Title: Looking for advice on being tricked into am auto loan.

Question:
About a year ago my husband and I tried to purchase a new car as the one we had just did not suit our needs and we thought we deserved a better one. I'll preface this by saying we were blinded by how much better the new car was than our own and agreed to payments that made us live almost paycheck to paycheck. Here's the kicker the dealership said we were denied for the loan but told is to take the car anyway again being stupid we did and thought maybe a bank was closed or something and they'd try again the next day. What actually happened was they faked my pay stubs to make it look like I made 4x the money I did. And resubmitted the loan application. At the time me being young and dumb and able to "afford" it we decide to sign the papers which I feel is my downfall here. Though now my husband has lost his job and we are nearing 30 days late on payment and I'm not sure whats going to happen. I don't want this to wreck my credit and I'm not sure how many people they've done this to.
[Edit] I'm in Southeast Texas.

Answer:
 >we decide to sign the papers

Yeah, that's a problem.  *You*, not the dealer, falsified your income to the lender if you signed an application that misrepresented your income.  That's not to say that the dealer's actions were ok, just that when you signed the application you're the one who attested the application was correct.

Undoubtedly you're upside down in your loan?  Likely your only solution to avoid a default would be to sell the car and to contribute cash to cover what of the loan balance you can't get from the sale.


Title: My photographer has not delivered on my photos

Question:
Hello! My husband and I hired a photographer to shoot my daughter’s first birthday. It has been two months and no photos. After repeated attempts to contact her, she finally reached back out stating she had sent an invite link to view the photos and wasn’t sure why I hadn’t received it. She stated health issues as to her lack of responses to me. She said in that email she’d send the link again that night. That was a week ago and communication has again ceased with no photos.

 I am located in Indiana, and the photographer is from Kentucky.

Her website is set up so you can see the galleries available via thumbnail, but to view them, you need the password emailed to you. So I do know she’s lying about my photos being posted. There’s no album. Several other things in her story doesn’t add up either.

None of us took photos because we assumed she would deliver. Our contract with her states:
“DIGITAL images will be delivered to the CLIENT email in a personal gallery within 14 (fourteen) days of the SHOOT.”

We have both signed this contract electronically and I have a copy printed.

I’d like to know what exactly I need to do to pursue legal action. I’d preferably like my photos over the money returned. Either way- should I go to a courthouse in Indiana or Kentucky? What paperwork do I request?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Answer:
 Does her contract state a turnaround time? Two months is a long time to wait, but could also be as fast as a new photographer can manage their jobs. Editing and culling photos is a tedious process, and if she’s newish to photography, she may not have the best system in place.

Does her contract say anything about reparations? For example, mine says that if a client sues me, they cannot be awarded more money than what they paid. Basically, they can’t claim emotional stress and try to sue me for $15,000 when they only paid me $4800 (or whatever their package price was).


Title: Lease claims "No Pet" policy, but landlords look the other way.

Question: All of my neighbors have pets. Upstairs there is a dog, and there are cats in almost every window. People even feed the neighborhood cats. When they come around every year for inspection, they even tell us to "hide" pets or bring them somewhere else since we're not allowed to have them. Who can I call to complain about this? I am allergic and they are load and annoying.

Answer: You can complain to the landlord. Nobody is doing anything illegal here, and none of this is likely to get you out of your lease.


Title: My company is not allowing the use of sick time in response to COVID-19

Question:
I work in a retail store in California, and today a co-worker tested positive for COVID-19. We were previously told not to worry, and that if she tested positive, the store would close for a week, but after getting the results, we were told to continue business as usual, and that the store would not be shutting down. We then asked if we could use sick time, or PTO to self quarantine until we were able to get tested as well, but we were told that no time off would be approved, and that missing 3 days with no doctors note would result in termination. Is this legal? What can I do? Our store gets 5-6 thousand customers a month, and those are all people that we are potentially exposing to the virus. This feels incredibly wrong. Please let me know if you need any more information
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 >Q: Can my CA employer discipline me for taking a paid sick day or for using paid sick leave for part of a day to go to a doctor’s appointment?
>
>A: In general, no, an employer may not discipline an employee for using accrued paid sick leave.  Depending on the circumstances, however, the issue may be more complex and may require more analysis.
>
>*An employer shall not deny an employee the right to use accrued sick days, discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an employee for using accrued sick days, attempting to exercise the right to use accrued sick days, filing a complaint with the department or alleging a violation of this article, cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of this article, or opposing any policy or practice or act that is prohibited by this article.*

All that said, does anyone have enough accrued sick time to have a meaningful 2-week quarantine?

There's nothing overtly illegal in what you wrote.


Title: National Grid didn't charge me for electricity for a year and a half, can they back bill me once they realized?

Question: I moved in to a new apartment last year, and set up an account with national grid. I didn't realize I wasn't being charged for electricity and then last week they cut my power without warning. Now I've got an electric bill for \~$500! Is this legal?

Answer: Yes absolutely. You agreed to pay for it and used it so you owe for it. The Statute of Limitations for written contracts is years. You conveniently never said anything when you never got a bill. They may be agreeable to a payment plan given the circumstances so you can get your power turned back on.


Title: "Bodyguard" at H.S. football practice (NY)

Question:
Back story: A student at my son's school has a less than stellar behavior history.  He has made fun of the death of a classmate since it happened in 6th grade.  He treats the other kids terribly, gotten into a good amount of trouble, and is just generally bad news.  Most of the kids just stay away from/ignore him.  At the end of last school year a student (Robert) got into a fight with this trouble student (Jason).  Robert was arrested and charged with assault and the term "hate crime" was floated because Jason and his dad blame racism for all their issues.  Robert viewed this as the end of the world and his dream of becoming a police officer.  Robert took his own life.  Plenty of people of course blame Jason for this. It didn't help that after Robert's death, Jason went to social media and made fun of Robert, and said some pretty nasty stuff. There was an amazing amount of restraint shown by Robert's friends.  He was a very popular kid and looked up to by many, especially his teammates from football.  Things went back to normal with Jason being ignored while he continues to just be... well, him.  Yesterday, football practices started.  Guess who now wants to be on the team.  Jason.  He has been on sports teams before, including football, but never lasts because he and his father feel he should start/play certain positions/etc but doesn't get to because of racism (nevermind the kid is late to or misses practices, has a crap attitude, and so on).  The rest of the team is not happy he's there for the most part, but again, restraint and ignoring him otherwise.  Since it is known Jason is not liked, and his history, Jason's dad hired a "bodygaurd" for him at practices.  This bodygaurd is a former student and has helped coach the team.  He is supposedly being paid $10/hour.  Supposedly the coaches nd school are aware of this

So, here's my questions.  Can this "bodygaurd" legally intervene in a fight between Jason and another kid?  Can he even touch another kid?  What kind of liability could the school/coaches face?  What's the liability for the "bodygaurd" (he's a good kid trying to help I feel, just doing it wrong)?  Is the "bodygaurd" even allowed on the field (parents and spectators are not)?  What do I as a parent do if there us a problem?

This just seems ten levels of messed up to me and my biggest concern is for the other players, coaches, and the so called "bodygaurd".

Thanks for your help.

Answer:
 The rules for bodyguards are the same as the rules for everyone else. Being called a bodyguard or not being called that changes nothing. He's got the same rights and limitations as anyone else on the field does when it comes to defense of others.

He can use force to defend others, but only as much force as is reasonably necessary to abate the immediate threat, and not if the person they're "defending" was the initial aggressor. If he uses more force than was necessary, it's assault. If he uses force when there was no immediate threat, it's assault. If he's "defending" the initial aggressor, it's assault.

Of course, the school could (and in my opinion should) just exercise it's right to control who is or is not allowed to attend the practices. As a side note, it isn't legal to "bodyguard" without a license in NY.


Title: Ideas for writing a Will in such a way as to trap your greedy and mean-spirited heirs in a costly legal dispute, while at the same time sparing your non-greedy heir any trouble.

Question:
I read a discussion in BOLA once where some people were discussing ways to structure a Will such that the person's greedy and narcissistic heirs would end up entrapping themselves in lengthy and costly legal disputes over an ultimately useless inheritance, while the person's gentle-hearted and temperate heir would be spared any legal dispute and would simply inherit a proper sum of money.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the details of the discussion or which thread it was in.

I would like to know what sorts of ways one could structure a Will to get the aforementioned result. I think someone had mentioned purchasing and bequeathing some kind of poor-quality real estate to be "split" between the greedy heirs (land or property that was more trouble to keep up than it was actually worth owning), but if there are better ways to accomplish the same result I would love to hear them.

Thank you.

Answer:
 The best way to insulate someone from estate disputes is to leave them out of your estate entirely and to make other arrangements for them. Life insurance and assets with a right of survivorship are common ways to do that: those often bypass the probate process entirely.

However, you can't stop your relatives from opting out of estate litigation entirely. An heir can always disclaim their share and walk away from the situation. There's only so far an appeal to selfishness can go, and a competent estate attorney might even advise their client to walk away if the costs of litigation aren't justified. You can create unclear situations and arrange bequests to maximize everyone's frustration, but you can't stop them from opting out of it.


Title: Copyrighted study materials scenarios..help?

Question:
Can someone help me in thinking about study materials for any professional exam certification? You could use GMAT, LSAT, PHR, PE, PMP, etc....

Scenario 1:

Let's say someone has a copy of study materials (hard copies) they purchased, and has a friend who wants to take the same exam. They give the friend their materials for free (neither party ever makes any money off of them). Is this illegal?

Scenario 2:

Same instance as above, but the materials are electronic (i.e., in PDF form and are given to person 2 (friend) on a jump drive). Is this illegal?

Also, if these are illegal situations....how in the world do people (individuals) and companies (resell book stores) sell used versions of these materials very publicly (i.e., on Amazon/Ebay)??

Answer:
 Scenario 1: Legal.  First sale doctrine would apply.

Scenario 2: Might not be legal.  Most digital goods grant you a license to view the materials.  In some cases, that license is not transferable.  In reality, unless you have to log in to view the materials somewhere, it would not be traceable.


Title: Received 30-day notice from landlord...I'm deployed.

Question:
Edit: this is in South Carolina

My head is spinning a bit right now, and all the legal offices are closed.  Everything I've tried to read up to this point only talks about service members who want to break a lease, which isn't my issue...a little context:

I've lived in my current home (I am a tenant) since Fall of 2014.  I deployed in the fall of 2015, and my family went to my wife's home overseas.  When my wife left a month or two after I did, the property manager sent me an addendum (that my wife requested) that states the rent would be $150 cheaper under certain conditions: (e.g. someone would check the house monthly, the yard would be maintained, house kept at a certain temperature etc) until I returned home in May/June.

Fast forward to March, and I ask the property manager why I have still been getting charged the full rent the whole time since the agreement was $150 (10% rent) less.  I said it was no worries and just add that the surplus to my deposit for when I leave.  The manager told me that it never went into effect because I didn't return a copy signed by my wife and me...

So I asked her to take into consideration that I'm deployed and expected it to have been a courtesy email letting me know of the new agreement.  Additionally, I asked her to hire a lawn care team to take care of the lawn maintenance now that it was springtime.  Finally, I told her that I expected to PCS (move) in September to give the landlord time to find a new tenant ahead of time. (This email was late March).

Today, I received an email that told me the landlord decided to discontinue the lease with a 30-day notice.  I won't even be redeployed by then and my family is out of the country with all of our belongings still in the house.

I emailed the property manager and asked if it had anything to do with me saying I had military orders to PCS in September and she said it was a combination of: 1) asking for reduced rent, 2) lack of yard maintenance and 3) the timing of my PCS.

Is there legally anything I can do to force at least a 2-3 month extension to bide time for me to coordinate a new place to live?

I'm not worried about recovering the extra rent I paid.  I'll have someone mow the fucking lawn everyday if I have to (I confirmed it was cleaned and cared for last week), but I can't lose my house while my whole family is out of the country.

Anyone in the military know if this is grounds for emergency leave?

Keep in mind that they are not evicting me in the middle of the lease.  They are simply letting the lease run out and telling me I need to go somewhere else now.

Answer:
 I have some questions.  When are you due back from your deployment?  When does your wife return to the country?  Who did you sign power of attorney to before you deployed?  How long was your lease term for?

I would seek your base's legal aide.  This may be discrimination under the SCRA for not renewing the lease based on your active duty status (or allowing that to contribute to it).

If legal aide advises you to handle this in person, your wife may need to attend since this can be handled by someone with your power of attorney (which I assume is your wife), though the base may well let you use emergency leave.Answer #2: I would get ahold of a [LAMP lawyer](http://www.scbar.org/Public-Information/Legal-Assistance-for-Military-Personnel) through the SC Bar Association. They provide free or reduced fee services for active duty service members. If your paygrade is E3 or lower they assume you're eligible for their pro bono services.Answer #3: The SCRA allows you to terminate a lease when you (or your dependent) are deployed or PCS'd elsewhere. Your landlord can't take your stuff, or evict you, if you are elsewhere. Your JAG office can help but a local attorney who understands the interplay of the SCRA and local landlord tenant law is in the best position to give you useful advice.


Title: [New Hampshire] Officer gave me a false court date resulting in a warrant for my arrest and a rescheduled date.

Question:
Hello, I was pulled over for *Aggressive Operation* of a motor vehicle. The officer gave me a mandatory court date both verbally stating the date, and confirming it on the summons he gave me. If it matters the officer had a somewhat hostile/rude disposition toward me during the traffic stop. When I showed up to court I was informed I had a warrant out for my arrest because the officer scheduled the date for about *two weeks* before the date he told me. I wasn't arrested because I was speaking with the clerk, as opposed to the judge/an officer, and she recognized that to be ridiculous. The warrant was pulled and I got a new court date.

What I am wondering is if there is anything I can do about the fact that the officer set me up to be arrested when I arrived at court. I lost wages because of time off I had to take for the court date, and I'm going to lose even more wages when I go back again. In total I'll have lost at least half of what the minimum guilty fine would be ($500), not including gas to get there (an hour both ways twice). Is there anyway I can use this to dispute the charges, get a reduced penalty, or something along those lines?

Answer:
 You can't prove that the officer "set you up" because you don't know if he did or not. All you know is that the date  on your summons said one thing and the actual time was another. The cop isn't the only one involved with that process. It could be a clerical mistake on his part, or someone else's.

You can dispute the charge all you like. You'll need a meritorious defense to prevail, like not actually violating the law. Arguing that you were "set up" by an aggressive officer is not likely a good defense.


Title: Got a traffic violation for using my phone that was mounted onto my car.

Question:
The violation was: "USING A WIRELESS PHONE NOT CONFIGURED FOR HANDS-FREE-PROHIBITED"

Well it was mounted to the dashboard and I was scrolling through the directions on my GPS (since I go to school in a CA city away from home so I'm not too familiar with it yet. Is it something I should fight in court or should I just pay the bail and move on?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 > Well it was mounted to the dashboard and I was scrolling through the directions on my GPS

you were using your phone while driving, and violated the statute, nothing to fight here.


Title: Another fellow employee hit my car then denied everything

Question:
Location: California

I work for a large corporation. We have a large parking garage that is both self-park and valet because there aren't enough spots for everyone.

Two days ago (3/7 Tue), the valet service rang my office phone and informed me that someone had tried parking in a tight spot, didn't fit, and hit my vehicle as she was backing out of it. A valet attendant tried to stop her but she rolled up her windows and drove down a short distance to park at a different spot. When confronted by the attendant after parking her car, she denied everything and went to work.

When I contacted her (valet exchanged our work emails), she told me in many words and reasons, that it wasn't her. She wasn't even on the same floor, there wasn't any transfer damage to her car, the dust in the area was still there on her car, nobody approached her, etc etc.

The valet service told me they can provide me with a statement saying they witnessed it was her, AND they can also provide me with a second independent witness who is another employee of the company saying the same.

What are my options if she just keeps flat out refusing? Valet says I can't get the statements until HR authorizes their release so I'll try that.

Should I be doing anything else? Should I be going to the police station to file a report? What would that even be? A hit and run?

Answer:
 You can file a police report, you also need to call your insurance company. Gather the other parties name, the valet that witnessed it, and also see if there are security cameras in the area, and who operates themAnswer #2: Something similar happened to a friend of mine years ago. Someone hit his car, pushing it into a concrete pole, and then tried to pretend it never happened.

The police didn't end up doing squat, but HR made her life hell; They could see from the one working garage camera that her vehicle had arrived undamaged and left damaged, so *something* got hit.

Dishonesty, damage to company property (the pole and her company car), and failure to report an accident on site.

Warning, warning, termination.


Title: Co-worked fired for reporting a possible Ebola patient to the CDC.

Question:
I work in urgent care. Because of the Ebola scare, my clinic recently sent out a memo regarding the proper protocol should a patient present with Ebola-like symptoms who have recently traveled. To sum it up, it stated that we are to immediately isolate the patient and call the CDC while a single physician would put on PPE and triage the patient and await direction from the CDC.
So today, we had a patient walk in and state that he was running a fever and had recently traveled to Africa. My co-worker gave the patient an N-59 mask, immediately put the patient in isolation and then went to call the CDC.
As she was on the phone with the CDC, our operations manager got wind of the situation. She immediately ran up to my co-worker and yelled at her to hang up the phone. I assume maybe she didn't want panic in the clinic.
After she demanded that she hang up the phone, she said a few harsh words to my colleague, and then fired her on the spot. I have no idea how she rationalized firing her, but she did.
My question is, does my colleague  have any grounds for wrongful termination? She was following a written protocol.

Answer:
 Well, if this is true, first talk to an employment lawyer. If there's no legal remedy, then I would strongly consider going to the media. Answer #2: > she said a few harsh words to my colleague, and then fired her on the spot.

Oh yes the medical field is full of these asshats. I worked in a hospital many years ago handling infected waste and kept getting respiratory infections and I have asthma, so my doctor told me to wear a medical mask. My boss fired me because I alarmed the patients as I did my work in the hospital. Your co-worker can file for unemployment then find a new job. Answer #3: Point of clarification:

When co-worker called the CDC, did she do it in "public"?  (That is, was this the phone at the triage desk in earshot of patients?)


Title: Name on the Deed, but not the mortgage in Pennsylvania

Question: Yikes.. So my wife and I are going through a divorce. We are living in different houses.  The one I am in has the Deed, and mortgage in both of our names.  The one she is in has ONLY her father on the mortgage loan, but all 3 of us are on the deed.  She just got served the papers on Monday.. Now I have been paying my fair share for about a year now, even though I wasn't living there.  I have been barely living paycheck to paycheck since claiming bankruptcy in June.  My question is am I legally responsible to pay for the house if my name is ONLY on the deed, and not the mortgage?  Her father is a control freak and refused to give me the title to my car that was in his name.  I had $800 left to pay on it, and he told me (after I had to keep asking him repeatedly), that I would not get the title. So, I pretty much got screwed, with no lube on that one.. My divorce lawyer said I could have sued him for it, but I didn't feel like going through the BS at the time.. Anyway.. Thank you for the input anyone is willing to give me.

Answer:
 Name on deed = you own a share of the equity in the house.

Name on mortgage = you are responsible to pay the mortgage.

Stop paying the mortgage on the house you don't live in, and inform your soon to be ex-father-in-law that if he didn't go after you for $800, he wouldn't have this problem.

You are entitled to 1/3 the equity in her house, and 1/2 the equity in yours.  Get a lawyer and make sure you don't sign anything until you do.


Title: With all the equifax lawsuits, would it be realistically possible to sue for specific action? [TN]

Question: So I’m in Tennessee, but my question is more general so I would like to hear about other states and countries as well if possible. If I were to decide that as a result of the data breach I simply don’t trust equifax with my info at all, after proving that my info was in fact compromised causing damages, would I realistically be able to sue and successfully obtain an order for them specifically to cease all reporting of my information in the future?

Answer:
 You are looking for an *injunction*.

That approach may be more reasonable than suing for the damages that don't exist... But I can't speculate about your chances.

Most states don't allow you to ask for an injunction in small claims (sorry, I'm being lazy and didn't look up TN), which means that you need an attorney because you will be in big boy court. How much money is this worth to you?


Title: Wrongfully terminated by Big Box store...

Question:
I was recently terminated from a large big box store for something I didn't do. There was a rash of vandalisms in the men's restroom about my coworker, who I got along great with both personally and professionally.  Since there are no cameras in the bathroom the entire case is based on time stamped video of me entering the bathroom compared to when the vandalism was found. When I was questioned by the investigator I was only asked about 1 day. There were 4 separate incidents on 4 separate days. My termination paperwork claims that on "multiple occasions" I committed the offenses. I have not been presented any evidence against me. I am going through the internal review process but wondering what I should/can do in the meantime?

This has turned my world upside down because I relocated to Louisiana for this job and just bought a house and new car.  Now my reputation is ruined and I'm stuck in this limbo until the company makes a decision on my case which could take weeks..

Answer: Louisiana is an at-will state. This means that either the employer or employee may terminate an employment relationship at any time and for any reason unless a contract exists to the contrary. I'd suggest looking for other employment, would you really want to work for a company that treated you like this? Also, file for unemployment immediately.


Title: My friend and I were victims of a violent crime. We found the people responsible, and I need your advice in looking at their deal their lawyer offered.

Question:
We live in Pennsylvania and that is where the incident occurred. The two men responsible were charged with simple assault, disorderly, and harassment.

My medical costs were nearly $8,000 and my friend's were roughly $5,000. We went to the pre-trial, and up to this point nobody but me and my friend knew our medical costs (we never told the DA or the officer handling our case until we went to pre-trial). It ended up being pushed to a further date anyways while we were there, but before knowing the medical costs, they offered us a guilty plea in exchange for paying all our medical and accepting only a disorderly. But then they learned about the medical and I was told by the officer that the new deal they offered was a guilty plea in exchange for "a portion" of our medical and a disorderly, with the intent of taking them to civil court for the rest of the medical.

Me and my friend are vehemently against this. We want all our medical paid for a disorderly and then we want to take them to civil. I am looking for outside opinions on all this. If we counter back with this do you think they'd be likely to take it considering that if this goes to trial they will get charged and potentially go to jail for assault? (the case has a ton of witnesses against them, it's pretty air-tight and one has a history of violence according to the police officer).

Is there anything I should say, do, etc.? Also, the DA representing us hasn't said a word to us...even at the pre-trial this guy totally ignored us...not a single word. Is this normal/professional? I feel like w deserve some legal consultation from him.

EDIT: The police officer told me it was up to me and my friend to accept/reject their deal. His exact words: "It's up to you, I'm just here as an intermediary".

The officer also told me that it was a potential outcome that the judge would agree with them and only make them pay a portion if she thinks the cost is too high. I don't have insurance. He said that she could look at that and say "Why don't you have insurance?" as a good argument. And my jaw hit the floor.

Also, to everyone angry about me saying "my case" and me being "represented" you've all made it abundantly clear that they don't represent me. I understand.

EDIT 2: And could someone please tell me why their lawyer would say we should only pay a portion of our medical and then sue for the rest in civil? In either case he expects us to get our medical paid for 100%, no? So why not accept it all now in the criminal case??

EDIT 3: Apparently I don't understand civil court. Someone said I have nothing to go after them in civil for assuming all the medical gets paid in criminal court. But don't I have a right to sue for personal injury? Pain and suffering? My friend and I got jumped and seriously hurt.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Okay.  First, the DA does not represent you.  The DA represents the state.  As far as the criminal case is concerned, the decisions aren't yours to make.  The DA does not need your permission to make a deal.

You should gather your evidence and prepare to go to civil court, assuming the defendants have any assets to go after, after the criminal case is over.  You are both within the small claims limit on your medicals so civil court does not need to be a big, complicated deal.


Title: [alabama] threw eggs at our friends apartment, management wants $500 or calling police

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Raw eggs dry like cement and can totally ruin paint. You better get cracking.


Title: CA - Sexually assaulted at work. Filed Workers comp. I haven't received any form of payment. Help!

Question:
Hey guys! I'll try to provide as many important details as possible, and if any more information is needed, please let me know! I want to get the most accurate information as possible. Thanks in advance!

I was sexually assaulted at work by a customer. I worked in an adult store that sold many adult items from lingerie to novelty toys. We had a room attached to our store called the "arcade". This arcade was basically a room that had 15 booths that looked like photobooths. These booths gave off the kind of atmosphere that allowed customers to *do whatever they wanted to do*. There were days that I saw things that no person should ever see with their own eyes. We turn off the lights to the room, so I guess that doesn't really help the atmosphere of it, ya know?

So, I'm the janitor to this store and 90% of my time is dedicated to cleaning the ***aftermath*** of the booth being used. So while I was cleaning the outside of a booth, someone came by me and sexually assaulted me. It was quick and there was no penetration or anything. It was just a hand being put in a place that it shouldn't have been in, but trust me. It was, and still is, the most psychologically damaging thing I have ever experienced. Aside from my thoughts, the point was that I was assaulted.

I didn't report it at the time. I couldn't.. at least I thought I couldn't or shouldn't. With the amount of stuff that happened back there, I didn't think it was worth it. How would I prove it? How would I even go about reporting it? I told my manager and she didn't do much, she just felt bad for me and gave me some time. She didn't tell me to report it, so I thought it was okay.

Fast forward about 5 months, I reported it! It's the end of my time there, from what I can tell. Immediately my HR department helped me out. They are a great company and, from a business standpoint, they did their best to get me the help I need. They sent me to a clinic about a week or so after I reported it. The doctor told me that she is removing me from my work place indefinitely. It could be a week, or a couple months. I just know that I need to check up with her every week, once a week, and she is going to be sending me to a psychologist for further assistance.

At this point, almost three weeks later, I haven't heard anything from the claims adjuster about my compensation. I was told I would be getting paid for my time off, and I really don't know how much that is going to be..

**Question #1** How much will the compensation be for California law?

**Question #2** I have been told something about potentially seeing a lawyer? Is that the best decision to make financially? I'm not really the type of guy to go for a lawsuit and try to milk out as much money as possible..

**Question #3** If the claims adjuster doesn't get back to me in a reasonable amount of time, is there any justification for me going through the unemployment process?? How would I go about doing that?

Any help is greatly appreciated and I hope this post is related to this sub! Thanks for all help!

If this is not the right question for the sub , can someone please direct me to the right place?

Answer:
 Worker's compensation is both a "no fault" and a "sole remedy" system.   In general, if you are covered by worker's compensation, you cannot sue your employer for damages due to an injury you suffered at work.

It sounds to me like your injuries are entirely psychiatric;  is that the case ?   Did you suffer any physical injuries that required medical treatment at the time of the incident ?   In general, you simply get your medical bills paid.

You can also get paid for time off when you cannot work due to your injuries via the [Temporary Disability feature of Worker's Compensation.](http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCFaqIW.html#TDBenefits)   You're eligible for 2/3 of your gross pre-tax wages.

While I'm not in your shoes and am not a psychiatrist, I think there's something unusual about declaring a person temporarily disabled for psychiatric reasons after they've continued to work in the same capacity for five months.    I'm not saying you didn't suffer some trauma or that you aren't entitled to treatment, but do you genuinely think you're incapable of working in your usual capacity ?

You should have begun getting payments for TD after you'd been unable to work for 3 days or had been hospitalized, and you should be getting paid every 2 weeks.

Press the WC claims representative for your payments.


Title: My photo was used in a magazine advertisement without my knowledge/consent.

Question:
Back in November, my friend was having a wine party at a shared-office space (i.e. an office where people, mostly start-ups rent space monthly - like a WeWork) and asked me to take photos. I did and the head of marketing for the office (not her office, the WeWork-esque place where she rents office space) asked me, the next day, if I could email him the photos for his website.  I did. Just last week I learned that a local quarterly magazine with a circulation of 25k had a full page advertisement with my photo prominently featured (top half of the page). I emailed him about it, he claimed he didn't realize there were limitations. I asked him about it's usage (if it's been printed elsewhere, if the ad will run again in the magazine) and he said it was just this issue.

They want to pay me $350 but I feel like a) he's low-balling me and b) I should draw up a contract to protect myself from them ever doing this again.

Should I take the $350? I feel like that photo is now worth at least $1000...

Answer: What makes you think it's worth $1000? Having a professional photographer take the photos and give them full rights to them would have probably cost $100-200 max. The $350 is pretty generous, IMHO.


Title: Chase bank froze my business account without notice

Question:
So yesterday when trying to use my card for business expenses I noticed it was being declined. I called chase and they informed me my account had been frozen. They are supposed to give 12 days notice before doing so. The bank sent they sent out a letter we never received. We asked if they had a receipt for the letter sent. They also admitted they didn't call or try to email us a notification at all. They said they didn't have sufficient evidence that we were the owners of our own business. Despite the fact that all three owners were sitting in front of the bank agent with our LLC binder with all the legal paperwork. They don't know what we need to give them to prove we are a legitimate business and they said we have 10 days before they close the account permanently. We are already going to close that account and leave that bank for another. My concern is we have rent checks out, and other payments that are going to bounce and we are going to take a serious financial hit for this. As well as we can't pay employees, ourselves, buy items we need. We are taking a huge financial hit due to them freezing our account with no notice. Is it possible to take this to small claims court or anything? Or because they are a huge coorperations we are just screwed for the time being?
Edit- I'm in Orange County, CA

Answer: How did this actually happen? What you have described makes no sense. Why would they freeze an account and close it involuntarily? Does that seem like a good business plan? I think you are probably missing some details like you are operating a drop shipment business that kites checks or some other nonsense. If not, I think it's important to know why they are taking the actions they are.Answer #2: Most likely, the banker who opened the account didn't properly ask for all necessary paperwork. LLC's can pose a liability for banks because if a banker messes up and doesn't put the right people on the account or properly identify the owners and signers the bank is held liable for any transactions that should not have gone through (for example, if a banker allows a non owner to be put on the account or withdraw funds). I guarantee you also have a new account kit that states in there that Chase can close your account at any time and for any reason.


Title: Former roommate demanding entry

Question:
This is in Arizona.

This May I signed a year lease with my friend and his partner. For multiple reasons, they gave a thirty day notice to vacate and signed off the lease last month. I stayed on the lease. They left a bunch of stuff at what is now my apartment, and have slowly been picking it up. However, about a week ago after my "friend" demanded a ride to work in the middle of my 12 hour work shifts (when I would be asleep) and refused to give me five bucks for gas for the 20-mile drive, he has decided we are now mortal enemies and is demanding his stuff back immediately. I have no problem with this.

Tricky part: he still has keys to my apartment as he never turned them in.

He was supposed to come this weekend to get everything while I was at work and leave his keys. I had a friend come over to lock up after he left. He refused to come because he didn't want to be "supervised". This concerned me because when he is angry, he destroys things. I have a giant bleach stain in the middle of my apartment, multiple busted doors, and a busted towel rack from various temper tantrums. Needless to say, I don't want him in my apartment alone if he is angry at ME.

I have been arranging with his partner who lives with him to drop off their stuff tomorrow morning. The partner is okay with this.

However, I just received a text from my "friend" that he WILL be coming by this weekend when I am at work, will take anything he feels is his including old gifts he has given me over the 5 years we were friends, and he demands to be alone while he does it. I am not "allowed" to take a lunch at that time and show up, and I am not "allowed" to have anyone over while he does this.

Can he demand this from me? Am I legally required to give him entry if he feels he has belongings here? If I follow through and drop off everything at their new place tomorrow will I still have to let him in?

Thanks guys.

EDIT: typos. On phone, sorry.

Answer: No, of course he's not allowed to dictate when you're in your own home. If he's no longer on the lease, and moved out, you should probably change your locks or have your landlord do it. The law is on your side here. You have no legal obligation to let him in your home. You **do** have an obligation to give him his stuff however. You should pack it up, put it by the door, and tell him he can have it when **you** are home and then only.


Title: Lawyer scamming my grandma? Very suspicious actions

Question:
A year or so ago my grandmother fell in a large chain department store. She found an attorney who was willing to represent her for a portion of whatever she received. My grandmother doesn't speak english very well at all, and signed something but doesn't have any copies of what she signed nor did she have a chance to read it (she likely couldn't understand it anyway).

The lawyer's paralegal eventually told her the store would agree to a settlement of $8,000, which my grandmother agreed to. She never spoke with the actual lawyer since the first meeting. They at first refused to send the check, saying she had to come pick it up. I live in New York and the office is in Manhattan, while my grandmother lives on the far edge of Queens and doesn't take public transportation. The lawyer's paralegal refused to allow my mother or myself to pick it up, and eventually agreed to mail it.

She got a check for less than $3,000, and when my grandmother called, after avoiding the call multiple times, eventually said that with the additional fees, that was what was left. My mother has been trying to get to the bottom of it, calling the office, and never being able to speak with the attorney herself. Eventually they said they will not speak to anyone but my grandmother no matter what and hung up. My mother has now officially gotten power of attorney and has continued to try to speak with them. There is now someone new at the office, who claimed that they had to send investigators and all of those costs add up. My mother said that's fine, but she wants to see a copy of the agreement my grandmother signed, as well as proof of the settlement.

They offered my mother an extra $500, which she refused, saying she just wants to see proof of the paperwork, and told them if she doesn't get it by the end of the week, she'll be filing an official grievance. They said okay they'll mail it the next day. The next day she called again and they offered $1000. She refused, and they said "Okay we'll waive all fees, just the attorney's 33%, and we can send you the rest." and my mother again refused, saying she wants to see proof of everything. The woman said she would speak to the attorney and call her back.

What the hell is going on here? I originally thought they had just lost the paperwork but after seeing how much they're offering to get it to stop, is it possible the settlement was much higher than they were letting on and they figured they could scam an old lady who doesn't speak english well? I should note that after learning about my mother's power of attorney, and assuring her they would call her back the next day (after offering the $500), they tried to call my grandmother multiple times, and she refused to pick up. We assume they were trying to get her to agree to a deal because my mother wouldn't.

At this point I think the next step is to hire an attorney to sue for malpractice?

Answer:
 First, look up whether this person is actually a lawyer on the state bar association.  If not, call the cops.

If this person is a lawyer, you can either keep contacting him, file a complaint with the state bar, or threaten to file a complaint with the bar.  If they did something with her money (I'm not clear on that part), the bar association is more likely to care.

If you make a complaint, you will need to be much more clear about what happened and what money changed hands.Answer #2: You don't have much for malpractice right now but you do have a bar complaint. FYI, she could've taken the extra cash and STILL had a right to review the full contents of the file and STILL filed a bar compliant.

It may be worth googling around to find the store and see if you can fine the opposing lawyer and ask them for the settle details. While technically they can't talk to you, your communication would let them know and they would probably be glad to get another chaser off the scene.


Title: Finding out if previous employer is Suing me

Question: I think that my previous employer is  going to sue  me over some payment dispute , but  i  have moved states and he does not know my  new address. so how do i  get to know if he is actually suing me ? If he send it to my old address there is no one there and i do not want to update my new address to him , i think it might be a bad idea.

Answer:
 File change of address info with the Post Office like you're supposed to when you move so you don't miss important mail.

If the county where you previously lived has online court records you can search them for any cases with your info.


Title: [US][CA] What is the best way to reduce company exposure to protected class lawsuits (i.e. discrimination by race, gender, etc.) from a legal perspective?

Question:
Clearly, discrimination should not be tolerated, and everything possible should be done to remove the potential for it to happen.

What is the best way to evidence this legally?

Answer:
 Have a well-documented review system.

Have periodic diversity/anti-discrimination training.

Don't discriminate in your hiring (and find a way to make your hiring process more objective/less subjective so employees' natural racism/sexism/ageism have less of a chance to factor into their hiring decisions)

Have a reporting system that takes reports of discrimination seriously and actively encourages reporting of harassment/hostile workplace environments.

And of course, stop discriminating. And hire less sexist/racist/ageist employees.


Title: I received a pretty vague email regarding a summons. Cincinnati, OH

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It smells like a scam to me. You'll get another call back saying "we can recall the summons if you pay $x" or similar request. Ignore it unless you are _actually_ served.


Title: My company is unwittingly charging sales tax on non taxable items. Do I potentially have an actionable case against the company?

Question:
It's not that they're doing it maliciously, their POS system adds sales tax to all non-taxable items if there is a single taxable item on the bill. As far as I know they are unaware of the problem, nor has any customer realized the error to date.

I was about to alert them to the problem, but figured I'd ask here to see if there's anyway that I could conceivably gain financially from this...

Edit: Business is a restaurant group LLC with less than 10 locations in Wisconsin.

Answer:
 Sigh.

Just let them know.

Maybe they'll promote you. That would be a financial gain.


Title: (US) If legal documents are in template form and require only a few modifications to personalize, is it fraudulent to bill the client for the time it takes to create the entirety of the document?

Question: Often times I'm sent legal paperwork with minor changes from previous clients works but am charged for hour(s) worth of work. Seems a bit much for double clicking a document and changing a couple of lines.

Answer:
 You're not paying for the literal amount of time worked on that particular document, you're paying for the lawyer's expertise to know what document to send you in the first place.

I used to do repairs in a tech shop, for example.  I would never, EVER work on a machine in front of the client.  Power it up with them present to see that it works, have them sign off, then bench it "until we can get to it" which is basically anytime after they've gone.  If it's a 5 minute fix I don't want you bitching that "I'm not paying that, it only took you 5 minutes!"  You're paying for my years of knowledge that allowed me to fix it in 5 minutes.  Make sense?Answer #2: Many law firms have a minimum hourly charge for their services, that's how they make money.


Title: Got a speeding ticket for 77 in a 55 NYS

Question:
I have had speeding tickets in the past and one recently about a year ago for 45 in a 25. I don't need anyone telling me to slow down I was  running late for work and didn't realize I was going that fast. I was actually shocked when he told me how fast I was going. Should I ask for something specific to reduce the charge or just take whatevery plea bargain they give me?
Location: New York

Answer:
 There's a speedometer on the front dash that gives a fairly accurate measurement of how fast you're going, in case you didn't know.

You can show up to court, dress nice, be apologetic for what you've done, and hope the court shows you leniency.


Title: Landlord delivered premises soaked in cat urine.

Question: I did not take possession because of the overwhelming presence of cat urine/ammonia filling the air. Entering the building for a few minutes led to nausea, teary eyes, and a headache. Landlord says he already steam cleaned the carpet and will do no more to remedy the problem. Is my best argument that this violates the implied warranty of habitability? Virginia Law.

Answer: Not legal advice but as a cat mom of a cat who had peeing on stuff problems, the cat had to pee on *a lot* of stuff for it to smell that bad and strong. I would assume it violates it but again, not a lawyer. If you put clothes or any other fabric items on the carpeting, the pee smell would transfer as well. Might be something you can use to get out of the lease as well.


Title: [ON/CAN] Banned from BestBuy

Question:
I was served notice that I have been banned from Best Buy Canada, from their physical stores, online sites and third party vendors.

All of this arose not because of any form of criminal activity on my part but rather due to complaining about the customer service I recieved from three of their stores.

I'll list this Stores as A, B and C as I want to avoid giving out specific details.

I had pre-ordered a particular phone at Store A. This particular phone was sought out by a lot of people, however, Best Buy accepted reservations but was still not fulfilling them.  The launch date came and went, the other carriers had issues getting them but eventually they were fullfiling them. I contacted the Store A, a month after launch inquiring about the status of this phone and they told me they had no idea and were told to advise customers to carry-on. I e-mailed Best Buy Customer Service and I was told that they had no information and told me to contact Store A. Great. So as a result, I had lost on chances to also take advantage of the pre-order bonuses that were offered to customers through my carrier at the time.

Later in December, Best Buy partnered with a particular manufacture to launch Stores within certain locations. I assumed they would have recieved stock of the particular model at this point, but no, they still hadn't. Anyways, I decided to visit Store B a week before Christmas. I went into Store B pick up a reservation for a deal that had come up in Hot Deals. After being denied the price match others were getting other than pretenses that I can't "double-dip" into a promotion I cancelled my reservation. Seeing as I was already at the store, I strolled over to the Mobile section. There I asked once again about this particular phone, and the Manager of this store advised me he has stock of this particular phone... I asked him if he was sure and he advised he does an inventory check every morning and knows what phones he has for every carrier and knows he has the phone in question. I asked him to upgrade me, but I told him that Store A is where I had my original pre-order. He told me its best for me to go over there as I could still collect the bonuses. I asked if he could check his system regarding their inventory and he did and advised me that this store had two in stock. I thanked him for his assistance and sped off to Store A. Upon arrival at Store A, whose manager I had spoken to before, was baffled that the inventory system would show stock, but decided to check regardless, incase a recieving error had been made. Upon checking it was confirmed that they did recieve the phone in question, but in a configuration that I was not looking for. Hmm, this was odd. Frustrated I returned to Store B.

I figured since Store B had it, I'll just give up the pre-order bonuses and upgrade. Upon my return to Store B, I infomed the Manager of what had transpired with the stock issues at Store A. I told him regardless I want to upgrade and asked if he still had the one phone he had mentioned just a few hours earlier. He took a brief moment to check, and said no, looks like we sold it off just prior to your arrival. Hmm, well I asked him if he could check any other stores in his system, so he did and reported that Store C was showing two in stock. I asked him, well, can you call them if you know someone there personally to physically set it aside for me. He said to hold on, as he picked up his personal device and called that store. The Manager (Store C) picked up, said he would physically set aside for me. I thanked Manager B and made my way to Store C.

I get to Store C and make my way to their mobile department. As it was the holiday season, the store was busy and I waited for 30 minutes before being asked what they could help me out with. I explained I was here to pick up a phone that was set aside for me by Manager C. The representative excused themself and went looking. 20 minutes later the representative returned with Manager C. Manager C said he had set aside the wrong phone for me. He just grabbed the color and assumed it was the configuration I wanted. Well I asked if he can check for the one I needed, since, the inventory (the one I was told off) showed they had one. He said he had checked and it seems to be an error, so one lost to theft or miscounting and that he was frustrasted himself.

I asked him to check another store if they had the phone, as I had already spent the entire day, and just wanted this ordeal to be wrapped up. He went to his computer and checked. At this point it was revealed all of Canada was void of stock and never recieved the phone in question. Manager B had misread the inventory, not once, but on many occassions, even though claiming to have read and done a inventory count. When he called Manager C, he too did not bother to check his inventory, and assured me that the phone was set aside for me.

I explained my angst to them, however, I was very calm with him and explained it wasn't right to treat a customer like I was. I was offered $20 dollars as compensation for my fuel which I refused as I cared more about securing the device. I headed home after this. The next day I visited Store B and met with Manager B. He apologized and said it was human error. Which I could accept, however, to not be able to read inventory levels accurately over the three different occassions I was at his store didn't make sense to me. Especially if he was to be the master of his domain. I asked to speak to the GM B, who I was told was away from the store.

I fired off an e-mail to GM B and C. I heard back from GM B and as a resolution offered to provide me with the pre-order bonuses that I would have lost out on since the launch date would have come and gone. However, I explained that the current offer through my carrier, which matched with their offer was much better value for my money. I asked that I just wanted the device to be secured for me. I heard back from GM C, who apologized, said it was human error, and offered me $50 Gift Card and to come by and pick it up.

I didn't hear back from GM B since my response to the original e-mail.

The night prior to Boxing Day Sales, I was sent notice that I have been banned from my Best Buy Canada. The reasoning being that it would be for the best for myself and their employees. I was told to govern myself and if found in their stores, will be charged for trepassing and charges will be pressed. I was flabbergasted at this notice.

It's easy to write this off as a sour experience, that the store and Best Buy is allowed to do whatever they like however I find myself facing several issues.

I have a few items still insured with protection plans. I have a few gift cards and tend to recieve many throughout the year due to how folks would classify my hobbies. There is also the embrassment of having to tell friends, family, or significant other that I can't step into a Best Buy, as most would automatically think that it was because I had shop-lifted.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

Answer:
 > Any suggestions on what I should do?

Find an alternative to Best Buy.Answer #2: Avoid the Best Buy stores.  You can contact their corporate number and ask that the ban be lifted, since no criminal activity occurred, and hopefully they'll acquiesce.

Otherwise, you have no recourse.  Conduct any business you need on your outstanding warranties over the phone or internet.Answer #3: > Any suggestions on what I should do?

Shop elsewhere and avoid a trespassing charge. Best Buy are not under any legal obligation to allow you to shop there.

If you need to return something under a protection plan, contact them ahead of time to coordinate permission to be in the store, or to send your product in through the mail. Sell the gift cards or return them to the giver and explain that you can't possibly use them because you've been banned from Best Buy.


Title: I think my landlord may be dead or hospitalized and I don't know what to do

Question:
I will have been in this rental property for 10 years this year. In all that time, I've never actually met my land lord. He lives in another state. He used to have properties both in my state and in his state, but after the recession in 08 he mostly pulled everything back to his state. My original lease was for the first year here, after that we never signed another lease but we've never had any issues at all about that.

I've always paid the rent by making a deposit directly to his account at his bank. When anything goes wrong, he's quick to hire repairmen. We've had a good relationship for the last decade, even if we don't know what the other looks like in person.

Cue coronavirus. My SO and myself both work in the hospitality industry, and restaurant\bars have been shut down for a month now with no clear end in sight. Unemployment hasn't kicked in yet and we haven't gotten any stimulus check. Rent is due, but we wanted to talk to our landlord about postponing payments until we started working again.

The landlord's phone goes straight to voicemail. The voicemail box is full Everytime we call. He hasn't responded to texts or emails. We've been trying to get s hold of him for over 2 weeks now.

Although I've never seen him, he sounds like an older dude and I'm worried about him. I'm also worried about my household.

What happens if he's not okay? I can provide other details if they might be helpful.

Answer: You said he usually hires repair man right away. Try to contact them and see if they have any information about the landlord.


Title: Disgruntled neighbor and his trees.

Question:
I live in Olympia, WA and share a property line with a guy who planted a row of trees that typically grow in a forest. They should have been spaced 10 to 20 feet apart for them to grow properly, but he planted them about 3 or 4 feet apart as though they were going to be a hedge. The problem is that he has never trimmed them, and now they are huge trees that crowd each other, so they grow MASSIVE branches that have stretched 25 feet into my yard. I used to have a pretty back yard, but now only weeds grow there due to lack of light.

When I have asked my neighbor to trim his trees, he just ignores me. I know I have the right to trim branches that cross the property line, and I have. Some of these branches weigh over 100’s of lbs and are 25 feet long! When I leave the cut branches on his side of the property line, my neighbor gets really pissed off and accuses me of violating local dumping laws and has posted “NO DUMPING” signs everywhere. I’ve called the city and have been told that I’m not violating any ordinances. If I were to dispose of all of these branches, it would be very costly. Also one could argue that all of this wood has value, and he could be just as angry at me for “stealing” his wood. I’ve tried to find out who is actually responsible for the cut branches, and have found that statutes vary from state to state. I haven’t been able to locate any Washington State law that applies.

Is anyone familiar with Washington law? Do the overhanging branches become mine? Or are they still his? I know that when his dogs and cats end up in my yard they don’t become mine, and I make sure they get safely home. I’ve been doing the same for the branches I’ve had to cut, but he keeps threatening to sue me if I continue.
Advice?

Answer:
 You are allowed to cut the branches.

You are not allowed to dump them in his yard.


Title: (WA) For months, landlord allows 7-8 people to live in a home zoned for 6, I warn her about this, now there's major plumbing problems and she's told us to leave in 16 days.

Question:
**tl;dr:** Landlord gives us all 16 days to move after the house experiences serious plumbing problems. I warned my landlord twice about her tenants allowing squatters for months on end, she did nothing (warned her once via email because I wanted it on record *just in case*). She hasn't provided an eviction notice, and this is bad timing for me because I'm in the middle of a job transfer to a new area, and this will likely see me having to get temporary lodging, and see me losing income. What am I legally able to be compensated for? Lost wages, last month of rent, temporary lodging? [These seem to be the relevant laws.](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59) [59.18.060](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.04.020) and [59.04.020](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.060) seem relevant, but I am not a lawyer, dude I am a waiter with a B.S. in acoustics like, *damn*. Want drinks fast and to hear how sound responds to the environment you're in? I'm your dude. Legal advice? Uh, there's a subreddit for that.

**Lots of words**

I'm subletting in Washington state, in a home that I was led to believe had five other people living here, as it was zoned for six. However it became apparent that there are seven people living here, sometimes eight. I contacted her about this verbally once, about 10 months ago, and sent her an email regarding how it's cramping the living conditions here. Nothing was done either time.

Now, as of May 2nd, one of my roommates was doing the laundry in the basement laundry room when the drainage got backed up, and the contents of the washer ended up on the floor. He made no attempt to contact the property owner, or to get the water to drain, but he did put his wet laundry in the drier. When I got home, my room, which is adjacent to the laundry room, was soaked, fortunately no electronics were damaged. About five minutes with the plunger on the floor drain in the laundry room mended the situation.

I contact the property owner and we talk about the damage and what to do, come to an agreeable conclusion.

Uhm, cut to the next day, May 2nd, she says there's extensive plumbing damage and we all have to be out the by 18th. At present there's running water, and the drainage issue in the house has been mended, however there are also some underlying issues that need to be fixed.

I'm also in the middle of a job transfer to a location about 90 minutes away, and I was looking to start there in about a month. So that complicates things for me. It's not really tenable to get a place to live temporarily. As a result I've already secured a place in my new location, but it won't be ready for me until June 1st. And I won't be working until probably first, second week of June.

So what is my legal recourse here? I'm being asked to with 16 days without an eviction notice. I warned my landlord that there were more people living here than the place is zoned for, and nothing was done about it, twice. Once is via email, so I have that on record.

What are her rights to remove tenants in this situation? What does she legally need to hand me for me to move? What are my rights in terms of asking her to pay for temporary lodging, or compensate me for lost wages? Do I even have a right to ask her to pay for temporary lodging, or compensate me for wages?

If anyone is more familiar with the Revised Code of Washington than me and could point me to something that would give me an indication of her rights, and my rights, it'd be greatly appreciated. I have had to use my legal rights before due to a wrongful eviction, however this eviction has some merit as there is serious damage to the home, but zoning laws exists for more than just like, space for people to live. It's for wear on the home, too. Seeing as that I've contacted her regarding the overcrowding and nothing was done, and I do have this on record, it's hard for her to deny knowledge of it. I know the relevant information is Title 59 of the Revised Code of Washington, but I'm not entirely sure what information applies to me. Some of it's difficult to parse. [Like, this one](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.04.020). I think that means someone needs to provide 30 days to leave, but is it me or the landlord? I do know if I can't leave by the 18th she can't forcibly remove me without an eviction notice, right? I mean I don't want to do that and I'll try not to, just because like, I don't wanna be rude, but if it comes down to it, I dunno.

[And this one, too.](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.060) Is this relevant? Is this some verbiage helpful? I dunno guys I'm dumb at this stuff. It's why I'm here!

As an aside don't worry about me. I've already taken over a lease that has three months left on it, so that will give me time to find a more permanent place, and I've gotten all but my essential belongings in storage in the new town. I'll be working shortly after I move, so I'll have an income. However I will be losing income, and I will be needing a place to stay temporarily. Those are my concerns.

Thanks for taking the time to read this ya all, and thinks for any help you can offer!

Answer: OP- When you refer to the "landlord" in your narrative, are you referring to the person who owns the rent unit you're moving out of, or the person you were subleasing from?Answer #2: Does the contract on the lease state the the Landlord must give a certain amount of notice prior to to being asked to vacate the premises or does it mention anything about eviction? Also is your lease currently active at this time or have you just been giving the Landlord money while you stay there without any written legal agreement? I mention this as I do not see any mention of a legal agreement or signed lease between you and the Landlord through out this post.


Title: Boss says I'm not eligible for FMLA leave. Giving birth to a baby in less than a month.

Question:
I worked for the state (Montana) as a public defender from December of 16 until August of 18.  Now I'm a county attorney (still in Montana) and have worked for the county from August of 18 to current.  My 6 month probationary period is up next month on the 20th and I'm due to have a baby two days later.
My boss informed me today that because I haven't worked for the county for over a year I'm not eligible to take FMLA leave.  He also said because of this he doesn't have to approve me taking 8 weeks off work.   The county doesn't provide any paid maternity leave.  I already took out a loan so I could afford taking 2 months off work.  Do I have any recourse?  Is there a way I can take time off work and be protected?

Answer:
 Until you have worked for a year, you are not eligible to take FMLA, which id legal protection to take maternity leave. Any time off will have to be agreed upon by your employer. The US does not have separate protections formaternity, paid or unpaid.

Your options will be to negotiate something they will approve, or find a new job/reapply when ready to return to work. Answer #2: I'm rather surprised that an attorney is asking an anonymous Reddit community for legal advice.


Title: 65 Y.O. Uncle with Alzheimer's Abandoned with no Access to Funds by Wife of ~30+ Years - NJ and FL

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

I tried finding information about this by searching this subreddit and /r/Alzheimers, but I'm not seeing anything that seems to specifically help with this scenario.

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My S.O.'s 65 year old uncle with Alzheimer's has been married to a verbally abusive wife for about 30 years.

About 2 weeks ago she flew him down from NJ (where he resides) to FL, where his sister resides, with no money and no return flight, just a suitcase of clothes. His sister was told he would be visiting for "a couple weeks", and she thought it was suspicious when she couldn't get solid information on his return flight. Regardless, my S.O. picked his uncle up from the airport when he arrived, about 2 weeks ago. Since then, his wife will not answer any phone calls. No family has been able to reach her. I'm sure it's easy for her to dodge any phone calls from our area code.

The wife didn't indicate to his sister that she was permanently sending him to FL.

He is functional enough to dress himself and take care of basic human functions, but he has very poor short term memory. He thinks he's visiting until Christmas (which was never discussed with his sister). He doesn't have any of his account numbers, financial information, and his wife will not return phone calls.

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He has a debit card, but there is no money in the account, and it seems that he has no way to move money into the account without his wife's help. We believe that he has ample retirement account money to care for himself, but without any of his documentation, and with his poor memory, we feel very powerless to help him.

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I feel like this is criminal on his wife's part, since he can't remember enough to handle his finances. Even if we were to pay for his return flight to NJ, he isn't mentally present enough to travel from the airport to his house with this wife. We wouldn't be able to guarantee his safe passage, and none of us feel comfortable doing that.

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I would be so grateful if anyone has any resources that we could reach that could help him. I think he needs a lawyer, but he doesn't have a way to pay a lawyer (and his sister can't afford one either.)

His sister is doing her best to take care of him for now, but she already cares for her other brother (that also has Alzheimer's) and she can't (nor should she be forced) to take on her other brother. His wife needs to do what's right and communicate with the rest of the family to form a proper care plan for this man.

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Even if the wife is no longer willing to care for him with his Alzheimer's, I feel it can't be legal for her to completely abandon him without giving him access to his money.

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Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Answer:
 You should probably check to see if NJ has a department  of Elder care services/adult services. Her abandoning him (possibly) and taking his money (possibly) are things worth contacting them over. If you and your family in FL intend to care for him, you may need to contact that department anyways to determine what steps need to be taken to get access to services or his accounts or to remove his wife from caring from him.Answer #2: Honestly this is a matter for your local police. They can get the ball rolling with tracking down the wife in NJ, and figuring out what’s going on. Maybe she is having her own medical issues right now. She might even be in the hospital for an elective procedure. Who knows?

Calling the local police also starts a process of documenting abuse if she really abandoned him.


Title: [MD] Man threatening to crash wedding

Question:
Long story short, my fiance has some history with a man from his past who in the past had expressed violent tendencies, and psychological issues.    This was about 5-6 years ago, and my fiance had moved and had no contact with this man for that period.  We both thought it was long gone.

Unfortunately, our wedding website was made public by accident, with our full names... and address.. and date and time.   The only reason we became aware of this was because this man, apparently after 5 years cant let go of the past and intends to attend our wedding.  He registered on the RSVP list with a known alias which my fiance would immediately know.

Ideally, this is just a fear tactic to try to ruin our day by making us worry about him showing up, but there is a possibility that he may actually show up.

If he did, we would expect him to interrupt the ceremony at a minimum, say damaging things in front of family and friends, and generally harass at a minimum.   The worse scenario would be one of violence, likely towards me to "take away my fiance's happiness".

The legal problem is that we dont have any evidence at all.  The incidents from 5 years ago are long gone, no records, etc.  And the current "threat" is simply a RSVP from an uninvited guest saying "i will be there".  To us, its clearly a threat, but to anyone legally its not.

The event is on private property, and we now plan to have a guard there checking guests as they enter, but I dont know if we have any legal background to keep this man off our property and out of our ceremony.

Answer:
 Cops moonlight all the time, many of them as bouncers. Hire an off-duty cop, and skip the step where your security has to call 911 if the guy shows. An off-duty cop can definitely arrest someone for trespassing, and can use justifiable force if the nitwit decides that he wants to get in anyways. Also, bonus points, he has a firearm and the ability to use it if the guy goes totally nuts.Answer #2: I recommend not having the priest ask if anyone present objects to the union. Answer #3: This is just a personal opinion, but if it were me, I would not waste time having the only guard present check people off a list.  I would give the guard two or three recent pictures of the guy, and have him on the lookout for that person only.  Or hire a second guard to do just that.  Or have a friend act as check-in person, and leave the guard free to watch for the guy.

If the sole guard is the one doing check-in, it's way too easy for someone to slip by while he's looking at the list instead of the people.Answer #4: The second he shows up, call the police.  Don't make a big scene about it, just call.  You could assign a groomsman this task.  He doesn't have any right to be on your property.


Title: Did contract work for apartment community and now they won't pay me

Question:
In October of 2017 I created a promotional advertisement video for an apartment complex in Charlotte, NC. This complex is owned by a parent company with a large multifamily real estate portfolio across the country. Long story short, the apartment complex I created the video for will not pay me because I have not fulfilled the vendor requirements of the larger company to become a "certified vendor". One of the vendor requirements, requires you to carry a certain level of liability insurance. The annual premium quote I recieved from an insurance salesman cost more than I actually made doing this job for the apt complex so I didn't purchase it. There is no future work they are contracting for me so the insurance requirements really are cost prohibitive for a small business owner like myself (I carry liability but not as much as this company requires).

The vendor requirements were not made known to me until after I had performed and delivered the work. I signed no written contract or agreement before doing the work (stupid I know). Can this apartment community withhold payment from me?

Answer: You can sue them if you did not agree by any contractual term to have whatever insurance policy they require to pay vendors. You can also issue them a cease-and-desist to stop using your material that they have not paid for in their promotional materials. Lesson for the future, always work with a contract.


Title: (Florida) Received a C&D based on a blog post and facebook review. Do they possibly actually have a case?

Question:
How likely am I to actually get sued over libel?

The blog post detailed a situation in which the store manager called my friend, their former employee, a pedophile causing me to walk out. I then complained on my facebook page without identifying the individual or the store. The next week they said they knew I was talking about them and banned me. The blog post did identify the store and the store manager, along with linking to a mugshot of his. This was posted in July.

This is the review I posted to facebook in Oct: "1 star. I used to be a subscriber here. They constantly screwed up my subscription list causing tons of gaps of missing issues. Items that I asked them to special order for me were sold to others. They overcharge for tournaments and held back promos. Store manager is rude and antagonistic. Used to be the only store in the county, now they're just the worst."

I did delete one line from the review that was based on what someone told me and not my own personal experience. I've already contacted some legal advice but figured I'd ask here as well to get multiple opinions. Is there anything there that could be considered libelous? Should I take it down just to avoid going to trial. I really don't want to do that because I hate being bullied especially because every word of it is true but I can't really afford legal defense for too long and I'm sure that's what the lawyer is counting on.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 well in order to confirm that it is libelous he needs to prove that your statements arent true. Since he is claiming that your statements are slander/libel the burden of proving that fact is on him. If he cant its your word against his and nothing happens.

in short

you probably can tell this dude to manaburn himself and stuff that 20 sided die into the cave of unending stench.

did you honestly get contacted by his lawyer over this?


Title: [NY] I sent an email through a fast food companies contact page about one of their employees actively getting high/dealing drugs on the clock at work, among other illegal activities. My name and report was shared with the employee and now getting harassing/threatening messages from her.

Question:
I'm not going to go into detail about everything in the report or the entire situation because I don't think it's relevant. But yesterday I reported a fast food employee for a number of illegal things that I know for a fact is going on. I don't work there, but I often go there and I know the employee.

The form required me to fill out my name, number, address, email, etc. I assumed that it would be going to corporate and not directly to the employee. I also noted that the managers were aware of these things and often just sent her home for the day. Today, I started getting calls and threats that she's going to come to my house and fight me, damage my car and property, ruin my life, etc. She also said that nothing had come out of it, just that she and her managers had a laugh at my expense.

This girl knows where I live, what kind of car I drive, my number, etc. She's involved in a lot of illegal things, and is known to be violent. She's spent some time in prison.

Is there anything (short of going to the police, I already plan on that) that I can do? Is it within the rights of the company to inform the employee of the details of the report made? I would imagine that would be confidential information, as things like this could happen. Or is there nothing I can do other than reporting the threats to the police?

Thanks in advance.

Answer: The company owes you no duty of confidentiality, absent a promise otherwise. If someone is threatening you, call the police.


Title: Is waiting three months to be paid common practice?

Question:
Hi,
I just started working for a new company installing data cables for internet and phone lines, as well as other various cable installations. I enjoy the work and the people I've worked with have said they're impressed with how quickly I've learnt how to do it and how fast I work, including the company owner. It's a small team of about three people, two of which are the company owner and his son. I'm happy with the rate of pay (£80 a day with potential to increase to £120 as I learn more). So everything is seemingly perfect so far. The company owner originally said I'd be paid once a week, however he's now told me I might have to wait two weeks for the first payment of my invoice. The main issue though is that he's been saying about how I need to get various easy to attain certification to get full time work with him, but that my invoices will only be paid once the company he's done the work for has paid him, which could be up to three months. I obviously have various expenses to pay for so this would not be ideal, but my main concern is that I could work full time for three months and then wait and wait for payment, potentially with him folding the company or putting up a lot of obstacles to me getting payment. Is expecting an employee to wait to be paid until the company has been paid standard practice in the construction/contractor industry? Or is this guy taking me for a ride?
Thanks for reading, any advice is appreciated.
Edit: I'm in the UK

Answer:
 This is nonsense.  You did the work, and you are owed the pay.  File a wage claim.  Late payment by the client is the problem of the owner of the company, not your problem.
Answer #2: You're a slave. End of story. He's using you for free Labour and you're a sucker for going back every day. He has to pay you more than 4 times per year.  He needs to pay you every pay period that you agreed to.


Title: Discrimination when being hired?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 > I'm quite uncomfortable being in an environment where I can't portray myself as I want

Then you know it's not a good fit.Answer #2: You are not a special snowflake and you have zero right to have an unnatural hair color at work.  Dye it natural, or find a job that will not care.


Title: Mechanic sold my car

Question:
Backstory: My car broke down due to a overheated engine as I was driving back up to my university, had it towed back to my father's place, then spent a few months without a car. Due to his inability to find work in America, my father moved back to another country but he got his church friend, a mechanic (calling his Frank for this post), to agree to fix my car as a good bye present for me. My dad and Frank agreed on a $1000 down payment as well as my dad's old van to fix up my $2000 Honda Accord, year 2000.

The mechanic worked on it for around 4 months and then asked for another 750$ from my dad for "added expenses". However, my family is in a very tight financial situation and wasn't able to pay so my father refused. They had a back and forth dispute over the phone over a couple more months. I was unaware of all this because my dad usually doesn't like asking for help but -fast forward till now- Frank sold the car because he was holding it for too long. Apparently it's completely legal to do that after 4 months even if I have the pink slip.
My question is, if I sue him in a small claims court, would I have a chance of winning? I only want to try if I do have a reasonable chance. It seems unfair to add such a large amount of money on top of an agreement because the clients may not be able to afford that amount. I wouldn't want lack of transportation to limit my choices in internships and reduce my access to resources (such as late night library sessions) during my academic career.

Located in California, USA
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 An estimate is not the same thing as an agreement.  With car repairs, the costs often aren't known until the job is basically done.  An overheated engine may just need a new head gasket, or it might need a complete overhaul.  The mechanic won't know this until the engine is completely taken apart, and by that time you've probably already blown through a few hundred dollars.  This is a risk you assume with any kind of major repairs.  That said, mechanics are generally supposed to get your permission before doing any work that would put the cost over the original estimate.

Honestly, I don't know why you decided to repair this car in the first place.  Cheap cars with blown engines are virtually never worth repairing unless you can do the work yourself.

In any case, leaving the car at the mechanic's shop for months is unreasonable.  At a somewhat cheap storage rate of $20 a day you would have exceeded the broken car's value after about a month (if we generously assign a value of $500 to it).  Since you also didn't pay the mechanic, he can sell your vehicle to recover his costs.  You absolutely don't have any kind of case here.


Title: My attacker wants his record cleared of assault charge. (WA)

Question:
I work late night with the public and was attacked during my shift. The police responded promptly and were able to catch the offender, resulting in a no trespass to the business and a restraining order for my protection.
Today I recieved a message from an old dear friend (who works in a law office) requesting me to contact an attorney (her assistant to be more specific,) regarding said incident. When I called the assistant, she asked if I would be willing to make an appointment with them. I asked her what exactly this entails and she said they want to "settle" this particular assault case.  I asked if this individual is trying to get the charges dropped and she "yes" with a tad bit of reluctancy  in her voice. I set the appointment, but am now second guessing this decision. My SO says I should go but bring a lawyer with me, but I can't afford one. I am thinking about requesting communication to be via e-mail, just to cover my bases and have everything in writing.
 Should I even be entertaining this scenario? I know lawyers can be shady AF, but if this dick head is willing to pay me off for a clean record, I would be interested.

Answer: NAL, but money in exchange for dropping the charges can come back to bite you in one of 2 ways, possibly more. If you ask for it, that's extortion. If he offers, that's a bribe. Neither are good options imo. Don't do anything without a lawyer present


Title: Mother leaves soccer game and refuses to let kids play when father shows up

Question:
My son (almost 4yrs old) started playing soccer on Monday afternoon. I am the non-custodial parent and only have visitation on Tuesday and the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekend of the month. Last week I showed up to the game, didn't sit near them and never said anything to them. As soon as I showed up his mother loaded him up and they left. My sons older brother, who I was a dad to since he was 6 months until she refused to let me see him anymore last summer (4.5 years old), is supposed to play soccer too.

Today when I showed up she started talking to one of the coaches and the coach came over to me and told me that she said if I didn't leave then she and the boys would leave before even getting to start the game. I did not sit near them,  never said a word to them, did not even get a chance to wave to my son yet. I did not leave and she stuck around for a while but looked like she refused to let my son play. I just wanted to watch my son play soccer. She is literally hurting the boys in order to hurt me and have power over me. Is there anything I can do or do I have to stop coming to the games just so the boys actually get to play?

I appreciate the help in advance, this whole situation has been pretty rough and frustrating since we stopped getting along well and went to court last summer. We were never married. Located in Arkansas

Edit: clarify visitation schedule

Answer:
 If you feel it's worth it, you can go to court and either get a parenting plan or modify the current one that specifically says she has to allow them to play and you can attend.Answer #2: Unless your court order has a provision for activities, that isnt your parenting time.  So stop intruding on her time. Go back to court and see what a judge says if you want more time or want to attend functions during moms timeAnswer #3: 1st How old is your court approved Parenting plan?

2nd Was it "agreed" without a hearing?  Hopefully.   It's easier to modify.

3rd in some states You'll need enough time to elapse before the court will even consider a modification, unless there is a substantial change in circumstances... multiple, smaller changes can be considered in their totality to rise to a substantial change in circumstances.  That will require you visiting multiple attorneys for free consultations to really gauge their responses.  Be aware of POS attorneys telling you what you want to hear.

4th keep a journal.   Read the best interest factors in your state and archive relevant things that occur... for instance,  maybe that day isn't yours,  but she's not fostering a relationship between you two... it's pertinent.   Personally, I log in Google notepad on my Galaxy S7.  I log everything...just in case i need it.  Answer #4: I’m a family law attorney in California. I’ve seen parents request what you want multiple times. Sometimes the judge bans the non-custodial parent completely. Sometimes the judge orders the parent to be allowed to attend all extracurriculars. It’s a crapshoot here.


Title: Accused of shoplifting

Question: I was accused of shoplifting at the grocery store. I had paid for my cart full of groceries but there was some items that were in the front of the cart under my purse that I forgot about and didnt pay for. The amount was $70.  I was arrested and given a citation with Ca penal code 490 and have to appear in court. I am terrified. I’ve never been in trouble with the law. What do I do? Do I need a lawyer? Will I go to jail?

Answer: That’s misdemeanor petty theft. It could be much worse, but I’d get a lawyer in your place. Misdemeanors tend to follow you around.


Title: No response from clinic in 3.5 months, now have bill for $364

Question:
Family doc told me to get tested at a women’s facility because my Pap smear for HPV was abnormal. I went to my May 17th appointment and called in 2 weeks after to see if my results were back, “not yet” they said. Fast forward to August 31 and called in for them to tell me everything is negative and also didn’t explain the tests to me.

I understand that I signed off on paying the initial payment and whatever my insurance doesn’t cover but it doesn’t seem fair to then bill me August 29 for $364 when the clinic didn’t or even forgot to contact me about my results.

My understanding is that I’m paying for a service and part of that service is to provide me with my test results. Why did I have to call them twice for it? And over the span of 3.5 months?

Is there any ground for me to dispute not paying the bill?

Answer:
 > My understanding is that I’m paying for a service and part of that service is to provide me with my test results. Why did I have to call them twice for it? And over the span of 3.5 months?
>
> Is there any ground for me to dispute not paying the bill?

Oh, for crying out loud. No.


Title: Is my girlfriend going to go to jail? Will this be a felony charge? Please help.

Question:
This is a throwaway account.

My girlfriend was arrested for shoplifting a felony amount two years ago at Walmart. She was lucky and got two years probation as long as she committed to drug counseling (she stole to supply a drug habit). She is not allowed in the store ever again.

She went to buy something her mom asked her to pick up. By the time she made it to the checkout, the cops were at the front of the store pointing and talking about her. They said she looked suspicious with her hood on (idk??) and made her sign something saying she will not enter that location again. I guess once she left they ran her name they realized she wasn't allowed in any location.

By the time she got home her probation officer called her and said that there was a warrant for her arrest. She went and turned herself in, they processed her and let her go that same day.

Her probation was supposed to be up in July but now it seems up in the air because this is a violation of parole. In November she will go to court for either breaking and entering or trespassing charges.

They initially said that once the probation period was up the felony charges would be dropped but now I don't know because of this.

She's distraught and hasn't left bed in weeks. She has been clean since her probation started and I am afraid this is a huge set back.

What should we expect when she goes to court? Will her initial felony charges stick now?

Answer: She needs the best criminal defense attorney that any of you can afford. She is also not telling you the whole truth.Answer #2: You’re not getting the full story here. Your girlfriend has a theft problem and is likely going to do jail time.Answer #3: Ever been to a walmart?! They didn’t just randomly pick on her because she looked shifty. Everyone at walmart looks shifty in one way or another. You didn’t get the whole story here.


Title: HIV infection after lying about status

Question:
This happened in Dallas TX in 2012. I want to be as detailed as possible because I don't what all will affect the case. Also I don't need advice on how dangerous or morally depraved my actions were. I know I'm a terrible person. I just want to know if there is any legal grounds for a tort or criminal case.

I responded to a posting on Craigslist by a girl wanting an MMF threesome. I am bisexual so I decided to respond. The "girl" sent me the email of another guy she had been talking to to set it up. She requested in the posting that both guys be naked at the time she arrives. I email the guy and we set up to meet at his apartment, a really nice place in downtown Dallas. I get there and we start to hang out, but the girl never shows (obvious I know) so we mess around a little bit. He wants to have sex but I tell him I'm not ready. I leave his place after a pretty enjoyable experience. A week or so later we start texting and he says he wants to have sex. I tell him my reservations about getting HIV. He assures me that he was recently tested and is clean. I ask if I can see the results and he says the doctor doesn't give paper results, they just call and say whether you are positive or negative. He continues to assure me that he would never do something like that. Eventually I agree and we meet again. 3 years later I am in Korea teaching English and we have to undergo a routine medical exam. The results come back that I am HIV positive. Needless to say this is by far the worst 48 hours of my life. In a strange land with no family or friends at the end of a very long day, I then have to book a flight, take a 3 hour bus to the airport and then a 15 hour flight home. I had only had sex with two females after the encounter with him who were both confirmed clean after I told them the situation, so he is the only possibility (he is also the only guy I have ever had sex with). I texted him telling him I was positive and that he was the only person it could have been. He said he was sorry, and I said "so you have HIV?" And he said yes. I haven't spoke to him since and my life since then has been a chaotic spiral of depression and recovery and depression and recovery. I placed 100% of the blame on myself for my dangerous actions, but the more I think about it the more I feel like a victim, and I don't want anyone else to suffer my fate at his hands. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer: Do you have any evidence that he knew he was positive at the time of your encounter?