Title: My roommates friend broke into my room while I wasn’t home

Question: I left my college to see a friend because he hasn’t been home for many month due to his fiancé doing chemo. I locked my door because I didn’t want anyone going in my room. My roommates friend, who was supposed to be my roommate this year and didn’t come back to my college called me and told me he took my mattress pad after he broke my door down. He originally told me I could have the pad a few months ago.  I may be being petty but I recorded our conversations on the phone. He broke my door and took my belongings— can I get it back or report anything? I don’t want them in trouble but I want my belongings. However, they broke my deadlock and that’s not okay. Help?

Answer:
 This is the type of situation where you contact the police.

While potentially influenced by the cost of the mattress, this is also the type of thing where you sue the perpetrator in small claims court in order to recover your costs. Answer #2: Giving your location is not optional.Answer #3: I am not a lawyer.

You can file a police report for the damaged door and items stolen. The police may or may not decide to pursue this. Unless your roommate has a history of doing shit like this, they probably won't face too severe of charges.

You can sue him in small claims court for the damages done and items stolen. While you wouldn't have to go to the police for small claims, it would still be a good idea.


Title: On deed, broke up with boyfriend. Not sure what to do next.

Question:
In 2015 I purchased a house with my boyfriend (at the time). We had 1 initial consultation with a lawyer to draft a coownership agreement before we bought the house, but never finished the process. Wee!

Here's some relevant (I think) facts:

* We're both on the deed, he's on the mortgage.
* We paid 50/50 for the down payment (\~32K total), but I paid my half back to him over time (this is all documented in a spreadsheet)
* As far as paying the mortgage, for a period of time (all of this also in spreadsheets) I paid a % (Around 32?) of mortgage + utilities + groceries based on our combined income. My boyfriend then lost his full time gig and started contract work, and we switched to 50/50 payment, til finally he took over 100% after I moved out (may '18). He has been using his savings since I moved out to pay the mortgage in full. Now those savings are drying up.
* We live in Austin TX
* Though we were together 6 years, we never did the common law marriage.. thing.
* We have a mostly civil relationship, until I ask him for updates on things (this is 'nagging'). He's very difficult to get a hold of due to his sleep schedule and anxiety/agoraphobia, and he doesn't want to relinquish any control even though I am much more capable from a mental/financial standpoint to take this on. He's aware I get $$ out of this and isn't trying to escape that fact so I've tried to be really accommodating re: time and his job situation. Now I want to put my foot down and move on with my life.

I've read some articles on the internet but I'm not sure if or how they apply to me given our uneven payment history and that I've been out of the house for a bit already now. It just seemed like getting the house appraised is the right first step according to all the sources I read.

**I guess what I am asking here is..**

1. Dumbest question: I'm pretty dense as far as math and legal stuff. If I'm getting off the deed, he needs to "Buy me out," right? *So he owes me money. Right?* And lawyer can help me/us agree upon exactly how much?
2. After we get an appraisal (we agreed to one)... *what is the next single step?*
3. I've been searching for real estate lawyer to help the entire situation, but *would there be value in seeking out someone to protect myself should things go south* — is that even an option given we were never married nor signed cohab agreement?
4. Given his savings are drying up (no word from him about wanting to sell or that even being an option — he loves the house and does not want to move), is coming up with some sort of legally binding payment plan over time.. a la child support.. an option?

**TL;DR.** Legally and mathematically clueless. On the deed but not the mortgage of a house with a nearly-impossible-to-reach ex-boyfriend. We did not pay 50/50 the whole time we lived in the house. Want to know what my options are.

Thanks for any words of advice. I am happy to clarify anything here or answer any questions.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 > We're both on the deed, he's on the mortgage.

How did the lender allow this?

Somehow you ended up owning 50% of a house with 0% of the responsibility of paying for it.

These things are messes. The is not designed for this. It's designed for married people to own homes and to deal with the homes in a divorce. Regardless, you both need attorneys to work out an arrangement, and if you can't, you're going to end up in court.


Title: If someone makes me a beneficiary in their will, and I murder them to get the money and get caught, do I still get the money?

Answer:
 No. There is a legal doctrine known as the ["Slayer Rule"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slayer_rule) that basically says that if you murder someone from whom you inherit, you will inherit jack shit.

Sorry for the technical legal jargon. ;)


Title: Got royally screwed, need any advice please

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >  I don't use any drugs

does not compute with

> He found a controlled substance I ordered from /r/noortropics, which needed a valid prescription.

But moving on.

> That being said, I was arrested with a controlled substance charge, and this could greatly diminish my career aspects and my quality of life

This is a good reason to not use controlled substances unless they are prescribed to you.

> I need an aggressive attorney that can help me

Most likely but this sub does not do referrals.

Get a lawyer. Listen to your lawyer. Show up to your hearing. Miranda rights are only read if you're being interrogated. Answer #2: Nothing about this sounds like you getting screwed. More like you made a poor decision and got caught.

Do not miss your court date. If you cannot afford a lawyer get a public defender otherwise the judge will give you time to hire a lawyer. You could also call some this weekend. Criminal defence lawyers will often pick up their phone outside of normal office hours.


Title: My roommate/co-lessee is threatening to sue me for removing my furniture from our shared home before the end of our lease. Can I just ignore this? NJ

Question:
I wound up with a Craigslist roommate after my original roommate skipped town. "Joe" had just graduated from college and moved right in from his parents house with only a bed and dresser. He kept saying how glad he was to have found a "furnished" apartment, even though I reminded him several times that the furniture, kitchenware, etc. in the common spaces were mine and not provided by the leasing company.

Our lease technically ends on Halloween, but for the past two weeks my partner and I have been slowly moving my things into our new house. On Saturday we moved the last of the living room furniture and all of the kitchen/bathroom things, and my roommate LOST IT at me, screaming that I was destroying the house and making it impossible for him to live there.

He insists that since he signed a lease on our place only because it was "furnished" (with my things), he has the right to continue using "the provided homegoods" until the lease is up. He says that I've destroyed his "right to quiet enjoyment" and that I've basically evicted him. He is demanding that I bring back the furniture and dishes he's been using, and continue providing paper products (he doesn't drive so he's relied on me to buy toilet paper, paper towels, etc. since he moved in).

This is all BS, right? He doesn't get some kind of magical claim to my couch just because it was in the house when he signed the lease, does he?

My partner and I have been ignoring his rantings the past few days, but this morning he called my partner at work (we have NO IDEA how he got his number), threatening to have both of us charged with an illegal eviction. Since he is sort of escalating, we wanted to be sure we were 100% legally in the clear before going back for my wifi router (which, no, ex-roommate never helped pay for).

Tl;dr: roommate signed onto my lease because my house was nicely furnished. He has used my furniture, dishes, etc. for five months, now claims that me removing my things constitutes an illegal eviction, as it makes the house "uninhabitable". Can I just ignore this? It's all BS, right?

Answer:
 Cop here, if you are completely moved out and all paid up with the landlord I'd go ahead and get a restraining order (you and your partner each get your own) against the roommate and make sure it gets served.

Report any violations of the order to the police.

If there is a hearing to turn the temporary order into a permanent one ATTEND the hearing.

If you are served with any legal paperwork read it and respond. Generally protection orders do not prevent a subjects attorney from contacting you if they have a legitimate need to do so.


Title: Divorce Help (Coping this from my post on personalfinance)

Question:
I'm sorry if this isn't the best place for this. I'm so fucking all over the place emotionally I don't know where to start. Crossposting this from my oringianl on r/personalfinance.   I don't know where the ruck to go right now... I just found out my wife of 8 years cheated on me. Honestly, I'm not here to talk about working it out or what not, I just want to know if there's anything I can do to safeguard my finances if we do divorce. Here's some basic info...

   * She's a stay at home mom and has been for years. She gets fired or has randomly quit all her jobs.

   * I work 40 hours a week with a 52k salary.

   * We have 2 kids ages 7 and 4 (after their Bdya's in a few weeks).

   * she is diagnosed with BPD, Anxiety and ADHD. I believe she also has depression but I'm not 100% certian. That was a newly developed one.

   * I live in Ohio if that helps.

   * We have 26k in personal/credit debt and 12k in car debt. We rent our house.

I'm at work now, I'll try to check in often and make updates. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I think I might at least reach out to an attorney within the next week regardless of what my final dicision is.

Answer:
 You are going to pay alimony.  There is typically a formula involving your salary, her salary that determines this.  Her cheating might be considered by the Court in determining alimony, but the Court is not required to consider it.

You are going to pay child support.  Her cheating is irrelevant to this.

There will be a division of the marital assets and liabilities.  Generally, assets accumulated after seperation are your separate assets, so it might be beneficial to separate.

Bottomline is if you are go to separate and divorce her, you ought to consult with a lawyer before going anything.


Title: I think the police found the marijuana bowl I dropped yesterday, what are possible outcomes? [Michigan]

Question:
Last night I was out for a walk in my home town and (stupidly) decided to smoke a bowl.  I was startled by someone in the dark and dropped the brass bowl on the pavement.  I panicked and took off.  I realize I should have calmly picked it up and gone home but I was just so surprised.  I never saw the person and they didn't see me.  I drove home then decided to go back and see if I could find it but when I drove by the parking lot a civilian car pulled in and pointed their headlights right where I had dropped the piece.  I am pretty sure they got out of their car but I couldn't see anything.  After another minute or so the car left but of course I was freaked out so I stayed where I was.  Not five minutes later a police truck pulled up and parked in the same manner, lighting up the area.  I left at that point, sick to my stomach.  I'm assuming they found it, the person must have heard the metallic clink on the pavement.
My mind has been spinning.  My fingerprints were taken for a misdemeanor previously but my lawyer filed a motion that the prints were to be destroyed once my probation was over which was last year.  I'm guessing they're still in the national database anyway according to what I've read so far.
So, any opinions on next steps for me? I'm wondering what the best, worse, and average scenarios are.  I don't have any idea how the local pd would handle something like this.  I screwed up and it was a wake up call that's for sure.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Usually for these things they assign half a dozen offices, organize a multi state dragnet and start going door to door until they find the criminal. NOT. Jesus stop with the dope it's turning your brain to mush. The reality is if the cops found a bowl on the ground they either left it there or threw it away. Just complete long the paperwork for something like that is not worth it. It's hard to imagine that this will lead to anything so go sleep it off.


Title: 'Adopting' my nephew from the US (please help)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Is he a Canadian citizen? If not, what nationality does he have? Where is his mother? If his grandparents kick out a 10 year old, every state in the US- even Texas- will have repercussions.

This is likely not something an internet site can help you with. You need a lawyer.


Title: Grandmother passed away, she was the co-signer of my mortgage.

Question:
Grandmother passed away. I bought my house 10 years ago and she co-signed on my loan. She is not on the actual deed/title. Grandmother has four kids, one of which is my mom. My Aunt is the POA and is tasked with splitting my grandma's estate evenly among the four of them. My Aunt has told me that for the estate to be closed my mortgage has to be paid off, because it is considered a debt against the estate.

Obviously, this is not fair to my mom, as she would not be getting her share, or my brother and sister as they would be getting nothing and I would have my house paid off. I figure I have two options.

1.) Have my mortgage paid off with my mom's share and just pay my mom's mortgage which is very close to the same payment as mine.

2.) Try to have my grandma removed from the loan.

Just curious what everyone thinks.
I do not make much money and cannot just pay off my mortgage with my own funds.

Edit: State of Ohio

Answer: Refinance the loan and dump her name off of it. This is a fairly common problem.


Title: [IL] City-owned tree fell on my house.

Question:
Long story short, a tree on city property fell on my house.

I had contacted the city three times regarding this tree, the first in early 2016. I had noticed a lot of dead limbs and they came out and trimmed a slight bit. I then have emails from April 2016 and December 2016 to the city, complaining that half the tree was dead and saying that I viewed the tree as a liability to my property. Half of the tree had dead limbs-- they came out and trimmed all the dead stuff but left the tree, and all was well until it decided to kiss my house this morning.

When the street dept came out in 2016 to take a look, they wanted to preserve as much of the tree as possible because it was so old (and I remember that they were worried about how much it was going to cost to even trim it, let alone remove it if it was dying.) When I was talking to the contractor who lifted the tree off my house, he said he had consulted the street dept director, and the director said that the city wanted to remove the tree totally, but I refused and wanted to keep it. Pffffffft. Asshole.

My insurance is aware of this, and I have copies of the emails I sent trying to get the city to respond to my complaints. My main question is, is there anything here for a negligence complaint? I'm also wondering if they will try to pin damage on me, since "I wanted to keep the tree." As an aside, I estimate there's $30-50K in damage to my house alone, so this isn't a small issue.

Answer: Normally unless there is obvious dead sections or disease in the tree, there is no liability of the tree owner if it falls. But it appears you had repeatedly notified the city of it being diseased and of dead limbs so you may have a case here. I would file a claim with your homeowners insurance and let them fight it for you because this is could be messy and they can handle it much better than you


Title: My neighbor molested me when we were young. Now he works with kids. What should I do?

Question:
My next-door neighbor molested me when he was 13 and I was 10.

Twenty-five years after he moved out of the neighborhood, he friends me on Facebook. From what i can piece together, he went to prison in the late 1990s/early 2000s, got out and started a tattoo parlor. Now he works with kids at a church & runs an orphanage.

Look... maybe he's cleaned up his act and truly become a man of god? Maybe he'd say it was just innocent adolescent exploration between two kids and not "molestation"? Maybe he's a serial predator who is using the church / orphanage to get access to weak & vulnerable victims?

If he's on a good track, I really don't want to mess up the guy's life. If he's a serial predator, I want him stopped.

What's the best way to figure out if he's good or bad? Should I hire a private investigator? Call the cops? I need your advice.

Answer: Speak with someone at the church just to let them know.


Title: Parents trying to bully me into signing document for a get rich quick scheme

Question:
My parents have been trying to get rich quick for the past 15ish years. They have lost money many times and never manage to get anything. Well, now they are onto some debunked currency that is going to "make them millions!" They claim the tier above them got paid and they are next. They want me to sign documents allowing them to claim money on my name. I told them no. My husband told my mom if she forges my signature no amount of money would stop us from going after them for fraud.

The thing is, my mom is always sure that her new venture is different. She even has my dad believing in it too. He claims to be on blogs about it and anytime sone thing magically gets held up it is Obama because he doesn't want anyone to get theirs. It is crazy. I can't stop them from doing things in their name, but I do not want to get involved.

I am stuck here with my kids until the end of the week as we were staying unail we could move. This stupid deal and me refusing to lie to CPS  (my sister wants to foster/adopt her brother in law's baby). It is a mess. Is there anything I can do to protect myself and my kids? I don't want anything in their names either. I believe this is a scam and has the potential to land my parents in a lot of trouble. They refuse to see that. Could I type up and sign a letter stating I do not allow this and seal it or something to prove they do not have my permisson? I would rather lose out on their supposed millions than end up in prison for fraud or at best, or have my bank account cleaned out. We just bought a house. We are tapped out as it is. We cannot risk losing what we have built for our family because my parents have good intentions.

How can I protect my husband, kids and myself?

Edit: we live in the US. My parents are in RI, but it is an international deal.

Answer: Oh NO! They're in a "cycling program"....the worst of the worst. You've already done the only thing you can....explaining the consequences of fraud.


Title: [CA] I may have discovered my old Apt complex plugged the automated garage door gate for the property into MY electricity (and making me pay for it)

Question:
I've been out of that complex for almost 2 years exactly now, and I've gotten to thinking, "We've had 2 hot summers, and my Elec Bill has never been as high as it was in the old place. Why?"

So tonight, I've been going through my old bank statements to compare how much my bills have been now, compared to the 2 years, 2 years ago, I was at the old place.  At my current place my Elec Bill is $35-45, and sometimes even $25 on a good month.  At the old place I was getting billed anywhere from $160 to as much as $377 on one month near the end of my stay with them. (This $377 was on my 2014 June-July statement)

Is there any case that can be made with this?

Orange County, if that's needed.

Edit:  I found the date my bill price jumps, it's 2012 8/6 (July-Aug statement) where it begins. then on 2014 Sept - Oct it suddenly drops down to $35, which is right when I moved out.

Answer:
 So, let's talk real numbers. We'll do this /r/askengineers style.

Your gate is probably powered by a decent motor, let's assume 250 Watts. Let's further assume that the motor was running about 2 hours per day (i.e., it opens/closes about 10 times each hour on average). Assuming it's incredibly inefficient and is using all of the motor's power, that gets you:

Total Monthly kWh = 250 W * 2 hours / 1000 * 30 days/month = 15 kWh used per month.

The average home uses ~900 kWh/month. Even if you're on the low end, say 450 kWh/month, having the gate connected to your meter would only increase your bill by ~3%.

-----

As other posters have told you, it should not be surprising that your bills from one house to another will be very different.


Title: Restaurant being unfair to its workers.

Question:
My friends work at a Korean Barbecue.

They recently said that they are going to stop giving hostesses tips based off of percentage. They were told they were going to get 30 dollar tips max, 5 min but possibly 0 tip for the night.

&#x200B;

When they work for 6 hours they only get 15 minute breaks.

&#x200B;

If workers mess up or make a mistake they get tips taken away.

This is in California.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: California has strong worker's protections. If they have tips stolen notify the LWDA.Answer #2: As far as the tips for the hostesses go, as long as they are paid at least minimum wage without tips, there is no requirement that they are given any tips at all. California requires a 10 minute break for every 4 hour period worked. As far as the 15 minutes break, it’s sounds legit. Now for the tips the servers make, I’m not completely clear on whether employers have control of all tips or if the servers do. Let’s assume the servers do, they can’t force the server to “pay” for mess ups, but they can fire them if they refuse to pay because California is an At Will state (can be fired for any reason or no reason at all). Long story short, this all is essentially legal.


Title: DUI question. Not sure if this is the right place to ask.

Question:
In 2003, I was pulled over for rolling a stop sign.  The police officer correctly suspected I had been drinking, and performed a field sobriety test.  I failed when I blew a .05.  I was 19 at the time, so any alcohol in my system would count as a DUI.

Before you chastise me for making a poor decision, I realize it was stupid.  It was the most moronic thing I've ever done in my life, and I haven't touched a drop of alcohol since.  When people say, "I've learned my lesson", I believe I really have.

Anyways, here's where I'm confused.  I wasn't given a ticket for rolling the stop sign, nor was I arrested for DUI.  I wasn't handcuffed or detained, other than being asked to sit on the curb (if that counts as detention).  The officer was very kind to me, and told me that he'd be impounding my car and that he'd drive me home.  I only lived about a quarter mile away at the time, so he seemed happy to do it.

My license was suspended for 1 year.  I didn't have to pay any fines, show up for court or do any community service.

I'm very confused by the whole situation and what to make of it.

My DMV record shows it obviously, and shows that my license was suspended for exactly 1 year from the date of incident.

Does this count as an arrest?

Answer:
 You weren't arrested.Answer #2: Simple answer? Maybe.

We clear arrests all of the time by serving citations or "notice to appear" paperwork. It's reported to the state as an arrest and will appear as an arrest on your record. You are never actually booked into jail in these instances.

It's really going to depend on department policy but it  IS possible to be arrested without being booked into jail or being placed into handcuffs. (Although generally both of those occur during an arrest)

I'd call the department that arrested you and see if they will give you a copy of that report.

Source: I'm a cop.


Title: Urgent help needed! Client went to the police after I demanded he pay an invoice!

Question:
Long story short, I have a client that has been stringing me along for months. Completely at my wits end, I gave him an invoice and demanded that he pay it within 24 hours. I told him that if he did not pay my invoice, that I would go public with my story, and share on social media that he did not pay me.
He sent me a fierce email saying that this was slander and blackmail and all kinds of things. He also said he went down to the police station and filed a report. He is now asking me for my phone number and address. What should I do in this situation? Did I actually do anything wrong? I have not threatened to lie about him or his business or anything in order to slander him, just to tell the truth so future developers/business partners can look out.

Thanks guys!

edit: I live in Vancouver, BC by the way! If it matters the issue is only over a couple hundred dollars

Answer:
 Tough to mail you a check for payment if he doesn't have your address eh?

Anyhow, extortion is using a threat to induce somebody to do something.  The only threat you should be making in a case like this is to sue him.Answer #2: Why do I get the feeling that the police will tell him it's a civil matter?

**Edit:** To be fair, threatening media isn't the best course of action.  Threatening to sue him, or threatening to send him to a collections agency is what you should be doing.


Title: I *think* that (quick oil change company) didn’t put oil in my car and now it’s ruined.

Question:
Hello! I live in New York, but got my last oil change in Connecticut as I was in the area for work when I needed it.

On May 2nd, I got a full synthetic oil change on my 2009 Corolla that has 170k miles. I’ve driven 3.5k miles since then. This morning while in Connecticut for work (I manage buildings there) my car started making horrible “don’t drive me” sounds. I had to tow it back to Long Island, which was $346. Luckily my job paid for the tow, but when the mechanic  pulled out the dip stick there was no oil in the car. At ALL. Literally, I kid you not, none.

I have no oil stains on my driveway and at no point saw the white smoke that comes along with burning oil. I have gotten timely and consistent oil changes since I got the car, and at that time it had 18k miles on it. The tow truck driver, my boss, my parents and myself all suspect that when they did my oil change they either did not put enough oil, accidentally drained most of it out, something like that that led to me having enough to get by for some time but not enough for the car to run.

Since it’s been only 2 months and I’m still a couple thousand miles shy of my next oil change, I did not at any point check to see if there was oil in the car. It didn’t even dawn on me as something I should do. Lesson learned.

Is there any kind of action I can take against the company that did my oil “change”, assuming the mechanic finds no evidence of a leak or hole in the pan?

Quick edit: at no point did my oil light or check engine light go on until it was past the point of no return and the tow company was on their way this morning.

Answer:
 They did put oil in the vehicle. There's no way it would last 3500 miles.

It's incredibly unlikely they were responsible.


Title: Do I have a chance if I sue my father?

Question:
He's destroying my mother's and my life.

My mother worked her ass off for 28 years trying to be a good wife. They agreed that my sister and I would have our college paid for at the expense of living with only the bare necessities. They both came from very poor families, and as they made more money, they kept us living as if they weren't so that they could save for us to have a better start and a better life.

A couple of years ago, my father started funneling money out of our college savings to fund affairs. He bought new cars for his mistresses, started paying their rent, and taking them out on nights and weekends out that we never had. My mother never asked for anything, hasn't had new clothes in a decade, a new car in longer, never required that he "treat her" to anything because she knew the end goal they were working towards.

Now my sister and I have a mountain of student debt and are struggling to pay bills, and he's getting ready to bring a new child into this world at 50 years old with his whore a year after my mom had to have a hysterectomy because of cancer

This has destroyed my mother, she has gone through a total breakdown, but still refuses to divorce him because she comes from a culture where divorce DOES. NOT. HAPPEN. He says he wants to divorce her, and has been saying for a year that he will, but we all know he won't because we live in a state where my mother will get everything because of his adultery.

Since my mother won't divorce him, can I sue him for everything that was ours and he took from us?

Answer:
 > This has destroyed my mother, she has gone through a total breakdown, but still refuses to divorce him because she comes from a culture where divorce DOES. NOT. HAPPEN.

Well, that's her choice as long as she's competent. But if she happens to lose her competence (through dementia or whatever), then you can petition the local probate or family court to appoint a guardian, who could then file for divorce on her behalf (at least in theory).Answer #2: The problem is that it wasn't "yours", most likely.  Parents' savings belong to the parents unless they created a trust fund for you.  Answer #3: > Since my mother won't divorce him, can I sue him for everything that was ours and he took from us?

In what way was it "yours"?  Was the money ever in your name?  Answer #4: Look, you don't want to hear this, I'm sure, but some of this isn't your father screwing over your mother. It's your mother making bad decisions.

If she chose not to keep track of the balance in the savings account and chose not to divorce him when she found out he was spending the money on affairs... well, both of those things were choices.

Your mom wasn't screwed out this money. She chose to give it up, because she decided that she would rather lose it than get divorced. That's her choice to make, but it's not a choice you can play any role in beyond advising her. It's her money, not yours, and if she decides that she doesn't want to fight for it (which would involve divorcing your dad), then that's pretty much that.


Title: [NY] My employer threatened to fire me if I didn’t reveal my medical issue. Is this legal?

Question:
Saw my doctor on Monday because of an unexpected medical issue. Doctor recommend I stay out of work for a while and gave me an out of work notice ending on December 11th pending a follow up appointment on the 10th. Called my employer and let them know I would be out of work but didn’t reveal the medical issue as it was personal and somewhat embarrassing.
I received a call this morning from the Director of Human Resources (who also happens to be the owners daughter) and she began asking a lot of very personal questions like: what exactly is keeping you out of work? Have you ever had these issues before? Why can’t you give me an exact return date?... and a few other inappropriate questions.
I told her I didn’t want to reveal the medial issue as it was personal and that’s when she told me that they were going to let me go because I was being withholding and didn’t want to work with them. I began to feel pressured and didn’t want to become unemployed so I told her a few of
the symptoms I was having and mentioned to her that I felt uncomfortable talking about these things. She backtracked a little and said as long as I can return on the 11th that I could keep my job.

My question is around the legality of her questioning my personal medical issues. I was under the impression that I didn’t have to reveal that to anyone but in order to keep my job I was forced into telling her. I now feel very uncomfortable returning to work and believe it will be a very toxic work environment. Any advice?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Is this NYC or other NY? A lot of laws apply only to the city.

If NYC, then no, they can't demand details but they can demand some kind of verification from your doctor for absences of over 3 days:

[https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/paid-sick-leave-FAQs.page#3](https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/paid-sick-leave-FAQs.page#3)

Also, are you salaried or hourly, and are you using sick leave that you've earned or asking for an unpaid leave?

&#x200B;Answer #2: Have you requested, are you eligible for, and has she offered FMLA leave? This would be the federal protection that would best cover you.

[https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/](https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/)

As soon as you notified her that you would be out of work for longer then 3 consecutive days due to medical reasons, she is legally obligated to start the FMLA process. To qualify, you would have had to be with your employer for 12 months, and your location would need to have 50+ employees in a 75 mile radius.

&#x200B;

ETA: Just a note, if the employer is eligible for FMLA, and you qualify, THE EMPLOYER is responsible for making you aware of FMLA, and your rights. You were under no obligation to bring it to them other then notifying them you had a medical reason for leave, they are responsible for ensuring you are informed.


Title: My Wife Is Considering Bankruptcy, Will I Be At Risk As Well?

Question:
My wife is considering bankruptcy. We have only been married for about 6 months and have not acquired any mutual debt. As in we have no credit cards, loans, mortgage, or any other debts with both of our names on them. We have a couple joint bank accounts but neither are used for our primary bill paying.

The majority of her debt was accrued prior to our marriage.

If she is to file bankruptcy, will our marriage make me responsible for debts that I have no other connection to?

We have been working on budgeting and paying down, but it is a losing battle.

Located in New Hampshire.

Answer: r/bankruptcy


Title: Possible to sue PD for being wrongly taken down in a sting op?

Question:
I was selling my iPod on Craigslist, found a buyer who decided to meet me outside where I live / work (I work on property at an apartment complex) Once the exchange was made, I was rushed by undercover cops throwing me on the ground and handcuffing me, while pointing weapons at my face. I had no idea what was happening. They took the iPod, checked the serial number (which was shown in the Craigslist photos) and concluded it wasn’t something stolen from a series of car break ins.. this would’ve been avoided if they checked the photos I posted. Before they came back with the results I kept telling them I work here and could lose my job if my supervisors see me surrounded by cops and in handcuffs. They didn’t care.

Are there any legal options people in my place can take?

Answer:
 Two words: Qualified Immunity

Unless you can show that no reasonable cop would have acted as they did and made the mistake they did, and that they should have known they were making a mistake you have no case.  Feel free to talk to a civil rights attorney, don’t be shocked if they says you have no case.Answer #2: ...What are your damages?


Title: My ex-wife is going to home school my kids without my permission under the guise of an "online public school"

Question:
My son is starting first grade this year and I just found out that my ex enrolled him in an online public school. She is doing it to "protect" him from the outside world. She is not college educated and does not have any experience home schooling and I am worried that this is incredibly detrimental to the kids learning growth. I have 50/50 legal custody of the kids and the parental agreement paperwork only states that the kids must go to a public school. I didn't even know that there were online public schools until she mentioned that they were enrolled.

Is there any legal reasons she can/cannot use the online public school for the kids?

Answer: Online public schools are public schools. Your ex may be weird, but depending on the exact wording of the custody agreement, this may be possible for her to do.


Title: S. Korean citizen "banned" from US by CBP but starting grad school in California soon

Question:
I'm a S. Korean citizen (30F) who has been "banned" by Customs Border & Patrol after visiting the US multiple times in the past year or so using an electronic travel authorization.

&#x200B;

I have been visiting my current boyfriend in Chicago and every single time I've entered the U.S. I've been pulled into an interrogation room where I've been asked incredibly rude, degrading, and invasive questions about my relationship, my sexual past, etc. When my boyfriend and I travelled from Chicago to Toronto for a couple weeks, I was (of course) interrogated again upon re-entry but this time I was told that I'm "banned" from the US for three months (\~ July 29).

&#x200B;

I've done research to see how I can fix this because I've started applying for a F1 student visa for my graduate school program starting this July. It seems like "DHS TRIP" is the only way to correct my visitor's status to ensure I can enter the US even with my student visa.

&#x200B;

Does anyone have professional advice for submitting the redress inquiry? Or suggestions of a different solution?

&#x200B;

Thank you!
Topic:
Immigration

Answer:
 First the ESTA (electronic travel authorization) is not how you have been entering the US. ESTA is  pre-approal that verifies that you appear to be eligible to enter the us under the Visa Waiver Program, and that your are not on some list of undesirables. You actually enter under the terms of the VWP. Your airing or cruise ship will not let you board without ESTA pre-approval. The VWP is a waiver of the need for a visa, for short term travel.

it sounds like the US border officials have concerns that the purpose for your travel was not "short term" visits for pleasure. That you were trying to come as often as possible to see your boyfriend, and were trying to circumvent the need for a full B2 tourist visa. That raises red flags for passably overtstaying, or for marrying with the fixed intent of getting permanent residence. Although there is no fixed number of times you can enter under the VWP, or fixed number of months you can stay in a calendar year, officials can make a judgement call that you appear to be trying to circumvent the need for a full tourism visa.


Title: Buying a Condo in California - Seller is being suspivious

Question:
HAHAHA: Title meant to say suspicious but suspivious sounds better

Good evening redditors; I have a small question.

Almost a month ago I put an offer on a condo and the seller has accepted my offer. During an initial look at the place, the listing agent had said squatters came to the house since it was empty and had damaged/stolen some items including the windows that were broken. The offer was accepted under the conditions that the seller must replace missing and damaged items.

Everything has been good since, I bought condo insurance, my loan has been approved, appraisal was completed and listed a number of items that needs to be replaced and fixed.

The only thing left until escrow closes is for the seller to fix those items, title stuff, official loan completion, final walk through - almost done.  I've signed a repair form that lists all the items as listed damaged and needs to be replaced in the appraisal for the seller to fix.

The listing agent has contacted my agent saying whether or not I'd be interested in moving in after they fix major things like the windows and within a few days fix the rest of the stuff; his reasoning being to make it obvious that someone lives there and prevent squatters from tearing up the place before escrow closes.

On one side, I can use the moving in early to my advantage with what I need to do in life. On the other side, this raises many many many red flags as I can't find any other records of someone else doing this. I'm not a legal professional and neither is my realtor; but what my realtor suggests we do is have in writing that I'm not liable for any damages while I am occupying the space. It should also be noted the loan cannot be completed until items are fixed and re-inspected so it doesn't seem like he'd be able to take my money and run without fixing the rest.

The offer was accepted December 2nd and we have in our agreement escrow to close January 15th. Really, the only thing that is holding this back is the completion of the repairs.

What would happen if the seller cannot complete the repairs by the 15th?

Any advice?

Exact words from Listing Agent:

"what liabilities he will pick up. He will be like a care taker of the property for a week or two and once we close the deal, he will be in. If we can't he can continue as a tenant or move out. I can give a letter to that effect. He will not have any obligation for the loan or closing.
It is lender requirement. I think this email will be enough to keep him out of any obligation."

Answer:
 Buyers moving in early before closing and sellers moving out after closing both happen. It's not usually because of squatters though. You just need a lawyer to draft what is essentially a lease to cover the period you'll be occupying the house before closing. You can arrange any terms you want, but you should probably pay rent, even if it's just a few dollars per day, and you'll just pay it at closing.

That way you're both on the same page if something goes wrong and they can't close on time, the terms of your tenancy are clear. Have a daily or weekly nominal rent amount, you'll pay it at the end of each month and/or at closing.

You both can agree to extend the closing if needed. There's only an issue if you're not okay with them requesting to delay the closing date. As long as you're cool with it, then just agree in writing that the closing date will now be February 1st (or whatever date you want), and as long as both sides agree and the lender also is okay with it, you'll be fine. However DO NOT close until they have completed 100% of the repairs they agreed to compete.

If they never complete the repairs, and you therefore never close, then you'll just be a rental tenant following your (to be signed) lease.


Title: I hit my sister.

Question:
My sister (18f) and and I (20m) got into a very intense argument. It started out fine when my mom was having a normal with my sister and her boyfriend about not staying in the house so much.  As the conversation went on my sister got louder and more aggressive towards my mom. Yelling in her face screaming offensive insults.

I stepped in when she started calling my mom a stupid bitch. I kept telling my sister to stop yelling, watch her tone and show some respect. I just wanted to protect my mom.

After that she started getting in my face saying “hit me” “do it”. And so on. I held back as long as I could, but I snapped.
I hit her, hoping it will make her back off. I’ve never hit her or put my hands on her before, and I’m very upset at myself for not being able to control myself but I couldn’t hold back anymore. I was tired of her talking down to my and my mom.

She threatened to call the cops. And I don’t know what would happen if she did. Did I step out of line? What would happen if she did call the cops? I don’t know what else will happen I just need some advice.

Answer:
 Assault is generally considered to be out of line, yes. If your sister presses the issue you'll likely be arrested for domestic violence, which will probably come with a court order telling you to stay away from her home, even if it's your home too.

If your mom gets tired of your sister, she can evict her. Keep your hands to yourself.


Title: My paycheck is direct deposit but my boss submits hours, I don't get a pay stub to check accuracy

Question:
I got a new job at the beginning of May that is supposed to last six months so it's considered as temporary employment. My pay is determined as a monthly salary, as long as I work 37.5 hours a week I'll get paid that amount.

No one will tell me how much I should get paid if I don't work that many hours, and so far my boss has sent me home early every week and I haven't been able to get the full 37.5 hours. I got my first pay check today, and the amount is several hundred dollars less than what I expected. I asked my boss how I will get a pay stub to see the breakdown of my pay and how much is taken out for taxes and social security and he told me I won't get a pay stub and there's no way for me to see that.

I keep track of my hours with my phone notes and then my boss writes them down on a form at the end of the pay period, which he then submits. I don't get to see what he puts down, and apparently I don't get to see on a paystub either.

My boss is a really nice guy and I don't think this is malicious wage theft, but my job is with a state agency of a really corrupt and bankrupt state and I think it's being mismanaged. I tried to do the math of what my salary would come out to hourly, and my pay check was six dollars short an hour of what I was expecting.

Is my employer legally allowed to do this? I could lose thousands of dollars if this continues for the full six months. I'm not sure if this is a common employer practice or not but it sounds shady to me.

Answer:
 > My pay is determined as a monthly salary, as long as I work 37.5 hours a week I'll get paid that amount.

What was the agreement for if you work less than 37.5 hours?

What state are you in?Answer #2: Are you a temp through the state? They hired you as a seasonal employee (for lack of a better term) or are you a temp through an agency? If it's through the state, then I would find out contact information for the payroll and / or HR and speak with them.

If you're a contract employee through another company, then I would ask them for pay stubs and hour verification.


Title: Can a cop run my plate while I'm parked in my driveway?

Question:
Maybe I'm being paranoid here, but I just found out I have stupid warrant out for an old speeding ticket. I found this out this morning and the court isn't open for me to pay the fine. So I figured I'd lay low this weekend.

BUT I just saw a cop parked for well over 10 minutes behind my house facing my licsence plate. What's to stop him from getting bored and running my plate and finding a warrant? Also, I have plates from another state than I live in.

Am I being paranoid or could they slap the cuffs on me if I walk outside?

In St. Louis, MO

Answer:
 They could slap the cuffs on you if you walk outside.

An officer can run your plate if he sees it.


Title: $4 Million Federal IRS Tax Lien applied to my mom's property, but IRS applied to the wrong person and address (correct person shares the same name as my mom)

Question:
Hi All,

My mom is selling off a rental house in Connecticut, and in the process of accepting an offer and due diligence being done, it was uncovered there is actually a $4 million dollar tax lien against the property (and my mom) from 2013.

She of course never knew about this and was never notified, but after visiting the town clerk, discovered it was incorrectly applied to her and was for another woman with the same name (different middle name and address).

We're actively trying to get this fixed and awaiting to hear back from a few attorneys, but really unsure of the process to do so. So figured I'd post here in case anyone might have some tax/IRS experience and know the best way to contact them to get this resolved?

Thanks!!

**EDIT: Mid-Friday Update:**
First thanks so much to everyone who replied. Haha my mom is now in love with reddit and she decided to update you herself:

First off, let me introduce myself... I'm Mom! Learned a lot in the last 24 hours ... I did some running around this morning to the Town Clerk's office. It is definitely a case of mistaken identity. The tax lien was put on someone with same first last name; different middle and maiden name, from another town I've never lived in, on her business in March and released in October, 2013. The Town Clerk said they have no idea how this happened as name, address, social security # have no match to me. After numerous calls, texts, etc. last night, I found you can access your IRS transcript online, which shows pertinent information, including a tax lien IF it had been on me... All clear.

I also stopped at the attorney's office who will be handling the closing. He said there is no need for me to fill out a 911 form (as originally stated I needed to do), nor do I need to contact the IRS. It is clear that it is not me and when they do the title search, everything should come back clean. If it doesn't, I have documentation showing it was someone else.

No one seems to know how this happened; Town Clerk, my accountant or the attorney. Kind of scary that this was hanging over me without any knowledge... Still waiting to hear about the closing and hoping there are no more bends in my road...

Answer:
 Has she tried just calling the IRS and informing them of the error and how to get it corrected?  Believe it or not, not everything is difficult to do with a bureaucracy like the IRS.  But if it does become problematic:

IRS has a [taxpayer advocate service](http://www.irs.gov/Advocate) that might be able to help.  I'd definitely start there to see if it can quickly be done without incurring legal fees.

If that doesn't help then I'd just turn it over to the lawyer you Mom hired to handle the house sale if she has a lawyer.  If not she might want to get one.  She can also ask to Title company she, or the buyer, is using to see if they can provide assistance.

Also, I don't know anything registering liens but would any responsibility fall on the town clerk since the names were not correct?  If so is there anything the town clerk can do or do they just register whatever papers are filed without scrutiny?Answer #2: I agree with the recommendation to call the IRS.  Despite what you hear in the news, they actually can be pretty helpful, once you get through to the right person.

So long as your mom does not genuinely owe the IRS any back taxes, there's no harm in just calling them.Answer #3: IANAL

You may want to reach out to your mother's title and homeowners insurance companies.  They both have a direct stake in the outcome of this and they may be more familiar with the procedures necessary to rectify this.


Title: A medical manufacturer is threatening me over an eBay listing

Question:
I live in Texas. I recently bought a couple low-value (<$100) over the counter conception aide medical devices from a common non-medical retail chain, to sell online. I purchased them like a normal consumer at a cash register.
After listing them in their sealed, unaltered condition to my eBay store, an eBay user claiming to be the manufacturer sent me a vague threatening message that sounds like BS.

I'm not going to copy paste the entire letter, but these are their main arguments:

1) (The product) is a Class II Medical Device... their sale, distribution ... are all regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration... there are strict penalties associated with failure to follow US Regulations for the distribution and sale of Medical Devices.
2) (the product)... is manufactured for sale... in the United States of America. Sales and/or Shipment to other countries is prohibited.
3) Unless or until you enter into a distribution agreement with (company you can't sell this item)

Am I under any legal obligation to take down my listing?

Answer:
 Its another ebay seller who doesnt want competition. Block them.

If ebay decides you cannot sell this, they themselves will remove your listing.Answer #2: You can report this message to Ebay for abuse of the contact a seller function. Answer #3: I would ask in r/flipping there's a lot of sellers that are knowledgable in selling Medical equipment.


Title: Family of donor sperm child coming after donor [Texas/Oklahoma]

Question:
I [26m] donated sperm in college 5 years ago. I never asked questions about where it went or went on any registries.

My whole family did ancestry DNA tests over the holidays and that's when everything fell apart.

Apparently my donation produced a now 4 year old child.

The mother's parents' found me because I automatically popped up as a relative to the child. The mother was I guess one of those neurotic single types. She had some kind of breakdown about 2 years ago and the grandparents now have custody.

The grandparents have been harassing me ever since they found me. They now have my address and phone number and have sent letters urging me to "take responsibility" for "my child". They've threatened to take me to court for child support. They don't seem to accept that I legally donated sperm and am not a father...am I?

My fiancee and parents have heard about this because of their actions. They also seem to think that I should care about and for this child and that it's different somehow because "the mom is out of the picture".

This can't be my responsibility. To make matters worse, I can't find any paperwork from the clinic so there's not even an easy way to prove that this wasn't just a fling. It's destroying my reputation.

Answer:
 > I can't find any paperwork from the clinic so there's not even an easy way to prove that this wasn't just a fling.

The clinic still has the paperwork, I assure you.

You need to contact them and get copies ASAP.  You are protected if you did it the right way- I'm aware of no successful lawsuits with this fact pattern.Answer #2: Ignore the grandparents entirely.  Block their number, return any letters they send you, and lock down your social media to stop them from contacting you.

Contact the clinic you donated your sperm to, and ask them how to handle the situation.  This can't be the first time this has happened.

If you are summoned to court, show up.  You might want to contact a family lawyer (and might have to pay) to draft up a "fuck off" letter for the grandparents.

Your fiancee and parents are your own problem, unfortunately.  If this causes a divide between you and your fiancee, it is best to address the issue professionally (through therapy) before tying the knot.  This sort of thing doesn't just blow over.


Title: I am a Gay student in Egypt that could be abandoned by my family and could be sentenced to DEATH by court

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Is your question how do you apply for asylum in the United States?
[This](https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum) would be a decent place to start.Answer #2: How old are you? How old is this person offering you assistance? Answer #3: Not a lawyer, but it certainly sounds like something shady is going on.  Are you perhaps underage and this guy is much older?

The parts that concern me is that he wants you to bring your computer so your family can't read your logs, and also the bit about tossing your Sim card.  I can't even imagine a non shady explanation for that.Answer #4: /u/reddituser1211 is correct. You're going to want to apply for asylum. However, Your father and brothers may not be able to get into the US if they're not asylum seekers. You may have to make this journey alone to a better life. Please take that into consideration when traveling and applying. Answer #5: IANAL, but if you make it to Indianapolis, you're welcome to crash on our couch.


Title: Is my partner's potential termination in any way unlawful/wrongful? Can we do anything about it?

Question:
Forgive me, as a.) this post will be long and b.) this is my first ever actual post to both this sub and to Reddit in general so I apologize if I make any mistakes regarding posting, but I really am at a bit of a loss here and could use some non-biased opinions and advice on this matter.

(Note: my partner is gender non-conforming and I support that fully, so I will be referring to them with singular they/them pronouns. I apologize if it ever becomes confusing or if my partner's life offends your sensibilities.)

Allow me to preface this with the fact that I am 19 years old, my partner is 24 years old and we live in Nevada, which is a Right to Work state, which I was told means employers have the right to terminate an employee at anytime, for any reason and without notice. My question is whether or not it's justified, and if there's anything we can do about it.

My partner (let's call them G) came to me within the last couple hours, extremely distraught about being threatened by their managers with the potential loss of their job. They're employed as a tour guide at a popular tourist attraction based on a well-known movie franchise. Apparently, the way their tours are set up is on some days, guests guide their own tours of the attraction and tour guides are mostly there to make sure things run smoothly, and on others, your guide gives you a hands-on, guided tour. Pretty simple.

Recently, guests were meant to be self-guiding their tours while my partner was working. G was in the exhibit, stationed in the final room, but had moved throughout the rooms, which seems to be typical of guides as they're waiting for guests to come to their assigned zones. A loose group of (to my partner's memory) around 7-9 people were willfully following G and occasionally speaking with them, as they sometimes tell jokes or ask trivia questions about the franchise. Not guiding them, with shouted directions such as "We're moving on to the next room!" or "Last two minutes to get your pictures before we move on!", which would be typical on a guided tour. Nothing of that sort was said or done. They just seemed to be engaging with customers who wanted to be engaged with and trying to give them a worthwhile experience.

Their manager caught wind of this, and insisted that G was being insubordinate by giving a tour when they were supposed to be self-guided. He said G was giving a "modified tour" (which genuinely sounds like something he made up  on the spot, but that's my bias talking). He suspended G from the workplace, barring them from working their shift tomorrow, communicating with co-workers for any circumstances, and generally setting foot on the premises. An investigation regarding the matter is supposed to be conducted, and termination of employment is a likely possibility.

This doesn't sit right with me. I see this as my partner talking to people who wanted to be talked to and doing what they could to help customers enjoy their visit. I see this as them doing their job. I would understand being written up for this, but fired? That seems extreme. They've never gotten reprimanded for anything like this prior to this incident.

Is this justifiable termination? It doesn't seem that way but, as I stated previously, we live in a Right to Work state. I just don't believe my partner deserves to lose their job due to this incident, and if there's anything that we can do, I would like to know.

Thank you!

Topic:
Labor Law (Unions)

Answer:
 >Right to Work state, which I was told means employers have the right to terminate an employee at anytime, for any reason and without notice.

No.  "Right to work" is a euphemism for union busting laws.  You are referring to "at will employment."

>Is this justifiable termination?

It doesn't have to be.  The employer can terminate for almost any reason.  This does not appear to fall into any of the exceptions to that rule.


Title: Hidden ATM fees?

Question:
I go to Texas A&M University, and have, in the past, used a campus ATM to get cash when I need it. When I use the machine, I most commonly withdraw an even $20. Upon use, the machine politely informs me that I will be charged $3 to access my money (which is largely why I've already stopped using it, *fuck buying my own money for $3*).

So now, looking at my bank statements, I see *TWO* deductions for every ATM transaction I've made. The first is for -$23.00, the amount I withdrew + the amount I was gouged. The second transaction, appearing every time I used the ATM, is another -$2.00, with the same listed vendor. My bank does not charge me a fee for using ATM's, and is not listed as the vendor for the deductions.

So what I'd like to know is: WTF!?
I'm a freshman in college and admittedly pretty new to the adult world, and I don't doubt that there is some veiled stipulation that allows the ATM to rob me of *FIVE DOLLARS* every time I want access my money, but I don't understand at all *how*. I only ever get informed of the $3 fee, and am never informed about the additional $2.

Any and all advice/info is greatly appreciatied

Answer: Double check with your bank that it's free to use an out-of-network (another bank's) ATM. Or if your bank agreement is to reimburse those fees (and you receive a credit at the end of the month).


Title: [MD] Closed bank account won't release money from a refund

Question:
About a year ago, my bank was doing some grey-area accounting (they got slapped by the Federal Reserve), and I closed my account and moved to another bank.

A month ago, my cell phone broke, and due to a recall the carrier voluntarily offered a full refund to my original payment method, which was the debit card attached to my now-closed bank account. After confirming with the bank that they would accept the refund and send me a check, I gave the carrier approval to process the refund.

As of today, the bank acknowledges that they received my refund on the 17th, but due to "policy" the money is on permanent hold. They will neither give me a check nor return the money to the carrier. (At my request, they provided a printed statement with all this information.)

Am I SOL here? If I am still entitled to the refund, what steps should I take next?

Answer: Their policy is illegal. I would keep the pressure up and escalate politely with the bank. They don't just get to keep money that they didn't earn.


Title: Should I fight or settle and get on with my life?

Question:
I have been placed in a situation where i dont know how to defend my self legally.
I am being sued for 4000$ which to me and probably most others reading this is a huge amount.
They have offered to make a settlement for 2000$.
I dont think i did something wrong and dont know what they can prove other than something that it is possible it was me.

My situation is that i am dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts for which i am getting treatment.
I dont know if i should settle and get in with my life or stand up and fight. I feel unjustly attacked but fighting light get melange to the point of really doing something stupid because of the stress. But the settlement is still to much for me to be able to pay, i have about 250$ after payong rent and everything else each month. They have made many claims towards other people and have, to my knowledge, not won anything.

Answer:
 > I have been placed in a situation where i dont know how to defend my self legally.

You're going to have to give some sort of detail to get any useful advice on how to approach this lawsuit.


Title: Sister's roommate is smoking meth in the apartment

Question: My sister (who is severely epileptic) has a roommate who is on the lease. The roommate started smoking meth in the apartment and stealing her pills my sister's pills. How do we get this Lady out!? In Utah.

Answer: Call the police and then the landlordAnswer #2: Wait for her to have some meth then call the cops.  Jail helpes get her evicted Answer #3: Just make sure that her eviction isn't going to effect your sister's tenancy.  Landlords will often just do the easy thing and evict everyone when there is one bad tenant in the mix.  I would talk to landlord and explain the situation, but also have a plan for 1) who is going to move in when meth tenant leaves 2) if landlord decides they just want to evict everyone where sister is going to go.


Title: My buddy (M23) got his girfriend of 2 years pregnant (F17). What can happen to him?

Question:
They've been dating two years he says that she loves him and wouldn't want to ever press charges and her parents feel the same way. Can they hold this over his head forever? If things don't work out in ten years could they press charges if they want too?

They are currently engaged and living together.

Edit: We live in Oregon

Answer:
 50 states, 50 different ages of consent, so the answer is "it depends."

Legal or not... I have to wonder about a 21 year old guy who is interested in dating a 15 year old, though.


Title: Moving violation ticket issued for a flashing red light. (Florida)

Question:
Hello r/legal advice, looking for a bit of help.

In a few days I have a pre trial court date to dispute a moving violation ticket I received. I was driving my friend home at 3am when a cop pulled me over for doing " a rolling stop" at a flashing red light. Since there were no cars on the road at that time( residential area, half a block away from the friends house), I paused at the light instead of making a full stop ( hence rolling stop like the officer called it). Since I'm going to court, what can I say to defend myself? The officer told me if I go to court and based off my driving record ( which is impeccable) he would go to a forgiveness/dismal.

Thank you.

Answer:
 > Since I'm going to court, what can I say to defend myself?

Well, your story doesn't really offer a defense to the charges.  You're supposed to stop at red lights, not pause at them.

Your best bet, if you want to go that route, is to ackowledge that, apologize and ask for forgiveness.


Title: [AR] Is there anything I can do against my school for wrongful suspension towards me

Question:
This year I've racked up 16 days of out of school suspension.
First offense:
The art teacher was yelling at a student So I leaned over and said something to my friend and when I faced the front I was smiling. She told me that I was being disrespectful  (for smiling ) and sent me to the office
The principal gave me 3 days OSS
Second offense:
 I was back at school for 2 days after the smiling incident the whole school was at the pep rally. Out of nowhere the school resource officer the Vice principal walk up to me and escort me to the Office they gave me 5 days OSS for being too rowdy at a pep rally?
Third and finle offense: on Wednesday I just walked in the front door when the Vice principal told me to sit in her office.
I walked in and she said that people over hear me say was going to bring a gun to school. (News to me) so they search me and found nothing and I denied ever saying anything about a gun but they stated it was a reliable sources suspended me for 8 days.

At this point there is no way I can pass because of the 16 days OSS.
Guys I need help

Answer:
 Have your parents talk to the principal and then escalate it to the superintendent.

And this part goes without saying: stop fucking around in school.  We've all been in high school before.  The whole "It wasn't me, I didn't do anything, I'm totally innocent and the administration just likes picking on me" is really never the case.


Title: Legal ways to protect my money in the event of an (impending) divorce

Question:
Backstory:
Located in NC. Also have always maintained 100% separate finances. Wife has a full time job with benefits (govt)
I am married with a young child. In the upcoming months I will be accepting a 6 figure job(overseas contracting). I'm fairly certain both my wife and I know that it's only a matter of time before we divorce. We were together for a short time, and she became pregnant. We were never truly right for each other.  I will never initiate however, because I would lose my daughter (my wife is an excellent mother and overall person).

My question is if there are any ways for me to "manage" my money so that it will not be able to be taken from me in court. (I'm not talking about child support/alimony, I will pay these happily) I don't want to spend the next 3-5 yrs working long hours, in 3rd world countries, and being away from my daughter 9 months out of the year, only to lose half of it in court.

I apologize if this is in the wrong subreddit. I am new to reddit, and still figuring it all out.

Answer: Welcome to marriage.  Income generated during your marriage is almost certainly marital property. She will get her share, just like you're entitled to your share of what she makes. Also pensions, 401 (k)s, etc.


Title: [Texas] I’m back after taking some advice here and reporting my stolen Roof of my Wrangler to insurance. They have been no help, when is it time to go to small claims court?

Question:
So 3 months ago I bought a car, few weeks in my roof was stolen while my car was wrongfully towed. They gave me pictures of my car before it was towed and those pictures show my two front panels of my Wrangler on my car. When I picked up my car those panels were gone.

Gieco told me 1 month ago “you’ll pay the $500 deposit for the new roof but we’ll reimburse you after we get our legal team to assess your claim.
I call Gieco yesterday for an update and they told me “what is it you want us to follow up with “towing company name” about?” Unmmm what? You said you’d call me with updates and your telling me you haven’t done anything?

So now they tell me again “we’ll bring this to legal and liability and see if they’ll take action” but warned me they might now if the towing company has “not responsible for theft on lot” at their tow lot.... duh hell?! I didn’t even want to put through a claim if they weren’t going to Make this towing company pay. I work for Oracle and they offer a free legal team to their employees, and Gieco told me they’d happy go after then when I was filling the claim
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: I remember commenting on your previous post. My father owns a towing company and i drove for him for years and did impounds as well. The towing company is responsible for compensating you. It doesn’t matter if they have signs stating they’re not responsible for damages. That’s just them hanging signs and hoping no one ever calls them on their bullshit. Once they impound your car, it’s up to them to maintain it in the same condition they got it. I don’t recall if you filed a police report or not. If you didn’t, do it. Then go down to the tow company and ask for the owner and request they pay for it. If they don’t wanna play ball, sue them.


Title: Got "caught" trying to steal at Walmart.

Question:
It was my first time, and will definitely be my last time after the way it's been eating at me.

So basically, I rolled up into one of the self-checkout lanes late at night, paid for a few items, and tried to leave. In addition, I tried putting a few groceries into large containers to conceal them. As I was walking out, I thought the self-checkout employee was busy with something else but he stopped me and told me to go back and pay for the rest of the items. I did go back and paid for some more, but left the concealed items hidden.

Anyway, he found those too and told me he could contact his manager and have me arrested. I was so ashamed that I couldn't look at him. He told me he was going to take the concealed stuff back and to leave with my purchased merchandise.

No information, no signatures, and no IDs were taken. But I'm pretty sure they could pull up the hour footage of me pacing the store and get my face. Not to mention, security could've caught on early and have walked out to the lot to take my license plate number.

I'm getting sick to my stomach over guilt. Never steal. And after reading some stories on here, I never want to attempt it again.

Basically what I'm asking is, should I expect the police at my door anytime soon? I'm in Oklahoma and over 18.

Answer:
 If loss prevention didn't involve the police while it had you physically in the store, that's almost certainly the end of the matter.

Consider yourself the beneficiary of a laid back employee who gave you a lucky break.  It probably won't happen again, so focus on making better decisions in the future.


Title: [MA] Can Neighbor Take my Land Through Adverse Possession?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 I have worked on adverse possession in MA before. People here are mostly going to advise you on the common law of adverse possession, but MA has significantly deviated from the common law (for example, one generally cannot obtain title to registered land through adverse possession in MA). Ergo, you NEED to talk to a local attorney about this to determine your rights. Sooner is better. Bring a copy of your deed and the survey.

For more information, the MA gov't provides [these resources](http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-subj/about/adverse.html).Answer #2: The proper way to do this is to have the neighbor pay for an appraisal, pay you, and redraw the property line to match reality.  If your neighbor is all about getting free stuff, then you can start building your fence on your property line, let him sue you, then you sue him, and then the judge does exactly what I just said, only there's a court order involved.Answer #3: If your neighbor previously had your permission to use this land, then adverse possession cannot be claimed. Providing permission for use of the land prevents adverse possession - it has to be adverse, and with permission, it is not.

If you are choosing to withdraw the permission, then you definitely need to take more steps to ensure possession does not become adverse - other suggestions on here are good ones: offer to let them pay for the land and deed it to them, build a fence, etc.


Title: Arrest the Police?

Question:
Let’s say a citizen’s life is in danger by the hands of a police officer. If I assault said police officer in order to save the citizen’s life, what are the consequences? If a bunch of us filming with our phones tackle the police will a riot ensue? Will the cops kill more citizens as a result or will they start questioning their excessive use of force? What can we actually physically do?

As far as I know, 14 states allow a citizen to resist an unlawful arrest (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming).

Can we the people perform a citizen’s arrest on these officers? (I know each state has a different definition on citizen’s arrests).

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=837

I’m tired of the videos and social media posts about this madness. I will tackle an officer and I’m willing to be the guinea pig to see if it helps this fight against systemic injustice.

TL;DR - Can we arrest an officer who is unlawfully arresting a citizen/using excessive force?

Answer:
 No one can guess how a very volatile situation would play out.

Citizen's arrests are a terrible idea in general, and 100x worse when dealing with a cop.  Because when an arrest is made, either the person being arrested submits to your authority or you have to use force to bring them into compliance.  The officer has a gun, and a taser, and a baton, and a radio to call for help.  And training.

You probably have none of that.

Legally speaking, you can use reasonable force (generally) to defend against excessive force from the police.

If you use force against the police, expect that they will use force back against you.  Expect to be charged criminally.  And later, if a jury agrees that your actions were reasonable, then you get found not guilty.


Title: [WA] Neighbor Tree dispute!

Question:
Hello, I recently purchased a home in Washington and have run into an issue regarding a tree on the property. The root and the main parts of the tree reside on my side of the property after doing a survey. The issue is that branches of the tree are extending onto my neighbors property. It's a hard situation because most of the branches on one side are on his side. I know he has the legal right to cut the branches, but what happens to the tree due to this imbalance? What if the tree falls from a weather storm or just from the imbalance?

Who is responsible for fixing the situation? Is it the owner of the tree or the neighbor that trimmed his side that may have caused the imbalance? The tree has been at this location for the last 25 years so I do not want it removed because it protects the home from golf balls that are nearby. Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 normally, when the state allows the "overhanging" property owner to cut limbs, it places duties on them - they can't fesspass to do so, they can't cause irrevocable damage to the tree, and they can't create a dangerous situation for the tree (I assume this might cover imbalance and falling over).
now, if this simply means you can sue for tree damages, or if it shifts all damages to the cutter, I don't know - a local attorney may


Title: Wife trying to take child more. North carolina

Question:
Created this now because I need advice. I've been keeping my son 2 for more than 6 months now at my house. wife has been paying support the whole time and other lyrics taking him once or twice a week not overnight. Bringing him back before dark. Now she served me papers saying that I've denied her requests to see him which I have not. I've been doing the agreement that we set up and actually trying to get her to see him more. She now wants to do weekly while giving him to her friend while she is at work. I don't want to do this and want to keep the schedule we have him on now. Is it possible to get custody of him from court? She doesn't even have him his own room or home like I do as she is currently living with her mom which paid her lawyers fees anyway.

TL:DR
Wife left child in my care for six months. Now wants weekly. I don't want to disrupt the life he has now

Answer:
 So the current agreement is not a court ordered agreement.

In that case if she takes you to court (it seems like that is going to happen, so collect all evidence) you wil need a lawyer to help you defend your position.

You could als proactively already get a lawyer and ask him for advice since it looks like you are going to end up in court either way. And their are certainly possibility's.


Title: My daughter's fiance walked out on her...

Question:
They were engaged for a year, at one point even had a marriage license. We just moved them from Colorado back home to Texas. While they were living in Colorado, they bought 2 cars. One is in her name, the other is in his name. He has made comments about coming to get her car, since his mother co-signed for both cars. If the car is in my daughter's name, can they take the car, since his mother co-signed for it? Do they have any legal claim to the car?

Payments are up to date, never been late. And we live in Texas, if it matters.

Thank you, everyone, for any advice that you may have.

Answer:
 I'm sorry for your situation.

If the title is in your daughter's name and her name alone, then the car is hers. If there is more than one name on the title, then it gets complicated. The title is the controlling document, not the loan papers.

If the car is indeed titled to your daughter and your daughter alone, you two might consider paying to get the car rekeyed if there's a chance the mom has a copy of the key and would attempt to take back (steal) the car.


Title: Uber had me pay for their mistakes

Question:
Uber wanted me to pick up a customer from a redzone, I ended up paying $110 stopping in San Francisco (Columbus/Broadway). Unfortunately, if you get caught picking a customer in San Francisco that is the price. It takes 10 minutes to make another loop.

I told Uber to pay for it. Of the answer is nay. Do I have a class-action on this?

Answer:
 you're fucked.

first, there's a mandatory arbitration clause with uber's contract.

second, the driver is responsible for complying with all applicable driving and parking laws.

if a customer wants you to pick them up in a prohibited zone, ask them to move to a place that isn't prohibited. if they refuse, cancel the ride and charge a fee.


Title: Virginia: Employer forces me to work past scheduled hours.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer: As long as you are getting paid, the boss sets the work hours.   Unless you are under 18, then there might be special laws.


Title: Dad had a stroke checking himself into a hospital that covers him, and they sent him to another hospital

Question:
On Thursday my Dad had a stroke and tried to check himself into kaiser permanenta (the insurance company that covers him), but he couldn't even remember his own name as he was trying to check himself in. So they sent him to uci. they called my mom first to ask  they started the operation so they wouldnt have to cover the charges. My Mom says that kaiser only covers stuff in their own hospital, but im not too familiar with how these things work. This barely happened on Thursday so UCI hasn't really talked to us about the bill yet. My mom is  planning to go to kaiser to ask them why they didnt admit him, and even demand that they cover him. Is this a good idea? What options do i have?
edit: Im from california. Sorry, I forgot to mention that in the title.

Answer:
 Did they say they wouldn't cover the bill, or is this something you're assuming?

EMS has a responsibility to get a stroke patient to the nearest stroke center. They don't care what kind of insurance you have. Answer #2: With any kind of cardiovascular event in the brain it's medically accepted that the idea is time = brain. If they delayed treatment to send him to another hospital without a good reason, you could have grounds for a lawsuit.


Title: In Air Bud, who legally owned Buddy after Josh found him?

Question:
For those who haven't seen it recently, Buddy is a golden retriever who's owned by a clown who uses him as part of his act (he also badly neglects him). While driving away from a party Buddy is in a crate in the back of the clown's pickup truck. The crate falls out of the truck and the clown doesn't notice. Buddy escapes from the crate and runs away.

Later, a boy named Josh finds him and, believing he's a stray, his family eventually adopts him.

The clown, having not made any effort to locate buddy and seemingly abandoning him, eventually sees Buddy playing basketball on tv and decides he wants him back. He has pedigree and adoption paperwork proving his ownership of Buddy, and winds up in court against Josh's family to determine custody.

Before going to court, who legally owned Buddy? Did the clown legally forfeit ownership when he declined to look for Buddy?

How would custody have really been determined? Was the "let the dog decide" thing an actual possibility in real life?

(I don't like using the word 'own' referring to dogs, but I had to for this question since it's about the law which does recognize dogs only as property).

Answer:
 No, "let the dog decide" wouldn't something an actual judge would be likely to do.

Both owners have a claim.  Snively has the papers to show that he purchased the dog originally .  Josh can show that the dog was abandoned property, and has some decent evidence that the dog would be abused should it be returned to Snively.  Where it may come down to is whether or not there was enough effort made to locate Bud's owner after Josh found him, and how long the dog was lose before he was taken in by Josh's family.  It's been long enough since I've seen the movie that I don't remember the length of time between everything, or if the authorities were ever notified that Josh's family had found an abandoned/lost pet.

Remember that dogs are property - although there are special laws and regulations about abusing and neglecting them, they have the same legal status as, say, your couch, television, or other valuables.  "Custody" of a dog isn't a thing IRL.  This case wouldn't have been resolved by an emotion-filled romp on the lawn, it would have been a boring argument in court that likely would have come down to a lot of technicalities around state/county/city animal laws.


Title: Inappropriate Gyno visit

Question:
TX

I had an endometrial biopsy done and after the procedure the doctor touched me inappropriately. I did not say anything at the time because I was in shock. There was a nurse in the room but she had her back to us and could not see him even if she had turned around. He was sitting and the drape was over my legs. I did file a complaint with the Texas medical board but I am unsure if any other steps should be taken. I called the board hotline and asked if I should do anything and all they said was if it was a criminal offense to file a police report. I assume it is. But I'm just at a loss. I can't really prove anything. I found a few online reviews that the same doctor had made others uncomfortable and one even said not to go without a friend. But they were anonymous. Just confused, upset and not sure how to proceed. Thanks for any help you can give.

Answer: Report that gyn for sure!  You could talk with someone at your local sexual assault hotline for support first, and to ask what to expect from the police.  I hope the comments here have been validating as well.  Trust your instincts and don't let anyone downplay what you know you experienced.  As others have said, it sounds very likely he is a repeat offender, and the medical board will take this very seriously (I would think more so if there is a police report to go with it).  Answer #2: May I ask how he was inappropriate?Answer #3: You can call the local police's non-emergency line and tell them what happened. Hopefully they will take the matter seriously.


Title: Placed on suspension for a joke, while manager has made jokes about murdering me.

Question:
So I’m currently employed by a rather large company, thousands of employees and businesses all over the United States. The particular location I was employed is in California. I was placed on a suspension for making a joke a couple days ago.

A little back story, a couple months ago I got into an argument with my management over some restocking of materials used by the morning shift employees. Most of the stocked materials are used by both the morning and day shifts, but it would usually only be myself and one of the other day shift employees. On this particular day, I had clocked in to find everything we had stocked had been used, and the morning shift had been allowed to leave about an hour early without doing any restocking. So I fully restocked and even added extra for everything both shifts used. Then before I could leave at the end of the night, my manager instructed me to restock all the items only used by the morning shift (which would take me about another hour) and I refused since it was not something I ever used and they had let the morning shift leave early. I knew it would have consequences but still refused on principal.

This got me an “indefinite write up” for job abandonment and would result in suspension or termination is I received any further write ups based on behavior. Then the other night one of my supervisors asked me to do a task before I left and I jokingly said “Nawh I’m good” to which he responded “you can’t just walk out and not do it” and I responded by laughing and saying “you’re about to see how I got my indefinite write up” which was obviously a joke and he knew it as well. I did the work I was asked to complete and left, but the manager in charge overhead the conversation and apparently disliked my joke.

The next day I was called into the management office and given a behavioral write up based on my comment and placed on a suspension.

All of that doesn’t really bother me as I was already planning on leaving the job. I’ve got testing for a job in law enforcement coming up in September and I planned on leaving the job before that.

So my actual question pertains to a joke my manager had made. Upon hearing that I was attempting to get a job in law enforcement, she stated that if I were to pull her over, she “carries a gun in her car and would never find my body”.
Honestly, I wasn’t that bothered at the time since it was clearly a joke, but now I’ve been put on a suspension for making a joke. As a side note, she’s also made jokes calling me a “closet flower” implying I was gay as an insult, and various other things such as making fun of my hair cut.

A bit more side info, she has disliked me since she met me, I’m not fully sure why, but apparently she knows and dislikes both my parents as well, which I believe is why. In the past she’s blamed me for multiple problems that were in no way connected to me, and even stated that she wanted to blame certain problems on me but couldn’t do it this time and would find something later to blame on me. She has followed me around and made complaints about everything she watched me do. It’s been so obvious that she disliked me that other employees have commented on it multiple times. I did file a complaint with our hr department and was told “that is just how you are perceiving the situation”. So basically she’s been harassing and discriminating against me for about a year and despite going to the company hr department, I couldn’t do anything about it.

So, I’ve been told it’s considered harassment and illegal for her to make jokes about killing me. On top of that, I think many of the things she has said and done to me are considered harassment and hr did nothing about it. So what is your guys’ advice on the legality of the situation and her treatment of me. I don’t particularly want my job with the company, but it annoys me that I can lose my job over a joke that was only really degrading towards myself and she can openly make jokes about killing employees, peoples sexuality, and even jokes about other peoples race.

Answer: You got fired for a legitimate reason independent of whatever you perceive to be harassment or discrimination. Even if you had a case on those perceptions the fact that you got yourself fired for another reason isn't going to lead to a successful suit. You have to have a job that you lost because of discrimination/harassment or that the harassment/discrimination made it impossible to keep the job.


Title: [California, USA] Loaned friend $41,800 for business. Worried friend won't repay. Lesson learned.

Question:
Hi everyone! Thanks for giving this a read.

In August 2017, my wife and I loaned a good friend of ours $17,000 to help him keep his afloat. He said he was going to get a business loan from a bank at \~10% interest, and we offered to float the money at a 5% interest thinking it would be a win/win for both parties. He was a friend who I thought I could trust, so like an idiot, I didn't get anything notarized or anything of that sort. My wife and I just got a cashier's check and made it Payable to my buddy.

He was pretty good about making payments to us and due to an unforeseen event, he needed another $24,800 in late March 2018. [https://imgur.com/a/vxHWgKj](https://imgur.com/a/vxHWgKj) . He hasn't missed a payment to us so we decided to get him another cashier's check for that amount. I unfortunately switched phone carriers back in December and don't have too much saved between my conversation and him between money as texts disappear when we change phone carriers.

I do have a text from him sending me the running tab of the spreadsheet he made about what he owes us. Here's the image of that. [https://imgur.com/a/5Xcf1Ao](https://imgur.com/a/5Xcf1Ao). The initial plan was he was going to pay us in $700 increments until the debt is paid off. Since the last chunk of money we've given him, he's been aloof, sporadic with payments, and ignores us when we ask him about monthly payments. He's now demonstrating signs of poor character and is behaving like he won't pay us back.

I'm wondering if there's anything legally binding about those texts or if there is any legal action we can take if needed. I do have an example of him stating his intentions to pay us back [https://imgur.com/a/JvcDjaO](https://imgur.com/a/JvcDjaO) but I'm not sure if that means anything at all. The business my friend started provides a service to a member base and many members know that my wife and I were the ones who kept his company afloat.

Any help and input is greatly appreciated. Please let me know if I'm missing any important information. Thanks again for taking your time to help!

Answer:
 Yes, those and your bank records of the money movement is likely good enough for a court suit if it comes to that.

If it does come to that, you'll need to sue in regular civil court with an actual contract attorney pretty much to do things anywhere near correctly - who will also be able to advise you if the existing information you have is enough to sue in the first place.

Hope that doesn't happen between you and your friend. Money and lawsuits can end friendships instantly.


Title: What are the laws for kicking a roommate out?

Question:
My roommate(B) was caught on camera breaking and entering into another roommates room(A). A showed the video to the landlord and he said he had to leave. B was given until tonight to leave, but as of now, he has not moved any of his stuff out or made prepatations to do so.

For background on our house, its a college student house that rents rooms. I'm not sure what the lease says exactly i'll have to re-read it.

Answer:
 Are there individual leases?

Your landlord cannot just tell him to be gone by tomorrow. Every state has a specific amount of notice that is required. If your roommate is on an individual lease it's possible that he could be evicted if he is violating his lease, but eviction is a court proceeding and your landlord will still be required to give him a specific amount of notice if he has filed an eviction proceeding in court.


Title: (CA) My grandmother passed away, left me 25 acres of land in (TX). My dad is trying to say he should get half.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: ...so it's your grandpa's land? How could she have left it to you if it is in his name...perhaps she expressed a desire for you to inherit the land, but it sounds like her wishes weren't the only relevant ones.