear with dimensions around side walks and streets. We have left several notes about the ordinance on their door because they have not answered their door in multiple attempts to talk like neighbors even when they are home. They have a crew to take care of the yard but has never trimmed the bush.

Answer: No. Call code enforcement specifically about the bushes.


Title: Pulled over with No insurance, expired registration, and a restricted drivers license.

Question:
I came back to my hometown for break and took one of our family vehicles to the store. Cop ran my tags and saw that I had an expired registration (expired 2 years ago). He issued a citation for no insurance, an expired registration and a warning for the restricted drivers license.

This is my first Ticket or violation and I am looking at about $500 in fines (without court fees). My school offers legal services for free, although I’d have to drive back for a consultation (which I likely will).

How should I generally proceed?

Deferred disposition (driver classes required)? Plead guilty and just pay the fines? take it to to court -> plea?

I don’t have a car so I don’t have insurance, but how long would this stay on my record and what kind of impact would it have down the road when I may apply for insurance?

Thanks.

Answer: You're probably best off showing up on your court date, explaining what happened, telling the prosecutor you are willing to do what they ask in exchange for a clean driving record. They'll give you a fine, or court cost, or school, or some combination. They don't want to fuck your record, they want you to make safe choices and they want to collect a little revenue.


Title: The company I work for is getting worse and worse with my pay. Florida, US.

Question:
I've been with this company for 8 years, so some of this may be a bit jumbled and long. I apologize for that as well as formating just in case.

I'd like to point out the most recent as it's still fresh:

I got my paycheck for the week of the 4th. The company is an A/V installation company. I am given 5 paid holidays per year. This year July 4th landed on a Saturday. We didn't close on Friday like most did. I'm an hourly employee. I worked 58 hours that week including some on the 4th. As I understand it. I should have seen 48 hours of regular pay, 10 hours of over time and 8 hours of holiday pay. Instead. I got 40 hours of regular time, 10 hours of over time and 8 hours of holiday pay. I know this is wrong. I confronted my project manager and he told me that they only have holiday pay to myself and our other installers because it was on a Saturday and our owner wasn't obligated to pay holiday in that circumstance. I told him as it was it was still wrong. If anything I should have my paycheck at lease be paid as if it were a normal check, you can't just take over time away from me. They fixed my check to show I got paid the 58 hours normally, and now no holiday pay.  End of first issue.

The second one is very convoluted so bare with me...

We did a job last year for the city. We had to be paid as if we worked for the city under the Davis Bacon Act. Prior to starting this job in March myself and our other lead tech were told that we are getting raises effective March 1st. However due to the Davis Bacon Act, they are keeping us at our normal pay rate till this job is completed. (This job was a massive job and spread out. We got paid our Davis wages there isn't a problem there.)

All the hours in between the parts of this large job we were still paid at our old hourly rate. Once the job finished they were to give us a "bonus" based off what the difference between how much we earned from the Davis job and what we would have earned if at our new hourly rate from March 1st. I did most of the work on the Davis job and was told when my raise finally went started that I worked at the job too much and, in their words, "technically owed the company money because of how many hours I had on that job." And would not be getting a bonus. I don't know enough about this to know if that is legal or not. Though it sounds very shifty to me. I don't want to call a labor attorney right this second considering all of them in the area I work are all our customers.

I love what I do for a living, hate who I do it for now but would have to travel a great distance to find a job like I have that would be a better situation. Basically, I can't afford to lose my job.

Any ideas or explanations would be greatly appreciated.

tl:dr. My boss is spending the money he's taken from me for his vacations.

Answer:
 40 + 10 + 8 = 58

48 + 10 + 8 = 66

I think your math is off.


Title: I lent a friend quite a bit of money and is refusing to pay back (NY). What are my options?

Question:
Hi everyone,

(I posted this under personalfinance, but one of the commenters recommended this subreddit as well.)

First, I learned a very expensive lesson in never lending money to friends if it ends up that way. Also, this is my first time posting on reddit, so apologies in advance if the way I wrote this or the subreddit is wrong!
Let me provide some of the details:

I lent a friend money under the assumption that he was starting a new job and he needed some personal liquidity in order to get him through. In order to keep track of the money, I added him as an authorized user on a card with a limit up to a certain limit. However, I realized (quite late) that more and more of these charges were being used for miscellaneous expenses (bars, restaurants, unnecessary expenses) and soon cut off his limit. He was making threats of trying to get more credit or else he would not pay anything, and in one of these chances, I entered into a written contract with him in which he acknowledged that the responsibility of the authorized user on the charge card was now his and that he was responsible for the balance plus some penalty (the latter of which I understand is rarely enforceable). I told him I could not lend him any more money because I didn't feel secure financially at the time (given the lost money) and told him I was cutting down on food to save but nothing really got through to him and kept on demanding more money. I have given him multiple options (paying a little bit over time which he did for one month) but he seemed non-responsive despite attempts at communicating with him in a civil and respectable manner. He has made repeated promises to pay, but none have actually come through.

It has been about 4 months since the payment has been made, so I decided to take legal action. Unfortunately, this limit exceeds the amount that the state accepts for small claims court, but the amount above is negligible and would not really care about the difference. I gave a two week notice and encouraged him to source this money (I believe his parents would be able to help out.) before I officially start the process, but in the meantime, I was wondering if you guys could offer any additional advice in the meantime in terms of practicality and next steps. Part of me is just chalking it up to be a very expensive lesson, but at the same time, it has been preventing me from helping out my mom financially. I know I have been really fortunate to be where I am now and the reason why I want to try and help others when I can. But when the money isn't used for the right purpose, then it really stings.

A unexpected lesson I learned after the last seven months of dealing with this is to really appreciate what my mom has done for me. She started with very little but never gave up on raising me. She's still struggling and has been going through a lot (working multiple days without sleeping), but I know that if I can ever get this money back, it would all go to my mom since she really deserves it. I've felt really unsafe financially since this occurrence since I've only been starting out my career and wanted to gather up some savings before being ready to help my mom out, but now with what I believe to be a decent savings (in case anything happens), this event has helped me become more conscious of what I have and can appreciate. It is Mother's Day, and maybe I'm realizing that life is way more than money- it's about caring for the people you love and cherishing those who've helped and who you've been able to help. This is a stream of consciousness, but even writing this has made me feel less frustrated and disappointed.
Any thoughts, suggestions, questions, and comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer: Court is your next step to get paid back money owed.


Title: My car was parked in my driveway, unoccupied. During a high speed chase, a police officer hit my parked car when another vehicle "failed to yield to an emergency vehicle" and the police officer went off the road. I was told to make a claim with my insurer.

Question:
Why would I have to file it as a claim with my insurance? Am I responsible for my deductible? Will my rates be affected? I am in Florida. I am not sure how relevant it is to the situation, but the officer was going 50+ mph in a 25 mph residential neighborhood that has a very high pedestrian population. Some might even call that negligent.

EDIT: What about my home owners insurance? It did happen in my driveway. Does that change anything?

Answer:
 You pay your insurance to deal with these things. You are welcome to navigate it yourself.

If the police insurance deams their guy at fault they will pay the deductibleAnswer #2: You file claim on your auto policy.
your auto carrier will notify the policy auto carrier.
your auto carrier will subrogate against the police auto carrier.

you will have to pay your deductible.
if found not at fault the police auto will pay that deductible back.

your rates will not be affected. Answer #3: Police redditor here:

I have worked for 2 big city departments (Florida and Louisiana) and when an officer begins a pursuit they assume all of the liability, except for the fleeing suspect.  The lights and siren do not give you immunity they give you a warning.  If the patrol car hit your legally parked car then the city/county government will usually pay for the damage.  It might not be a bad idea to ask for a meeting with one of your elected officials, like council member or mayor.  They really bend over backwards to make an agitated voter happy.


Title: USA California: People have been parking in front of my house, going into the house across the street for fifteen to thity minutes then leaving and it happens at all hours of the day.

Question:
I'm not stupid. I have a pretty good idea of what's going on which is why I don't just walk over there and ask that he tell his "friends" that I don't want them parking in front of my house. But at the same time I feel like if I call the cops there isn't enough to get them to do anything.

I supposed it wouldn't hurt to just call and file a report but I'd just like to get an idea of what will happen or if it's even worth calling over.

Answer: You can call and report this suspicious activity to the police. We can't guess if they would be interested, that's going to depend on a lot we don't know, but the only way to know is to report it. Answer #2: Both you and your concerned neighbors need to make police reports when stuff like this happens. That's how the ball gets rolling on drug dealers. The police need to know something is up in the first place, which they won't, unless you report it. They also can't just barge into someone's home. They need enough evidence to get a warrant. Those police reports you need to be making play a role in that evidence.Answer #3: Get a camera system and mount it in plain site pointing towards where everyone parks. Put up a sign in your yard that says SECURITY CAMERAS IN USE 24/7 directly beneath it. Sams Club sells a small video camera setup for about 200-300 dollars.  If I was buying grass across the street while parking in front of your house, this would spook me to finding a new dealer for sure.


Title: [Iowa] So my employer just fired all of the minors because of "child labor laws." I feel there's some sort of discrimination here. Help?

Question:
So I've been working in a kitchen for about 2 months. I am 16 years old as are most, if not all of my minor co-workers. None of us work more than 40 hours a week and we were all making above minimum wage. One day our boss decided to let us all go because of some "child labor laws" which I am questioning the legitimacy of. Is there any action I can take against the company? Any help is appreciated, thank you.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 No. Age discrimination only applies if you're old.

Child labor laws are complicated and apparently someone filed a complaint. Find another place to work.


Title: [OH] My landlord has keys to my property and did not tell me, even worse his suspicious maintenance staff does as well.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Obviously your landlord has keys to their house. If he gave you 24 hours notice then this wasn't illegal.


Title: Officer wrote me a ticket under a certain subsection, clerk told me they "ordered" a new ticket with a 10x higher fine

Question:
I'm in Florida.  Hey, guys, throwaway for this post.  I was pulled over for (allegedly) a stand-up wheelie on a motorcycle a month ago.  The officers were warrant officers who told me they don't often write tickets.   I was written a ticket for FL statute 316.2085 (1), which covers always remaining seated and carries a $159 fine.  The officer also wrote "$159" on my ticket as the civil penalty, which I know carries no weight usually, but it shows he looked up the subsection for remaining seated.

However, on the ticket, in the notes, he did write: "Riding on rear wheel only 'Popping Wheelie.' "  When I called the clerk today to take care of the fine, I was told it was a $1200 fine, which is the penalty for wheelying, and obviously much higher than the fine I was expecting.

I asked the clerk and pointed out that the wheelie subsection in the FL statues is subsection (2), and that I was cited under subsection (1).  She told me that when the ticket came in it caught their attention, so they "ordered" a ticket for me.

I am going in later this week to set up a court date, and I am looking for a laywer, but I was hoping to get some quick advice here to help me get started.

What does it mean that they "ordered" a ticket for me?  I understand that the dollar amount that the officer writes down doesn't matter, but I was led to believe that you would be held to the statute you were cited under.  How can the officer write me something, and then the clerk of court traffic just pull up a different ticket, regardless of the officer's notes?  Is this common?

Can I use this at all in a court hearing or to get it dropped down to the original written ticket?

[Here is the link to the FL statues.](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.2085.html)

Thanks.

Answer:
 Time to get yourself a lawyer. That's akin to being ticketed for reckless driving and then getting a call the next week advising you that a warrant for your dui arrest has been issued.

Edit: make copies and take pictures of that ticket! The carbon paper used is heat sensitive and will fade if you leave it in your car.Answer #2: The officer cited the incorrect subsection and the court amended it.  The officer might have been trying to give you a break knowing the wheelie section had the higher fine.


Title: [NY] Snow/ice fell off the roof of our rental property and damaged a tenants car

Question:
[NY] specifically Queens.

Hello people of legal advice. Apologies in advance for errors since I'm on mobile.

My father and I have a rental property in Queens that has 6 tenants with available parking out front for an additional fee. Some residents have opted for parking and park out front.

The northeast experienced a ton of snow fall this week, which resulted in snow and ice accumulation on the roof. Unfortunately, yesterday a chunk of ice fell off the roof and damaged a tenant's car. She is demanding us to cover the damages to her car.

We already spoke with our home insurance agent who said that it isn't covered. I take this to mean that they won't cover the damages, but doesn't absolve us of responsibility. We make every effort to clean the area in front of the house and sidewalks, which were clean at the time of the ice falling. I don't think we should be responsible to clean the roof of a three story apartment building after each snow storm, as this is impractical and generally unsafe.

The lease agreement doesn't make any statement specifically regarding the parking lot area, but has a general blanket statement to the effect of landlord is not responsible for any damage to personal property of tenants. I'm not sure if this statement is enough to cover what has just happened.

We are waiting to hear back from the tenant whether they have rental insurance or if their car insurance will cover the damage. We are always prompt in snow removal, so I don't believe we have expressed any negligence, but this is just a weird situation that I'd like to learn more about. Any idea on how we should proceed here (info to gather, who to contact, how to prevent this moving forward, etc.)? We are considering eliminating parking altogether as a result, since we'd like to avoid future, potential problems, and reduce our liability.

Thank you.

Answer: You are no more responsible for the tenants vehicles than you would be if their personal property was stollen or damaged.  Tenents need to carry insurance for these types of issues, auto insurance, renters insurance is their recourse.


Title: Can I live with a friend to stay in school district?

Question: I live with my single mother and it looks like we might have to move for financial reasons. My boyfriends family have offered to let me stay with them to finish my senior year at my current high school (I'm 17, won't be 18 until May). Could I just live there and not inform the district? I know this isn't "legal" but do I have any other options that do not involve handing over custody or something like that? I live in Pennsylvania. I really would like to finish my senior year at the high school I'm currently attending.

Answer: Some districts are stricter than others. You might get an exemption for your final year, or you might not. You might be in a district that requires proof of guardianship, or you might not. You'll want to talk to the registrar at your school and ask.


Title: Can I call the cops on my moms boyfriend if he destroys my property?

Question:
My mom has a boyfriend who nobody in my family likes because he has a huge temper (he often destroys things and yells for hours and has a fit in arguments) and believes he’s the best. Part of that is personality but also, even though my mom and him are on the lease, he gives her pretty much all the money for rent to pay for it and funds the car, bills, etc. my mom has a job but shes relatively new to the field so he’s paying for everything while she expands her business.

When he gets in arguments with my mom, there’s a good chance he will throw a big fit. He’s broken the bed frame before, knocked over tables, kicked doors etc. I’ve never seen him hit my mother and he’s never attempted to hit me and my sister. I don’t know if hed ever get that far honestly.

However his attitude and how he tries to make my mom treat us as secondary or even talks to us makes me want to stand up for myself sometimes. Still respectfully, but even then saying anything back makes me fearful because I don’t honestly want to talk to him or see what he will do.

If he ever decides to destroy my things (for example come in my room and destroy my laptop, etc.) or destroy my mothers things like the time he smashed the bed frame (that she owned but they sleep on) is it okay to call the cops? I know you should for physical abuse but I guess I don’t want them to come and they can’t arrest him or do anything because He didn’t hurt anyone and I will just be left with his rage at the end of the day.

Does it have to be our property and not his? If he breaks things that we all share or general common things can we still call? I don’t want  cops to show up and “calm him down” with no repercussions because then he will just retaliate.

Please let me know.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Record him with your phone are other camera first. Then call the police. They may tell him to GTFO or arrested


Title: [USA] Officer told me during a stop that something not being illegal didn't make it legal. Said statute needed to okay it. Is this true?

Question:
Long story short, I got pulled over for some auxiliary lighting on my vehicle. I've looked over the state statutes, which outline certain lighting on vehicles as prohibited. My lighting setup does not infringe on the prohibited parameters outlined in the Oregon statutes.

The officer told me that the statutes need to, basically, 'okay' the lights for them to be ok. This seems wrong to me, and he didn't seem very confident. I didn't argue because he wasn't giving me a ticket anyway, but... is that wrong?

It doesn't seem correct to me to say that the statute would have to 'okay' my setup when it isn't prohibited.

The statute also says this towards the beginning of the section:

-----

"Nothing in the vehicle code shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional parts and accessories on any vehicle not inconsistent with the provisions of the vehicle code."

so, was he incorrect? that line seems to indicate to me that you can't do exactly what he did; trying to extend the illegality of outlined setups to those that do not fit what was described as illegal.

Answer:
 Generally speaking, you typically can do whatever you want unless a law makes it illegal to do so. You don't need legal permission to do something; but a law can make something you want to do illegal. When done otherwise, the law would have to explicitly say otherwise.  But Specifically for vehicle lighting, it's relatively common for statues to say "it is illegal to display exterior lighting except as indicated in this section", and then list out all the permissible lights. If the law was written that way, he would be right.

[For example](https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/816.350)

>(12) Except as otherwise allowed under this section, all flashing lights are prohibited on all motor vehicles on any street or highway except for turn signals, hazard lights and headlight flashing systems described in ORS 816.050 (Headlights).


Title: Fired from job

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You only would have recourse if you'd filed formal whistle blower complaints with your state agency. There's no paper trail so there's nothing you can do here.


Title: Michigan breastfeeding laws

Question:
I have a court case with my boyfriend about child support and the courts say no children are allowed, so I called and asked if it would be okay if I bring my infant since she is exclusively breastfeeding and won't take a bottle. They said no I still cannot bring my baby. The court time said to allow 8 hours to be there and she cannot go that long without eating.
I dont know what to do but to reschedual , and even then ill be in the same situation.
Can they really tell me no about bringing my baby just so shes still able to eat ?
I just dont know what to do .

Answer: Breastfeeding laws generally allow you to breastfeed anywhere that you and your baby are legally allowed to be. They do not allow you to bring a baby where she is not otherwise allowed. I'm sorry -- I had a baby who wouldn't take a bottle either -- but while it's inconvenient, it is legal. If you have someone who will sit outside with the baby, you may be able to ask to be excused every few hours to go nurse.Answer #2: Yes, they can tell you that you cannot bring your baby.


Title: As a landlord, are you allowed to give an IQ test to potential tenants to see to whom you would rather rent your place?

Question: Or is that too discriminatory?

Answer: Legality aside, you realise that some of the smartest people make the stupidest tenants, right?Answer #2: This is brilliant.  I propose we include an IQ test every time someone clicks the link to submit a question here.Answer #3: There's a very good chance that'd be seen as a pretense for discrimination against people with mental disabilities, which is illegal.Answer #4: Legality aside, If you made me take an IQ test, putting me on a scale somewhere betweeen /u/boathole and /u/zapopa I would nope out of there so fast.  How many potential tenants do you think would agree to your testing?


Title: 18 and 16 Year Makeout Scene

Question: So i'm currently casting a student film and there is a passionate make-out scene. No nudity, no sex, just french kissing at the most. I'm wondering if there would be legal issues if a 16 year old male was performing the scene with an 18 year old female.

Answer: This will get you stoned to death in Saudi Arabia. And parts of Utah.


Title: Money was stolen from my girlfriend's car while at a dealership for service, anything to do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Your GF can file a police report. But she won't see that money again. Which is why you don't leave 400$ in cash sitting in a car you're leaving at a dealership.


Title: Hypothetical situation. Hit by a cop running a light. New jersey

Question:
I ride a bicycle a lot in a city. Yesterday, I was riding through a green light, when suddenly a cop car who had a red light decided to flip his lights on and run the red light. I was about 2 feet from getting demolished. I have all the required lights and follow the letter of the law, since biking is my job.

This guy then pulled up to the coffee shop across the street and got coffee. So I know he didn't have an emergency.

If I had gotten hit, would I have a case against him? Or is it not yielding to an emergency vehicle? Even if he was abusing his powers?

It was 2am and we were the only vehicles it on the road, and I guess he just didn't see me or look.

Edit:thanks guys, sometimes we get into hypothetical discussions at work at 3am and it's nice to have outside pov.

Answer:
 Theoretically, you might have a civil case if you had damages resulting from the collision. Proving negligence against government actors in emergencies can be complicated, but getting a coffee and donut is definitely not an emergency. But that would be on the jurisdiction that employs the cop.

But to your actual situation, I would have taken the license plate or number of the car and filed a complaint with the police department if that had happened to me.

Edit: Also, this is not an 'abuse of power'. He's just a human, and perhaps an asshole too, but it's not on the level of beating the hell out of a suspect in order to extract a confession.


Title: Legal for property management company to refuse to rent to students?

Question: Like the title says. I'm a college student, and when looking for a place to live, I found a nice one in my price range. When I inquired about it I was brushed off after being told that they "prefer not to rent to students". Is this legal, or is it discrimination? I live in Colorado, by the way.

Answer:
 Totally legal. "Students" aren't a protected class in discrimination laws, and there are rational basis for not wanting to rent to students (higher turnover, lower income potential, higher probability for damages, potential for parties, higher potential for illegal activity, shorter credit history makes screening difficult, etc).

It's why student friendly housing exists; and why it typically costs more than a comparable rental.


Title: What is the legal consequence for cutting off a girl's ponytail?

Question:
Long story short someone did something awful to me and it messed me up for months.

One day I was in school (highschool) and was behind her in the lunch line, and I had scissors I accidentally carried to lunch with me because I was using them in my previous class. And she was wearing a ponytail. I had the strongest urge to just reach over and cut it off. Somehow I managed not to.

What would be the consequences if I had done it?

Answer: Arrested for assault, possibly assault with a dangerous weapon depending on your state. You or your parents could be sued for the cost of a wig or weave or what have you, plus a bunch of stuff they'll shoehorn in there like counseling for trauma. Suspended or expelled from school.Answer #2: Just curious, what did they do to you?Answer #3: Call of the void


Title: Marrying my Friend for Papers

Question:
Hi r/legaladvice,

So my friend (F/22) just got out of a long-term relationship with a guy that was about her age. They’ve been dating for several years and he was going to marry her to give her an American citizenship since she was born in a Latin American country. Her then boyfriend thought the pressure of marrying her was too much and decided to move to another state overnight without telling her anything. Now she’s at risk of deportation and is asking me to marry her instead. Her family will pay for all the legal fees and our “marriage” won’t be an actual marriage. Should I do it? Are there any consequences I can face if the government finds out it’s a fake marriage?

Answer:
 The term you're looking for is "Immigration Fraud" and it can land you in prison.

Do not recommend.Answer #2: This is marriage fraud, and it is a terrible idea. Do not do this.Answer #3: >and our “marriage” won’t be an actual marriage

Yes it will. You're describing fraud. Yes, you can get in trouble for fraud.