Title: [MN] An 18-year old friend of mine that recently moved to America is being forcefully brought back to his country of origin by a negligent parent. Is there a way that he can stay in the US?

Question:
I don't have all of the information, and he feels uncomfortable with posting himself, so I'll just say what information I have that is relevant.

* He is coming from Trinidad & Tobago. While it is not the worst country in the world, he understandably much prefers the US in terms of both living conditions and cultural atmosphere.

* He was brought to America in a tourist visa a few months back and was going to be staying until November. He was then going to go back to Trinidad, finalize everything, and then move back to the US permanently.

* He moved to the US due to a divorce with his mother who he implicitly trusted. He is not financially independent, does not have a job, and does not have his own mode of transportation.

* He is being forcefully brought back to Trinidad & Tobago by his mother whose competency seemed to be a complete lie. She was using her sister's information in hopes that she would pass as her, she was "mooching off of" the boyfriend that she moved to live with, and she is now forcing my friend to move back after promising him that he wouldn't have to worry about that.

* If he moves back to Trinidad & Tobago now he will in all likelyhood not have a real chance of moving back to the US in the near (or even medium-term) future.

* He may be able to find a place to stay for a few months, but the tourist visa will eventually run out.

I will definitely relay information to him and add in what information is deemed important that is missing, but this is what I have for now.

Answer:
 He's not being forced to return.  No one is physically or legally compelling him to return.  He's being told if he does not return, they will no longer support him.  He is CHOOSING to return in lieu of losing financial support.  Completely different case.

The only way to fix this situation is to become financially independent.  There is no way to force his family to continue to pay for him against their will.  Further, the US Government is unlikely to approve anyone they strongly suspect they will have to support (though he will not be eligible for state aid for likely some time).  You want to make your own decisions like an adult, you gotta pay your bills like an adult.

Likely he will have to return as part of the visa process anyway, but even in T&T he cannot be forced to stay against his will as an adult.  He should take steps to becoming financially independent and/or apply for schools in the US and look into loans if he wants to return.  If he has the skills, there are US companies who will sponsor visa applications.


Title: (Canada) Landlord lost dispute, threatening to go to media?

Question:
So my landlord issued notices after we rejected their illegal rent increase, and they hit my car (made a claim with insurance and won, the evidence was obvious), they said they will give me notice if I didn't drop my claim. They did.
I disputed the notices and at the dispute hearing, the notices were deemed wrongful and thrown out. We won.
Now, a family member of ours is a public figure in the local community running for an election. We were told through an acquaintance that the landlords will go to the media claiming we are not moving even after being given notice in an attempt to tarnish the family member, unless we leave immediately. Also claiming they can sway the vote of ~500 people.
Everything was done legally and even got the dispute verdict mailed to us.
Is there anything we can do legally about this?

Answer: Speak with an attorney that specializes in defamation law.


Title: Man brings un-vested dog into store, then threatens to press charges

Question:
I work at a supermarket in Michigan and I confronted an elderly gentleman during checkout who was walking his toy poodle around the store on a leash. I (calmly, kindly) advised him that he cannot bring animals into the store. (i.e: "Hey... by the way you can't bring animals into the store)
He then got offended and stated that it was, in fact, his service dog. But it had no vest. In saying it was a service dog, he immediately followed up by saying he was just dropping by the store real quick and he didn't have the dog's service animal certificate/card on him at the moment. I just advised him that next time he'll have to bring his card and the dog's vest the next time he comes in.
He then begins (calmly) threatening to press charges against me and possibly the store because of something about the stipulations in state Michigan law for service animals. Possibly referring to the ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act where it's illegal to ask the owner why they have a service animal. He also told me that my boss was okay with it (which I followed up, and my boss said he was okay with the guy's toy poodle as long as it wore a vest) and continued to threaten that he was going to spread negative things about the store and that he wasn't going to consider coming again.
(Note: he still comes regularly now with a vest, and sometimes without his dog.)
I learned that I know next to nothing when it comes to the legalities of service animals. My boss said there's nothing we can do to see if the dog is legitimate, and even if the dog is a fake it would cause harm to the store's business by word of mouth. The guy seemed serious about his threats and it sent me for a loop. What should I do? And what should/could I request from HQ to help discourage the use of fake service animals if anything?

Answer:
 1: A service animal doesn't have to have a vest. There's also no "certification" for service animals. Period. You cannot require a vest or a certification.

2: Service animals have no special protections if they're causing a disturbance or unable to be managed. If a service animal defecates in your store you tell the person the animal is not welcome.Answer #2: He has nothing to sue you for.  Since you are a grocery store, you are obligated to uphold food safety laws.  Service Animals are allowed in grocery stores, emotional support animals are not.

A service animal is defined in the ADA as a dog that has undergone explicit training.  Although handlers are not required to produce any kind of documentation that verifies the dogs' service annual status, you and your staff are permitted to ask two questions of the handler:

1)Is your dog a service animal?

2)What tasks does it perform?

Generally, service animals will have either a special vest or a specialized collar/leash/harness that also helps to indicate their status but I am not aware of any "mandatory" equipment.

If the patron cannot accommodate those two questions, or if they have an emotional support animal, then you are free to bar their entry.  You can be sued for upholding this [you can be sued for anything] but they would have no case. Also, that doesn't mean the patron will not run up a stink about discrimination.


Title: FL, Restaurant: Given unpaid time off while employer looks into "harassment allegations" for asking if two people are dating.

Question:
In FL, restaurant employee:

I was asked to head home mid-shift before my weekend, told they would call me a few days later with news.

I walked in on two guys during a possibly romantic, close moment. The first time I saw it I didn't think anything of it - the second time, they jumped like I had cought them. If it weren't for that I wouldn't have thought anything.

I asked a coworker if they were together. This coworker proceeded to tell everybody I said they were. I asked. shouldn't have asked. I only cared about it to the extend that two coworkers in a relationship chatty at work, who cares about the gender.

I'm sure it's spread like wildfire, I was asked to write down what I said, and was asked to go home while they investigate.

I was able to find out that these two had filed a harassment complaint, that I was starting the rumors.

I'm feeling I may still hear back that it's no problem I can go back to work. If not, where do I stand? Can I really get fired for that?

Answer: Yes, you can get fired for that.  In the future, assume most people working in a restaurant are sleeping with each other.  It is often/usually true


Title: [WA] Wife is divorcing me and taking the kids

Question:
My wife of 16 years has made it clear she is divorcing me even though I thought we were in love and I haven’t done anything wrong. I have two children, boy age 7 and a girl age 14 and the divorce court is probably going to side with her. I can’t lose my children they are my everything. Please help me I don’t know what to do.

For those wondering, wife is divorcing me on grounds of domestic violence that happened a few months ago. I apologized profusely and so I don’t know why she’s making a big deal about it. It wasn’t even a big deal for her to get upset over and now I’m going to lose my kids over it. Please is there anyone out there that can help. Without my kids my life is meaningless.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 >I haven’t done anything wrong

> wife is divorcing me on grounds of domestic violence

Yeah, so if you've been hurting your wife that's a rare case of grounds for you to maybe not be trusted around your kids either. Get a family law attorney and stop abusing people.

Edit: [grasshoppa confirmed troll](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoastMe/comments/94d1t4/31_virgin_only_made_eye_contact_with_around_5/). Stop making "jokes" out of abuse.


Title: MO we had a water main break by our work. We have 100 employees and no plumbing so no one can use the bathroom. Are we even legally allowed to be open for business?

Question:
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Bathrooms are an OSHA requirement. Answer #2: Wow, this literally just happened today at my office! Water was shut off all day and they wouldn’t close and made us use a bathroom in the next building over. I’m in another state but I knew this was wrong.


Title: A man is claiming to be the "Appointed Receiver" of rent for my building (Oakland, CA)

Question:
Edit 2: Thank you all; you all gave me spot on advice.  The guy was in fact from a collections agency hired by the loan company which my landlord owed money.  What he did was blatantly illegal.  For anyone else who is put in this situation, confirm it with every party you possibly can.

Edit: I absolutely agree with all of you commenters so far saying I shouldn't pay money to the random guy.  I should have said originally, though, that the reason I'm even asking this is that I have reason to believe my landlord is being foreclosed on.  It's not at all unlikely.

Two days ago a man rang my doorbell.  His first question, without introducing himself, was "have you paid this month's rent yet?", which I didn't answer immediately.  I had to probe a bit before he introduced himself and told me he was the "Appointed Receiver" of rent for my building, which contains four units, three of which are occupied.  He was holding papers which he said backed up his claim, but did not give me or my fellow tenants a copy.  He said he would come back yesterday or today, but he did not.

My landlord is denying that his claim is legitimate.  I don't fully trust my landlord, due to past circumstances.

I called the Oakland Housing Authority, who referred me to the Fair Housing Board, which doesn't deal with this type of thing.  I tried to contact my county's (Alameda) Superior Court, but they don't have a contact number that applies to my situation.  My questions are, what body can I contact that can clear up this situation for me, and who should I trust here, if anyone?

Answer: You owe the rent to the landlord so just pay how he requests you to pay. If the guy comes back tell him to not come back.


Title: [CA] Sister high on drugs in a hotel room, husband took kids for 3 days, anything as an their aunt that I can do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Is there some reason that the husband (and hopefully the father?) taking the children while the mother is in a state unfit to care for them is not the reasonable outcome?

You can obviously encourage your sister to seek treatment for her addiction.  Answer #2: Uhm... you leave it alone. The kids are with their father whom I assume is not a drug addict. Answer #3: Assuming it is the father of the children who has taken the kids, then there is nothing you can do unless you have reason to believe he is unfit as well. You can call the police and report the suspected drug use in the hotel room and they may or may not investigate. Answer #4: Your cousin is wrong.  You certainly can call the cops... Though they may tell you that there isn't anything they can do.

Is there any reason to believe that the children are in danger with their father?


Title: Fiancé's sister has a mental illness, has become aggressive but won't check herself in.

Question:
My fiancé is currently living with her mom, sister and our 6 year old kid in Eugene, OR. I'm currently in New York for graduate school.

Her sister is living with schizophrenia and lately has become extremely aggressive. Yesterday she got violent with her family members, choked my son (by pulling his shirt) and broke some car windows.

The cops were called and they took her to the hospital.

It is clear that she needs to be admitted to a mental hospital, she has spent some time there before as a minor.

She is now over 18 and won't sign the papers to be checked in. I am afraid that she will hurt someone, specifically my son who can't defend himself being so small.

Is there anything her family can do in order to have her checked in?

Any advice or help is appreciated. I am very stressed about this situation and am extremely worried about my son's safety.

Thank you all.

Answer:
 It appears in Oregan they can contact the county's mental health program and potentially they can try to have her committed http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/426.070

This seems like the program in Eugene, OR. http://www.lanecounty.org/Departments/HHS/Pages/default.aspx I would contact them and go from there.


Title: [Update] [CO] Can my university do this with my funding? If not, is it even worth fighting this?

Question:
[Original Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3i0e5y/co_can_my_university_do_this_with_my_funding_if/)

A quick recap: I was promised 3 years of funding with a $35k yearly stipend. My university paid me at a lower rate, leaving $13k of my stipend in my account and now wants to use it in conjunction with a 25% appointment to satisfy the 50% appointment requirement for the program.

**Update**:

I got in touch with the funding agency (NASA) and my contracts and grants office. They said that while I had a contract directly with NASA at one point, once the money started going through the university, the new contract with the university superseded mine (I am paraphrasing a little because they tossed around a lot of terms I didn't understand, so this may not be 100% accurate, but that's the gist as far as I understand).

Basically, it means that as long as the university is still using the funding for my education and not for other things, NASA is fine with it. The contract was also only extended until December, so the university's original plan of using the remainder of my stipend for next semester as well is no longer in the works.

For what it's worth, it looks like the university decided to use my stipend to pay me directly and paid my tuition bill in full (including fees and health insurance) from their funds. That means that I still get paid what I did before and not the $800 or so a month that I was quoted before.

Yaaay for having enough money to pay for rent and food.

I just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice and help I got in the previous thread. There's still lots of unanswered questions but at least it seems now that the federal agency is at least aware of what is going on (though they still don't really seem to care).

Answer:
 Do you know anyone in your office that would have access to the files related to this funding that you might be friends with? I work at a university and just read through this whole thing and am astonished. (Or are you saying now that you have the full stipend amount?)

What is the structure here, you mention you "department accounting office," is there not a general grants and contracts accounting office that is not department specific? They would be responsible to a different stakeholder than your department, and would be interested in appropriate use of funds rather than the specific financial interests of your department.

So sorry you are dealing with this!


Title: (North NJ) Mechanic caused a fire in my engine bay, did't mention a thing. Denies it all.

Question:
I recently had to drop off my (professionally) modified 1996 Nissan Maxima SE (you can find it in my submission history if you're interested) at a local shop I've only been to a couple times since I needed emergency repairs as it was not starting one morning. A few sensors had failed, along with the starter. So I brought it to this place nearby since they are relatively cheap, and our family mechanic isn't great with impromptu service (requires appointments in advance). I had my car towed over there and left it with him to work on while I ubered to work the rest of the week.

When I got the car back, it was now starting great, everything running much better than before - mostly. I immediately noticed my boost gauge was not working, and assumed he disconnected something while getting to my starter and forgot to hook it back up. Didn't think anything of it. Car was still acting a bit funky but I chalked it up to the very cold weather confusing my tune, which still seemed odd to me since the tune was done when it was around 40 degrees, not really that much warmer.

Over the next week I noticed the car showing some wacky AFR readings which didn't make sense since everything had been working perfectly before I started having the sensor issue. Decided to go in and look for boost leaks. What I actually found was far worse.

All the wiring near the starter's location and in the general vicinity is charred and/or slghtly melted. Plastic connectors visibly melted slightly, which would have required an enormous amount of heat. Vacuum lines melted apart. There must have been some VERY hot activity in there which must have been external to anything the engine or wiring could have produced itself (such as an electrical short or such). Additionally, this all must have happened with the hood opened, as there is no sign on the underside of the hood indicating heat damage or anything similar to the damage done to the wiring.  Also, my front lip spoiler has inexplicably gone missing, which I only noticed last night as well.

Long story short, the car was not like this before it went into the shop. Both I and the previous owner inspected the wiring near the engine the night before it went to the shop, and we saw nothing of concern. After I got it back, it is a mess, but I did not notice any of it until over a week after having the car returned to me.

I've confronted the mechanic about this and he denies everything. He babbled on about noticing some electrical short with the starter before he replaced it, but that could absolutely not have caused any of this. Not to mention none of this damage was there when the car went into his shop, and the boost gauge was not working immediately after getting the car back, which was due to the vacuum line being melted. He mentioned nothing about damaged wiring, which he would have noticed if it was like that when he was replacing the starter. I never had a dishonest impression of this guy and it pains me to think he was actually responsible for this and would be dishonest enough to deny it. But I can come up with no other explanation.

I have called my insurance company and they recommended I file a claim as vandalism. I don't know what they will actually cover but they will send an inspector out to assess the damage when I decide what move I want to make. What else should I know or what other actions should I take? Should I get small claims involved?

I am in awe that this happened and don't know how to properly proceed. I don't want to fuck this mechanic over and I don't want to believe this was really his doing but I have no other explanation for this. It doesn't add up any other way.

**TL:DR mechanic caused a fire in my engine bay, denies anything happened**
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: He did it. He may have insurance to cover damages in shop. Don't buy his story and get over your personal feelings on the man. It'll make the next steps easier.


Title: Need advice after altercation with my kids father

Question: Short story is I have a child with an ex. No court orders are in place regarding custody as we were never married and things worked out fine. Got into an argument, which almost never happens and I regretfully threw something at him causing a cut. He says the cops are looking for me and he is preventing me from seeing my child until I handle my business with the police. Any advice on the best course of action would be much appreciated.

Answer: You need a lawyer.


Title: Am I responsible for the damages from an overflowing toilet?

Question:
I'm in Snohomish County Washington. I moved into a 3rd floor apartment Friday night with my so. Our "walkthrough" of the apartment consisted of signing a paper as everything in the apartment was new. Except for the toilet, which is clear from the rusty capless bolts attaching it to the floor.

Yesterday my SO informed me the toilet got clogged with toilet paper. No brown matter, the water was completely clear. Thought nothing of it, figured I would give it some time to see if it cleared. My SO left for work. Was not back till 11:30pm.

Time did not work. I incorrectly estimated the amount of water in the toilet bowl, and it overflowed. Not a whole lot of water, half a gallon maybe. I stopped the toilet, and quickly went to grab some towels and cleaned things up. Left a mostly dry towel at the foot of the toilet. At this point I noticed that it had drained some, and figured I just needed a plunger.

I waited a bit. Checked in on the toilet, water level was a couple inches from the top.

I left to go get a plunger, and some things I had left at my friend's house. Left around 4:30pm, got home around 8:30-9pm

Got home, noticed the towel I had placed in front of the toilet was now in the tub, soaking wet, and the clogged was cleared.

My so got a call this morning telling us that emergency maintenance was called in around 6:41pm, because the apartments below us were getting flooded. Maintenance came in the toilet was overflowing, and flooding the bathroom. The took care of it, and cleaned up the water. They say that we are responsible, and that the lease says we are liable for any damages beyond normal wear and tear.

The ceiling of the apartment below us is apparently bowing out, and water was coming from the light fixture. I am assuming it will be several thousand to repair.

We also got a note that our apartment will be getting repaired, but there's no damage to anything, everything is dry already, and you can't tell that anything happened.

Also, when dealing with the toilet when it was overflowing, I took off the tank lid, and the underside of the lid is covered in mold. It looks like someone used masking tape to hide something in it at one point as there is tape just hanging from it. Not sure if this is relevant, but I feel like this is a maintenance issue, and not something I could have prevented.

I've dealt with clogged toilets before, I've never had one spontaneously start overflowing hours after the toilet was stopped.

I tried talking to the assistant manager in the office on the phone, but she refused to accept my explanation. Told me that I should have called maintenance for a clogged toilet, and that it was unreasonable that I left for so long when there was a known issue with the toilet.

It's a toilet paper clog, and this isn't a hotel. I assumed I was responsible for clearing it out. The toilet wouldn't drain, but it was no longer running. I left thinking things would be exactly the same when I came back.

Answer: You probably were responsible for clearing it out, but the manner in which you did was pretty poorly thought out. You walked away from a clogged, threatening toilet for at least four hours on one occasion. I think you dropped the ball on this one, whatever your experience with clogged toilets. Doesn't renter's insurance cover this?


Title: Wife is claiming rape.

Question:
My wife is claiming I raped her 2 years ago in GA. We have lived in TN for 2 years. Things weren't great back then, but she is now saying she will have me arrested because we are getting a divorce.

She has no proof, I have no proof. Can she file now that we are in a different state, will she have to file in GA?

And before anyone yells at me, it is a very complicated situation. She deals with depression (and I suspect borderline personality disorder). Things have gone up and down with our marriage and when things go bad, they go really really bad.

Answer:
 She can file a police report in Georgia for the rape up to 15 years after the fact.

She can't however have you arrested, as the decision lies with the authorities on how to proceed with the case.

I can't give you even a reasonable guess as to how they will choose to respond, but it will fall in between doing nothing and bringing you in for questioning.

If you are contacted by the police, be completely cooperative, but do not speak to the police about this matter without a lawyer present.


Title: (NJ) Coworker has allowed a person to stay on her couch, going on six months. Not charging rent. How to terminate friend's tenancy?

Question:
My coworker (S) has a friend who needed a place to stay so S offered to allow the friend to stay on her couch with no set term and did not charge rent.

Now, the friend has stayed on S's couch for six months with no end in sight. S has a spare bedroom but the friend/tenant has refused to move in there and continues to occupy a shared living space.

S has told me that she believes the tenant has found a new place, but I told her she should really get something in writing and potentially force the issue.

New Jersey has extremely tenant-friendly laws, but I know some of them don't apply to owner occupied dwellings (S owns her home where the friend is staying). I can't find much on how to terminate a tenancy of a non-rent paying person with no lease in an owner occupied dwelling.

What steps can S take to put a firm end date on this thing? Can she begin to charge rent without it constituting an "unconscionable" rent increase? How much notice would she have to give for raising (or, in this case, adding) rent?

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer: She should follow the steps to remove a month to month tenant.


Title: Accident with police car in an intersection. Not sure if officer was following proper procedures and police report doesn't match with actual events.

Question:
This happened in Lake County, IN, USA

My brother was involved in a low speed accident where he struck the rear end of a police car who entered an intersection with his lights on and siren off. My brother's light turned green and he proceeded to go and didn't see the police car until it was too late. He slammed on his brakes but still clipped the car. My brother said the police car was traveling at a high speed and just appeared out of traffic in the intersection. Damage to the police car was minimal and damage to my brother's car was moderate / mostly cosmetic with some torn radiator hoses.

Both cars pulled off the roadway into an adjacent parking lot. The country Sheriff Department was called to write up the incident report. 10 minutes after the accident, after multiple police units had responded, a witness shows up saying she saw the whole thing and "wasn't about to let that boy get away with it and that she followed him to make sure he didn't get away." Keep in mind the only movement post accident was from the crash scene to an adjacent parking lot. My brother was not ticketed at the scene.

The Sheriff insisted that they had to tow my brother's car. It was drive-able but they determined the car was unsafe (fair enough). They would not however allow my brother to call a towing service. They insisted that they had to use their towing service to bring the car to their lot. They wouldn't let him drive it or tow it himself to his mechanic literally 500 feet down the road. The Sheriff reassured him that he wouldn't be responsible for the tow.

Today he's at the impound yard and they want $180 for the tow and $120 for one days worth of storage... Plus now he has to pay for a two back to the mechanic. The guy at the impound yard said he would tow it to the mechanic if my brother paid cash and would give him a receipt for a lot more so he could turn it into his insurance company and "make a few bucks". WTF Insurance fraud anyone?

He received his police report and my brother was found at fault for "Failure to Yield" and "Driver Distracted" The police report also states that the officer had their lights AND siren on (a lie), and came to a complete stop before entering the intersection (another lie). It also contains the witness testimony where she said the officer had both lights and sirens on (a lie).

I looked up Indiana Code Title 9. Motor Vehicles § 9-21-8-35 and it says you need to yield to emergency vehicles who have either their lights OR sirens on but I don't know if there is a proper procedure that needs to be followed if you're entering an intersection. Surely you can't just go blasting through just because you have lights on?

My brother tried calling the local police department to ask about the tow fees and yard fees since he was told he wouldn't be responsible by the officer. He was eventually transferred to the county attorney's office. The attorney asked if the car was on the road. My brother said no it was in a parking lot. The attorney said it was unacceptable that they made him tow it and made him use their company. He then asked where the accident happened. My brother told him and the attorney was upset that they brought it to a yard 15 miles away in another town when they have yards right there in town. He also said the officer should have never said my brother wouldn't be responsible for the tow. He gave my brother his email and cell phone number and said to pay for the tow and yard fees and scan and email all the receipts and documentation to him and they will look into it.

Fortunately there were no injuries and damage was pretty minimal (under $10K combined).

Is my brother completely in the wrong here or is there a chance at some recourse? I imagine it's hard to prove anything without video footage and I don't even know how to go about getting that if the police car even had it. If you take away the fact that it was a police car that my brother hit the other drive would be totally at fault for blowing through a red light. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the whole situation and hoped this community could help! Thank you!

Answer:
 Yeah... you will need a real lawyer to deal with this mess if it happens like your brother is saying.

Contact businesses in that area and see if any of them have cameras facing the intersection.  Do this quickly as some businesses don't retain it for long.

Also, you will need a lawyer to see if dispatch had that officer responding to a call or had his lights and sirens activated.  Also you may be able to get a copy of the dash cam footage.Answer #2: Get a lawyer, they can then subpoena dash/body cam footage from the police/car, witnesses or local businesses. that eliminates the he said, she said nature of this accident.


Title: Firing an employee for not purchases from a certain store?

Question: Hello, my friend works at a car dealership as a detailer.  He was informed that if he buys a car from a different dealer, he would be fired.  I am just wondering if that is legal or not.  He is located in Nebraska if that changes anything.  Thanks!

Answer:
 >I am just wondering if that is legal or not.

While not wholly ethical, this isn't illegal. Buying a car from another dealership isn't a protected class, and they can be fired. Answer #2: Yes, it is absolutely legal. About 10 years ago, a [Coke driver got fired for drinking a Pepsi](http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/13/news/funny/coke_pepsi/index.htm) during work hours while wearing his Coke uniform. This is not very much different.

Imagine how it would look to a potential customer if a Ford dealership employee drives up in a new Toyota, parks in employee parking, exits in his Ford uniform and gets to work. It could make the potential customer believe that Ford employees don't have faith in their own product.


Title: [Update 2] To being intentionally ran down on my motorcycle. California

Question:
[Original Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/34rhb4/ca_was_intentionally_ran_over_on_my_motorcycle/)

[1st Update](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/398e9s/update_and_follow_up_question_to_being/)

I know this sub likes updates. I think I'm at an interesting crossroads legally.

My lawyer/his staff served the the man that hit me. I am not sure what he told his insurance company or their lawyers, but they're defending him in this matter.

They've requested a ton of personal information(home address, social security number, place of birth, etc. they could clone my identity with this stuff!) as well as relevant info regarding the particulars of the accident and my injuries. I was happy to see my lawyer redact personal info with objections and other particulars were objected to on grounds of harassing and antagonizing. It feels good to see a lawyer firing off in this manner.

I've still been unable to get the police report. It's a criminal matter under investigation so I'm in the dark on the specifics of him admitting this to the police. Other than I know he did from a vague re-telling by the officer.

I've been calling the DA every couple of weeks and no updates.

So after responding to the interrogatories, we sent an "offer to compromise". He has a pretty lofty policy limit($250,000) and we requested it.

We don't think they'll accept at this go-around. We stated my damages, future prognosis and surgeries needed, etc.

That letter was out a week, then I get a call from the DA. They feel they have a felony case here. Assault and battery with great bodily harm. He has an arraignment next month. This is great news for me and now that we have specifics about the criminal component, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out with the offer/counteroffer game we are about to have going on.

Answer: Have your attorney make sure nothing in the criminal case could effect your case. Intentional conduct may not be covered by insurance. It is rare, but I've had victims' attorneys call me asking to amend charges just for that reason. Answer #2: first I'm hearing of this, no legal advice to give but I hope surgery goes well and you can get back to riding!


Title: Am i legally obliged to answer the constable? What happens if i just block his number?

Question:
So yesterday, the constable attempted to call me whilst i was working, He then texted me after i didn’t answer saying he was the constable and needed to talk to me. He just called me again. I really don’t feel like talking to him, if it was important enough they would arrest me i figure. I did get in a fight the other night, so maybe it’s that.  Paris Texas
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 You're not obligated to talk to the police.

If you're arrested, retain a lawyer and politely refuse to answer any questions (outside of the semi-required stuff, like identifying yourself) without the guidance of that lawyer.

Your location might be helpful in this.


Title: Leasing Office withholding mail, is that legal?

Question: Here's the situation.  I live in an apartment building in Denver, CO and all UPS & FEDEX gets delivered to the leasing office.  If you don't pick it up during office hours (M-Th 9-5 and F 1-5) They lock it in their office and you can't pick it up until the office is open. Is that legal?

Answer: UPS and Fedex packages aren't mail.


Title: [CA] My friend is refusing to cooperate with police on a crime committed against her. I just want to know what the likely outcome will be.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Given the severity of the case the police will almost certainly try to proceed with charges even without your friend's cooperation. We can't know whether they will be successful.

When you say relationship do you mean an intimate relationship? If so this would appear to be a domestic violence case. In my experience police and prosecutors will do their absolute best to proceed with domestic violence cases even without victim cooperation.

As far as whether your friend can get in trouble: It's doubtful but not impossible. In my experience police and prosecutors are very hesitant to alienate innocent victims even when they're not cooperative.


Title: Gave my two weeks and my employer took my shifts

Question: So I put my two weeks in to the restaurant I work at on Friday the 17th. Today I was supposed to start at 2:00pm and my boss texts me at 9:00am to let me know when I put in my two weeks was actually my last day. Is this legal? Are they allowed to do this? I work in California, specifically the Sacramento region. I was supposed to be officially off at the 31st.

Answer: Yes, it's not uncommon.  You should file for unemployment, since you've now been terminated instead of quitting.


Title: Demoted while on maternity leave

Question:
Ive worked as a server/bartender/manager at a small family restaurant for 6 years. Ive recently been forced to take a medical leave due to a high risk pregnancy. While gone, my boss informed me that the management position will no longer be mine when i return to work which means a fairly large pay cut for this new momma. Im sick to my stomach over this but dont think there is much i can do as i am not covered under FMLA because we only have about 20 employees. Any advice? What legal recourse can i take if it is illegal?

I'm in Georgia BTW

Answer: You are correct that without FMLA protection, it is legal to demote you due to absence for pregnancy. It is extremely unfortunate, but legal. Answer #2: If its not FMLA leave, it doesn't [appear](https://www.growingfamilybenefits.com/georgia-state-maternity-leave-laws/) Georgia law goes further.


Title: Illegal or just unethical? (CA)

Question: To make this short, planned parenthood called me about a test result. Someone who wasn't me answered my phone told them that it wasn't me but that he could take a message and they told him my test results which I didn't really want him to know. Is this illegal or just unethical? California btw.

Answer: It's likely a HIPAA violation; depending on what exactly they disclosed. But there isn't a private right for action under HIPAA beyond making a report.


Title: How do I become a preferred Expert Witness with attorneys?

Question:
I conduct a investigation service that is specialized, and want to be able to establish connections with attorneys in order to get cases. We are a team of seasoned experts with decades of experience including hindreds of depositions under our belts, each.

But attorneys won’t use us until they know us, but they won’t know us until they use us… How do I get a foot in the door?

Answer: In your decades of experience, you must have worked with other attorneys. Start there.


Title: MN Mom was wrongfully fired from factory

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 File for unemployment.

Otherwise nothing to do. Answer #2: Sorry to break it to you, but your mom wasn't wrongfully terminated. Filing for unemployment while looking for gainful employment is the next real step.

This next part isn't legal advice, the only legal advice I've got for you is that there's absolutely nothing you can do.

Just try and find something that she know how to do. If she's not authorized to work in the States it makes it more difficult, but provided that she is authorized to work here, she can surely find something. It may be something as shitty as housekeeping for the local motel, or depending on her proficiency in English and languages other than English, she could even get certified as a translator and find a job.

Best of luck, my friend.


Title: (CA) Employer never paid California state taxes/disability for his employees and now one employee out on FMLA just found out that as far as California disability is concerned he’s been unemployed for the past 3 years. What should/can he do?

Question:
Little context.  We’re in California. I’m the manager.  We’re government contractors.  As in, some company gets awarded a government contract to perform a job.  In this case were air traffic controllers on a military base.

We worked for this contract company for 3 1/2 years and now a new company has the contract.  Happens all the time.  We keep going to work and we get paid by a different company.  No big deal.

Due to all the pay issues we had with our last employer I know we fall under all California laws.  We had 2 investigations from the California department of labor.

Pretty straight forward.  Employee’s girlfriend has baby.  Goes on FMLA right away.  You can’t submit the paperwork until after kid is born.   This was 4 weeks ago.   He gets a letter yesterday from California disability(where FMLA is paid from) that they have no income or disability paid shown from the three years we works for the shitty company.

So what can he do?  Does he need to get a lawyer?  Contacting the old company is impossible.  It was literally just a dude in Florida.  He’s cut off all ways to contact him once the contract was over.

Any ideas?

Thanks much.

Answer:
 The EDD/SDI office should have provided instructions for an appeal along with the written denial of benefits. Your friend should submit an appeal right away. You’ll want pay stubs or some other proof that you worked for this company. EDD will review his written appeal, and if they still turn him down, he can then ask for an administrative review. This will give him an opportunity to speak personally to someone to get this overturned. He can call the SDI customer service hotline as well, but I’m not sure how much advice they’ll have for his specific situation. Most likely they’ll tell him to file an appeal.

A consultation with a lawyer is a good idea, especially if you need assistance getting information from the various companies. You should also see if there are any disability advocacy groups who might have insight as well.Answer #2: This may not help your situation, but the employer committed fraud against the US government, so I would contact the US Attorneys office, or perhaps even the Defense Contract Audit Agency (sounds like this was a DoD contract).

Government contracts are very detailed and reimbursement is based in part on the contract expenses, which include the taxes on employees. So the employer committed fraud by taking money from the govt for certain expenses and pocketing the money instead. The government will certainly be able to track this guy down.


Title: Manager gave specific details about my health to my entire team

Question:
I wasn't going to raise a big stink about it until I talked to a few people that are saying I should be mad.

I was sick in the hospital, ended up getting a pretty nasty infection (kinda gross, nothing super embarassing), I told my boss what I had and that I am highly contagious so I need to miss work until I'm cleared by my doctor.

My manager sends out an email to me and all of my coworkers specifying "V1k1ng1990 is out sick indefinitely with (insert infection here).  Currently infectious, not good.  (google it).

I know there is a HIPPA aspect here but I'm not sure since it seems like it was more of a warning to my coworkers.  Should I do anything or just move on with my life?

Answer:
 Not a HIPAA violation since your manager is not a healthcare provider.  It's insensitive, but not illegal.  Drop it and move on.Answer #2: HIPAA*

HIPAA only covers those actually working in the health field, so it does not apply here. It's incredibly insensitive, but to even your admission not even really embarrassing. Your boss was most likely just trying to highlight to the team how contagious you were with this "non-embarrassing" condition.

You can maybe talk to your boss about it if you feel strongly about it. Nothing illegal,however. Maybe best to drop it and not let "a few people" try to sour **your** work environment.


Title: Are public defendants generally free of charge?

Question: I have a court case appearance this week for a misdemeanor in the State of California and as a student I really cannot afford a lawyer. Are public defendants provided by the courts at all?

Answer: Sometimes they're free. Some localities charge, but it is significantly less than hiring a private attorney. You'll have to prove to the court you're indigent in order to receive a PD. They'll ask questions and probably request some financial documents.


Title: I'm 18 and my parents don't want to pay for my college. Help (NY)

Question: My parents do not want to pay for my college because they are not supportive of what I want to study. I don't qualify for any financial aid because my parents income is far too high. I've explained the situation to the school (CA) I'm enrolled to and they said there's nothing they can do about giving me loans or financial aid. I would be willing to take on the debt, but I do not have anyone to cosign a student loan. I thought about getting emancipated, but I'm already 18 and I'm not sure if there is a point to that anymore. What are my options?

Answer:
 You might have better luck in /r/personalfinance. There isn't really a legal aspect to your question...Answer #2: Unfortunately, you don't have many. About the only thing you can do is get a job and then go to college later when you are an independent student. Generally, to be an independent student you need to be 1) 24 or older, or 2) be married, or 3) have dependents or 4) be a veteran plus a few other options that it doesn't sound like you be eligible for.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency

Your parents do not have to pay for your college education if they don't agree with your major: you don't have to go to college and take a major you don't want to. Seems reasonably equitable to me.


Title: Cousin was hit by drunk driver. Cause of death ruled to be a heart attack. Drunk driver gets off. Is now suing my aunt and uncle (Canada)

Question:
My 15 year old cousin was hit by a drunk driver while she was crossing the street (she had the right of way and he ran a red light while driving the wrong way down a one way street). She died at the scene. The driver was initially charged with impaired driving causing death and driving/car/control while impaired. However the coroner ruled that the cause of death was a heart attack, even though she was injured by being hit. My cousin was born with a heart condition and her doctor believes the crash and impact was what caused it. At any rate once the cause of death was determined not to be from the crash the case against him fell apart and because of that reason the crown withdrew both charges. Now the driver is suing my aunt and uncle for damages to his car and a bunch of other stuff. My aunt and uncle almost went bankrupt paying for my cousin's funeral and from traveling to attend court for the trial. He has a fancy high priced lawyer. My aunt and uncle can't afford a long legal battle. What are the chances of this lawsuit going anywhere? Could the impaired driver actually win money from them?

**EDITED** for clarity

Answer:
 > What are the chances of this lawsuit going anywhere? Could the impaired driver actually win money from them?

Unfortunately, we can't really answer that.  We don't know his case.  We only have your side of the story; for all we know, there is lots and lots of evidence that shows your cousin to actually be at fault.

Do your aunt and uncle have insurance policies?  Those policies may cover this.  Past that, they absolutely need an attorney to help them with this.  They may have the ability to counter-sue; the dropping of charges doesn't make him not responsible, it only means that he's not been convicted.Answer #2: I would be absolutely amazed if this guy won damages from your aunt and uncle for the damages to his vehicle from the pedestrian that he hit.

As for legal advice, try to find a lawyer that will take this case pro bono, as I'm sure that there are plenty of lawyers that'd like the chance to do some good and get some good press out of it.

Edit: I am of course taking your story at face value, and not questioning your retelling of events. That may be naive of me.Answer #3: I am absolutely shocked that he wasn't held criminally liable for her death.  That is just insane to me.

Please consider keeping us posted about this!Answer #4: try to find a personal injury lawyer who will take the wrongful death suit on contingency


Title: Garage thief?

Question:
I live in the off-site housing of a military base. It is typical for neighbors to leave unwanted but potentially desirable items on the curb the night before garbage is collected, the purpose being so that anyone who wants  them can take them.

 I troll for furniture several times a month because I like to make new things from old things. Occasionally I sell what I make, but usually I donate it to the on-base thrift store. Sometimes I post before and after photos to the community Facebook. A lot of my neighbors will grab up other people's junk for me if they think I'll like it, so again, this is a well known occurrence.

Anyway, a neighboring family who hates me for unrelated and likely racist reasons "just" realized that I've collected some of their thrown out furniture.  They were well aware of what happens to curb trash when they left it out, but they are saying I stole  their property. I say "just" because they've always known I take curb stuff, including theirs. They were probably waiting until I had enough of their sixteen year old  legless furniture (seriously, nothing they leave out ever has its legs) in my possession to make a statement upon asking the cops to search my property. That, or they are hoping to get their revamped table back for free after I fixed it up. I was going to donate it. I would have fixed it and given it directly to them if they had asked.

 That being said, I don't know if they are right, but I do know they are assholes and I'd rather they not win. -Should I just return whatever I have of theirs. With them accusing me of stealing I don't know if that is smart.

 Should I just discard their items to...negate(?) having took them because they were on their way to the dump anyway?

 To recap:
1) am i a thief? :(
2) should I give them back what things I have of theirs, can/should I keep them because they were trash, should I discard them and if I do discard them will that make the neighbors whole?

Mississippi.

Answer: Here's what you do: get ahold of your first line, be it your platoon sergeant or your platoon leader, and let them know what's going on. Let him/her know that you have someone who may be trying to cause issues for you. They may have you notify the MPs just so they are aware. At that, you'd be covered. Not only are you doing nothing illegal, you've allerted your chain to your activities and this person's actions. That way, if they try to start something, you have (hopefully) the support of your chain behind you. Also, don't tell AAFES or they'll try and wring their 15% out of you ;-)


Title: 2nd time charged with possession in MI after 7411 has already been granted

Question:
I was charged with possession in MI 2 years ago and completed all the requirements of 7411, I am now facing a 2nd possession charge almost 3 years later. The prosecutor sought information out of me and I aided him. He "had no objections to 7411" however I have already been granted this once.
So my questions are as follows:

Can I be granted 7411 if the judge thinks I should get it?

If I am not granted 7411 is there another sort of probation I can be granted?

And can you actually get 7411 twice in any instance

I'm a full time college student as well.

Than any and all for your time

Answer:
 7411 is a deferred sentence for first time offenders.  You're not a first time offender, so maybe the prosecutor is mistaken.  You will be VERY lucky to get first time offender leniency as a second time offender.  If this is even on the table, you need an attorney ASAP to make sure this option stays.  This makes a HUGE difference for your future employment prospects.

You need to go into a substance abuse program.  You got busted with an illegal substance, was given lenience, and you were unable to quit using, and now you're facing actual serious penalties. What next?  You spend a year in jail and get out, and go right back to smoking?  Seriously, get into a substance abuse program before your life is completely ruined.


Title: Terminally Ill, thinking about setting up a trust for my sons.

Question:
>Backstory

I've known for a couple weeks now. My doctor had been a friend of mine for years and I get a call back to come in for additional testing. He said we could fight, take every treatment available and that I could probably make it a year, but it would be rough and miserable. I've decided instead to come home and be as comfortable as I can. Euthanasia is obviously illegal so I've given permission for the use of extreme pain management, a morphine drip when the time comes.

>What I want

I have two sons and I would like to set up a trust for them. I've worked part time at a bar for the past seven years (im almost 30), I make around 20k a year in reported income. I have a home valued at 270k that I paid off two years ago, I have two cars valued around 12k, 31k and a bike valued around 5k, all paid off. I keep 8k in my savings account and I have 140k in a safety deposit box at the bank. I have no debt and I have a life insurance policy that will pay out 500k. Never thought in a million years cancer was going to be what killed me. There might be some issues with setting up a trust, the mother of my children is married to another man and both of my sons share his last name.

>Is a trust the best way for me to pass on my assets?

What would you guys recommend?

>Edit

Was told by maybe 20 people to post here. I have a consultation with a law firm on friday and the only thing that stands in my way is informing my father, whom is going to oversee some of my assets in my absence.

>edit

I'm in the United States

Answer:
 There are two big things.  The first is about the trust.  Name a trustee that you 100% trust with the money & with decision making.  If you don't have a family member that would suit, name a professional.  Yes, it will cost you a bit but it's better than having a lay trustee steal things and then leave your kids with only the right to sue some spendthrift person.  If it's a bank or large organization they have a good chance of recovery at least.

Second, given your assets & your income, there is a non-zero chance that the IRS is going to become very curious indeed, unless you inherited wealth yourself.  So talk to an estates attorney that specializes in tax issues.Answer #2: How is it that you have $450k+ in assets bar tending part time for 7 years?Answer #3: What exactly is your diagnosis? Not that it's unheard of but you are very young to have such an advanced cancer. I know your friend is "a doctor" but is he an oncology specialist? I used to work for a cancer center and saw a fair share of people who got "death sentences" go into remission. For any serious diagnosis, and especially cancer id research the best oncologist you can find to get another opinion if you haven't already.


Title: Car was towed, company is asking me to pay $520. $250 for the tow and 270$ for 3 days storage.

Question: My apartment complex was not aware that i had gotten a new car, as my old was registered but my new one was not. Therefore they didn't notify me when they noticed a car had been parked in a residential only spot. Does anybody have any advice?

Answer:
 Pay the tow? You didnt register your car to be able to park there. Answer #2: > they didn't notify me when they noticed a car had been parked in a residential only spot

How would they know it was your new car if you didn't tell them? How would they know to notify *you* specifically? Not that they would have to, but maybe they would have, had they known.


Title: (Wisconsin) Future ex wife continuing to drive a leased car in my name well beyond a mileage limit, can I repossess the car in some way?

Question:
My wife and I are getting divorced. She has a personality disorder, stole money from my 401k and three weeks ago I discovered she was a serial cheater (and lots of other things that aren't relevant).  She agreed to a quick lawyerless divorce and didn't want any money (she had already stolen $25k~ from my 401k) but she did want her car.

She drives a 2014 Honda that she had to have. It's in my name and I make the payments. She wanted to keep the car because she wants to find a job. I figure ok, fine. There are literally five months left and I told her when it's up she's on her own, she agreed. I figured 5 car payments was cheaper than legal bills and trying to divide what was left of my assets.

She's living with her parents, her dad calls me and asks when the last time I changed the oil on the Honda was. I said probably 8 months ago. He said "oh well I guess I should change it with all her trips". I asked what trips, she met some dude in Nebraska online and has been driving back and forth multiple times a week.

Some of you can probably guess where this is going. The car is about 4,500 miles over the mileage limit. Her dad and I always got along, I told him to take the keys from her. He didn't know where they were and he said he didn't feel comfortable getting involved anyway.

I went over there last night but she was gone. She is ignoring my texts and calls. Her parents aren't sure when she comes and goes but they said I should let her keep it until she finds a job and can get a car of her own. I asked if they would pay the overage fees and they sort of hemmed and hawed and mumbled something about "a few hundred." It's 0.25 per mile so it'll probably be over a thousand at this point. I told them DO NOT LET HER LEAVE FOR NEBRASKA WITH THAT CAR or else I will report it stolen since it's in my name and she will be found by the police and arrested.

Legally what can I do if she doesn't surrender the car? Should I call the police and report it stolen? Do I try to repo or something? Please help.

Answer: This is exactly the kind of thing you need a lawyer for.  What if she doesn't turn the car in at the end of your lease?  Do you have anything in the order other than "she gets the car"?  Answer #2: Is the divorce over? What did the papers say about the car? That it's hers and you have to keep making payments? Did your divorce papers talk about who would be responsible for any costs associated with the lease?


Title: Got Reared ended, not injured, I want my car fixed but person's insurance saying they aren't liably

Question:
So this was our first ever car accident

Husband driving, me in passenger seat, and our 2 year old in the back.

We are on left lane and a moving truck suddenly cuts us off. Husband had slowed down when it cut us off and was starting to accelerate again when we get hit in the back. Lady gets off and first thing she asks is who is at fault. Ok rude but whatever. She said she got hit too by another car but they drove off. We never saw another car that supposedly drove off.

We call 911 so we can get accident report cause I think that's what you are suppose to do.

We waited 1 hour! In middle of traffic.

Whatever. Finally police come, they move us, and we get police report.

Thankful we aren't hurt and I'm not playing the "ow my neck hurts" either.

I try calling the lady's insurance(state farm) so we could get our trunk fixed because it's hard to open now and idk how extensive the damage is cause even the lady's plates are plastered into the bumper.

Now they keep saying they will call me back when they have a statement for the lady but supposedly she never answers and that they are most likely not liable because another car hit her pushing her into us so they are not liable to cover the damages.

What the hell! What do I do? If i go through our insurance I have to pay the deductable and we Really can't afford it. And idk how a lawyer would work it's not like we are injured and they can make big bucks off us.

I just want our car fixed. I'm not trying to scam and cheat like so many people do. But I thought if someone rear ends you they are at fault for following too closely or am I wrong?

Answer:
 From my understanding, she is liable because she hit you. Call your insurance company, you pay them to represent you and to take care of this business. Answer #2: First off, don't talk to HER insurance. They are not there to help you, they are there to help her. Call YOUR insurance (you have to report it to them anyways, you'll be in trouble if you don't) and tell them what happened. They have their own lawyers to handle these things, and if they are found at fault your insurance shouldn't go up.

If they are telling the truth, that another car hit them and sped off, then there will be evidence of that; they will have damage on the rear of their car as well. Did they? Even if that's the case, then liability will be split between the one who hit them, and them for not following at a safe distance.

The only thing you are wrong about is not wanting to call YOUR insurance. Do that. Now. Seriously, it will be worse if you don't.


Title: School confiscated my Sports Equipment

Question: I know this is a small issue, but it means the world to my kid. She quit softball recently and while practicing during her open 6th period... the coaches confiscated all of her equipment, saying mistakingly it belonged to the school. Im going there today to talk with them. What recourse do I have if they keep it? There is no insignia or writing on her equipment showing it belongs to her.

Answer: You go to the school and request your property returned. If it is not call the police non-emergency line and explain the issue.Answer #2: Can you bring any receipts or bank statements that show you bought the equipment? Might be a quick way to prove ownership and resolve the issue.


Title: [Chicago] Breaking my lease by finding a re-let, but landlord won't release me even though I found a new tenant.

Question:
[Background]I'm currently 7 mo. into a 1-year lease for a room in a Chicago duplex condo. The condo is privately owned by a woman who lives in a different part of the city. She rents out each room on individual leases, pays for all utilities, and keeps personal belongings in the condo. I've found that the landlord behaves duplicitously and is keen on keeping my roommates and me in the dark with matters concerning the house. Currently, there are 3 other roommates, all with separate leases for their respective rooms. One roommate has a lease ending Feb 28.

[The problem] I notified my landlord back in December that I will be moving out earlier than what my lease agreement. The lease agreement has a re-let clause for just that occasion. So I began showing my room, and to increase my chances of being released from the lease, I proposed to my landlord that if I can find a new tenant for either my room or my roommates' room that this should suffice to meet the re-let clause in the lease. She said that this was acceptable.

This past weekend I found a new tenant for my roommates' room, and he has since: paid the deposit, provided proof of income, provided credit score, proof of employment, passed a background check, AND SIGNED THE LEASE (This is all criteria that the landlord wanted to be met for the new tenant). However, despite all of this being above board, my landlord has yet to give me written confirmation that I am released from my lease and is still planning to show the roommates' room this weekend. Which to me seems like she's trying to undercut my find so that I am unable to move out.

What legal recourse do I have after all of this?

Thanks in advance, and I am happy to provide further details if need be.

Answer:
 > What legal recourse do I have after all of this?

Move out on time and don't pay her anything. Keep all records and interactions. It might be worth it to get on good terms with the new subletter. If you get sued, bring your evidence.

Bonus points: If you can get the subletter to provide proof that s/he has been paying rent to the LL, bring popcorn and watch the judge shred her.


Title: I am the only male employee in my group and my boss has been sexually active with more than one of my female coworkers/new hires. I am losing shifts and getting nowhere near the same treatment (MD, USA).

Question:
I work in a bar in Baltimore County, MD. The owners of this bar are from Nepal and have a very different way of conducting their business. I took this job during a time when I was quite strapped for cash, otherwise I would have avoided it because I knew things didn't feel right from the beginning.

During my first few days there I provided the owners with all the necessary information required by businesses to continue employment, such as SSN and other info. So far all of my paychecks have come in cash from the adjacent liquor store. Small amounts since most of my pay comes in tips but that just felt fishy. I digress.

I have been told by two female employees that something sexual in nature has occurred between them and the owner. Three weeks ago he hired a new girl, this girl also happened to live in an apartment in which she "rented" from the owner of the bar I work at. She was more inexperienced than anyone I have ever worked with in any field, she wasn't certified to be a bartender, and she constantly had private, non work related texts with the owner that were witnessed by another female employee.

What I am getting at is that there seems to be a special kind of "pay-to-play" scenario playing out at my job because inexperienced and less tenured employees are benefiting from a horny owner and I feel like there has to be some sort of recourse.

Thank you for all input. Feel free to ask me to elaborate on anything because I tried to be somewhat brief.

Edit: I'm bad with phrases.

Answer: The phrase is "strapped for cash" but yours absolutely works in the literal sense. And what they do with other employees isn't your concern. But being paid in cash is not legal (for them, or for you, if you don't pay taxes on it). Federally, you can report the "business" to the IRS. As for discrimination, if you are being discriminated against in the workplace due to your gender, you can file a complaint with the state of Maryland [here](http://www.workplacefairness.org/file_MD). Stick to what you know and can prove; stick to your own personal experiences. Also, start looking for a less-bullshit/illegal job. Good luck.


Title: Rejected from job opportunity for not having enough personal friends on social media?

Question:
 **What is a social media following and why is it unlawful to hire  someone based on the size of their personal social media following?**

I had applied for a 5 hour to 30 hour per week social media position at The University of Michigan.  **However, I was rejected from the position only for reason that I was  not deemed personally "popular" enough. Therefore I was not given the chance for a in person  interview to explain my professional qualifications.**   I  applied to the job as I felt that I had optimally sufficient work  experience to fulfill the task at hand and was confident in my ability  to perform the given tasks despite the broad weekly hour range would not  be a problem for my schedule. I understood, some weeks I would work  alot and others I might not work many at all based on the promotions  being planned. I was Ok with this.

What I am not Ok with.

As stated by the U of M Hiring Manger :

 Dear    ,
While we agree you have a **great resume, unfortunately one of our measures  of a qualified candidate was not met by your application, which was  having a large number of followers on Twitter (e.g., 10K, as mentioned  under required qualification in the job description).**

**This is why we were not able to extend an interview to you.**

 **What is a social media following and why is it unlawful to hire  someone based on the size of their personal social media following?** This  is is an interesting topic and also the subject of my complaint. By  definition a following indicates a higher level of engagement with the  audience, giving it more value than [other engagement metrics](http://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-is-social-media-engagement/).

Given  that definition, lets theoretically purpose that we have two equally  qualified candidates for a social media job. Let's call them candidate A  & candidate B. "A" has a personal following of 50 and prefers the  right of privacy on Twitter and "B" has a following of 10,000 on Twitter  and lets anyone follow their account. For the reason of privacy, keep  in mind that Twitter enables users to be selective of whom they allow to  follow them. [https://www.straight.com/blogra/548341/twitter\-tip\-how\-make\-someone\-unfollow\-you](https://www.straight.com/blogra/548341/twitter-tip-how-make-someone-unfollow-you)

After  further research of the personal info, the hiring manager has now seen  that candidate A is a female while candidate B is also a female. Lets  keep in mind that both candidates are equally qualified however the  hiring manager decides to extend an interview to candidate "B" instead of  candidate "A" based on good looks and a large twitter following. As it turns out candidate A had been previous a victim of a cyber stalker and does not allow people to freely follow her thus limiting her social reach for saftey purposes.

In  this theoretical legal example  described above, exposure of personal  details such as as personal Twitter following were not sufficiently  necessary to make a hiring decision. In the complaint I have personally  brought forward, "good looks"might not be the case however, we can see  that exposure of personal details in the hiring process can lead to  unintended consequences. In the case embarrassment. I should have been  given an equal opportunity for employment based on my professional  experience not the size of my personal twitter following. I have the  right to personal privacy on the internet

Answer: You applied for a social media position. You were unable to demonstrate adequate experience or skill in social media. They did not hire you. That's perfectly legal.


Title: Employer is telling us to clock out for 15 minute break (in Virginia)

Question:
I work in food service. My employer has started cutting costs by reducing the amount of people on the shift, cutting store hours, and enforcing breaks. Today we were notified to tell employees to clock out for 15 minute breaks or longer. I have never heard of this, and any info I can find tells me it has to be paid but I’m not sure if there’s a loophole. I confronted the owner about this with screenshots of the federal law on a government website and he ignored me. As far as I know federal law is 15-20 minute paid breaks.

Will I be in Trouble if I don’t enforce this? Should I enforce this? Is this legal?
Topic:
Labor Law (Unions)

Answer:
 VA law is what matters here, and if it says breaks don't have to be given, then they don't have to be given and they certainly don't need to be paid if the law doesn't say they do.

Food service is an awful job and the fact that a food service company in Virginia is giving you 15 min+ breaks at all is kind of impressive.


Title: Old place of work was a scam and now is threatening legal trouble.

Question:
In springfield ohio there is this place called vector marketing and after failing to get job for so long I decided to try this place out and to my surprise I was hired almost on the spot.

More or less you go door to door selling knives and you were supposed to make money based on each appointment you make and a bonus for each sail made. Well it later turned out that they pretty much chose to pay you when ever (which they lied about in the orientation) and thus I quit. I mailed back the "kit" they loan you (which is a bunch of demonstration knives) and I got no calls from them for about 6 months.

Well yesterday they called me threatening legal action for the kit they say I never returned. Are they truly able to do this or they just trying to scam me again? If so what can I do to prevent this?
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 Cutco is a scam. They make money two ways. First, selling this overpriced demo "kit" to desperate schmucks and second, from the family of said desperate schmuck who feels bad and buys their overpriced garbage. Answer #2: For all those that dont know, vector marketing is a pyramid scheme.

> Are they truly able to do this or they just trying to scam me again? If so what can I do to prevent this?

I would stop contact with them and wait for them to serve you. Either they'll forget about it or this is a bluff for more money. Do you have any receipt of your return or emails which you stated you were returning the equipment? Answer #3: Did you have a tracking number or have a return receipt for the mailed package? Without proof if they claim you didn't return the knife set you will have a fight on your hands.


Title: [OH] Separating Couple, Husband takes kids and is not allowing the mother to see them?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: She can go to court. She has no more of a right to the children then he does. They need court ordered custody


Title: [GA] Random number that is similar to mine accusing me of spam calling over text, saying they will file a police report. Assuming I have nothing to worry about.

Question:
Screenshots of the conversation: https://imgur.com/a/SXqQXAl

The screenshots explain it all, a random phone number that is very close to mine (same first 3 digits) randomly texted me accusing me of spam calling them and their friends and claiming they will file a police report. Obviously I wasn't the one that did it, but they wouldn't have it.

For some clarification, I've gotten many spam calls from across my state from numbers also with the same first 3 digits as me, which I assume is a form of number masking. It's likely this is what is going on here.

I'm going to assume I have nothing to worry about but figured I should post here since this is the first time something like this has occurred to me.

Answer: Don't worry about it for a second.  While this idiot has not heard about call spoofing yet and the (relatively) recent trend of 'neighbor spoofing, the responding officer has.


Title: 32/F/South FL. Just found out I was FALSELY diagnosed 2 years ago with an Opiate overdose despite ALL lab results from the ER proving otherwise! I saw the same dr yesterday in the ER, and I just found out during my follow up, that he misdiagnosed me again, and my condition is BAD!

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Medical malpractice is very fact specific and outside the scope of this sub. You need to hire a local attorney versed in the ins and outs to assist you.


Title: Can what I earn effect my dad's disability paycheck?

Question:
I don't feel like this warrants the actual sub, so I thought it best to post here. This is in massachusetts.

&#x200B;

I'm an adult, late 20s, and I like with my dad. He retired on disability due to health issues. I live with him mostly because rent in Mass is ridiculous but to help him too. I work part time and dont pay rent. All our bills are separate expect I pay for the cable/internet because I use it a lot more than him.

&#x200B;

I had a friend's brother tell me that the social security department might lower my dad's monthly check if they found out I was living with him and making money. I tried to google stuff but couldn't find anything. Can anyone point me in the right direction to find out the answer?

Answer: Not unless you’re claiming him as a dependent.Answer #2: Social Security benefits don't depend on household income.  SSI does.  So it depends on which he gets.


Title: [USA][NYC][International Law] My friend panicked and signed her own I-20. Will she be banned from the country?

Question:
I have no idea what was going on through her mind, but I have a friend who tried to get her I-20 document signed on the morning of her flight home to Egypt. The office was closed and she panic signed the I-20 in order to make the flight on time. I noted that it is missing an identification stamp like the 2 previous years and looks a bit sloppy. Plus I'm sure the school keeps records of these types of things.

There is no point for me to reprimand her anymore, it will only maker her feel worse. But we are scared she wont be able to re-enter the country anymore. She still needs 1 more semester to graduate.

How big of a deal is this? Do we have any options? Can we contact the school? Would contacting an immigration lawyer be any use?
Thank you for your time.

Answer:
 > How big of a deal is this?

Big deal.  If she forged anothers signature, or signed where she was supposed to have an official sign . . . then a really big deal.

> Do we have any options? Can we contact the school? Would contacting an immigration lawyer be any use?

Contact an immigration attorney before she does anything else.


Title: Becoming a lawyer in Colorado

Question:
Not sure if this is the relevant subreddit, if not I apologise. I recently moved to Colorado from South Africa. I studied law in South Africa and was doing my Board exams before I moved to Colorado (I didn't finish all my boards). How can I start on the path to becoming a lawyer in Colorado? Do I have to get a bachelor's degree here before I right the LSAT and then go to law school?

I've done some digging but the American system is confusing and the sites I have found have been a little ambiguous. Hope you can help!

Answer:
 If you studied law as, essentially, an undergraduate in a foreign country but never practiced law, you need a JD from an ABA-approved school before you can take the bar exam in most states.

If you graduated with the equivalent of a bachelor's degree, check with the school you're interested in to see if that is sufficient to qualify you to apply (along with an LSAT, etc.).


Title: Stock Market Legal Advice

Question: TN Resident here. On Dec 1, COTE announced they were doing a 1:200 split, and moving trading from COTE to COTED. Cool, whatever. I own 15000000 shares. However, they neglected to deliver said shares to my E*Trade account, not expected to complete for another 48 hours. About 99.9% positive this is unlawful and contacted the SEC. The price fell from 0.095 to 0.014 during the day, yet I could not exit my position because, you guessed it, they didn’t deliver the conversion of shares. Does anyone have any input on this? I am more than livid. This has to be borderline fraud if not outright illegal. I’m sure I’m not the only person this happened to. A publicly traded company, regardless if OTC, cannot limit shareholders from exiting positions short of a stock market freeze or an IPO listing. I haven't seen a report yet but I am positive the owner, George Coates, has liquidated shares and here I sit able to do nothing as the company has not held up it's end of the deal here.

Answer: Don't ever invest in penny stocks; they are all scams.


Title: Losing my job and I'm pregnant (Idaho)

Question:
Hi all, using a throwaway because reasons.

I started a part time job at my husband’s job (less than 100 employees) in early October 2017. Unbeknownst to us, I was 2 weeks pregnant when I started (YAY!), and I have since let HR as well as my boss know I am pregnant. I also work from home the days I don’t work with my husband, we have a home business that we are trying to get up and running so that sometime in the near future, we can both work from home.

I’ll give a little background on how my job has been since hire to present day; I was hired a couple of weeks past my offer date, due to HR being incompetent and not getting paperwork done. The guy that did my job prior to me did it full time and after he left, was only available one day a week for training. A couple of times didn’t even show up for training. Due to this, my boss had to learn my job, and did his best to train me during his insane work workload. It took over almost two months, but eventually I was caught up to speed. Unfortunately, this caused a huge back-load on me, and every time I get something accomplished, more work piles on. Because I’m part time, it’s hard to get caught up, even when I worked extra hours during the holidays. I was essentially set up to fail from the start.

When I started this job, I firmly told HR I wanted it to be part time (20 hours a week, sometimes more depending on important work that needed to be done), with the expectation that I would be able to work this job from home. My husband and I both knew it wasn’t going to be a long term thing; I wasn’t sure if I was going to go back to this job after the baby is born, but if I did, it would be from home. All things were agreed upon and my boss told me that I could keep working until the baby was born, and I could work from home after s/he was born. I have emails detailing the agreement of part time and the days, but since we didn’t know we were pregnant, this wasn’t disclosed.

Yesterday I received a call from my boss. He told me that the higher ups now want my position to be full time, with the expectation that it’s mostly done in the office, maybe one or two days a month from home. If I can’t agree to go full time and work in the office, they will be putting out a job posting and I will be out of a job.

Now, we really don’t need this money from my job. My husband makes excellent ($150k+ bonuses a few times a year) income and his skills are way more valued and rare in our area than mine are. I was making $15/hr with no PTO or benefits. My job was just to get me out of the house a few times a week for the social, adult aspect and to earn a little extra spending money for me. But I’m pissed at how they have handled this. If someone else were put in my position they would be royally screwed over. My husband doesn’t want me to send an email to my boss, because that means I will be accepting my fate. He recommends I go to HR directly, via phone call or in person, and tell her how I think this whole process was doomed for me from the beginning and how they have really screwed over me and potentially their work relationship with my husband. He suggested negotiating with them to allow me to work (from home) until I give birth. While I’m not against that, I am still very pissed at them and I would find it hard to go in knowing I have a deadline. I know it’s petty and vengeful, but I would rather get a settlement and just leave, and let them figure out how to hire in this mess they have created for themselves.

What are my options here? All I can really find is that workplaces CAN fire pregnant women, but they have to state the reason was unrelated to my pregnancy. I don’t want to go down without letting them know they really messed up.

Answer:
 HR sounds incompetent, but does not sound malicious.  If work is accumulating as you mention, it is reasonable for the company to change the position to full time.

They are not firing you since you are pregnant, they have changed the position to full time  in office and have offered it to you.   You can agree to those terms or you can quit.

You are not protected from this.   Answer #2: Sounds perfectly acceptable and not even remotely douche-like. They even offered you the job. I don't see where they messed up.Answer #3: It sounds like from your own words that this is a perfectly reasonable course of action.

It’s completely legal. I wouldn’t even be upset.

Answer #4: IANAL, but HR.

From what I’m reading here, it doesn’t sound like the company has done anything wrong.

Yes, it sounds like they need to get their shit together with onboarding, etc., but they have every right to decide to make a job full time. It honestly sounds like they should have from the first place. The way you describe it, part-time work isn’t getting it done. So yes, they can decide to make it full time.

The fact that you are pregnant doesn’t seem to have any bearing in their decisions. Being pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t get fired, it means they can’t fire you *because* of the pregnancy.

In this case, it seems they have a legitimate business reason for making this job full time, and have even offered it to you. If you can’t or don’t want to do that, that isn’t their fault.


Title: Manager told her she could take two weeks off, she got a "you're fired" email on day 10 of our vacation

Question:
My fiancee came to visit me for two weeks. She works at Amazon in Pennsylvania.

She told her manager about the trip, he agreed, everyone she works with knew about the trip and how long it would last so she has them as witnesses. By around day 10 or 11 she got an email saying "you've missed 3 days without letting us know why, you've been let go. If you think this decision is wrong then contact us."

She emailed them letting them know the details. She got back an automatic email.

I don't understand why she got this email close to the end of her trip, there were no emails asking her why she wasn't in for those three days, no warnings, just a "you're fired" email on day 10 or 11. Why would he say yes to 14 days for a vacation and then fire her after a week and 3 days of absence?

Is there anything she can do to either get back her job or get this manager removed? Everyone she worked with knew where she was going and for how long yet the manager (who she felt like didn't really like her, or is just an ass in general to everyone) put her down for a week off it looks like.

Any advice I can give her? I can't stand situations like this where someone else does something wrong and someone else ends up paying. This time with their job when she's in a difficult situation. She wouldn't have left without the go ahead from her manager. I wouldn't have let her visit either. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 NAL but I have been with Amazon for 2.5 years. Amazon is very specific about days off. They give you UPT (Unpaid time) , PTO (Paid Time Off), and vacation hours. They also have something called VTO (Voluntary Time Off) which allows you to leave work without using your own time they give you but you do not get paid.
Amazon requires you to work your shift. Let's say you work Sunday - Wednesday 730am-6pm. You want to take Wednesday off. You must entire 10 hours worth of time in to the system to cover your day off.
Unless she has time to cover every day of her scheduled shift for those 2 weeks she planned on taking off, she would have been fired.
If she did have the time to cover all of her days of her shift, then she needs to contact the ERC and speak to someone.

If I need to explain anything else, please ask and I will try to answer.Answer #2: Can you clarify something OP....what does she believe 2 weeks to be?  The way you write, it sounds like she was expecting to get 14 days off.   But a lot of times, 2 weeks vacation is 2 weeks of working days.  So if she works M-F, she is really just approved for those 10 days. (2 M-F work weeks).

Did she request the specific dates off?   Did they know she meant 14 days off work vs 10?


Title: Someone took advantage of my Grandmother

Question:
So I came home to some sad news yesterday.. My mom had told me that my grandmother made a 'friend' earlier in the day who subsequently stole 5k from her. We suspect that he did a mix of e transfers and actual bank withdrawals, assuming my grandmother gave him her bank card.

It's really depressing because my grandmother has dementia and was clearly taken advantage of, and this idiot left his email on her ipad. We know his name (apparently he's a known fraud) and have proof of the transfers, but so far we haven't been able to press charges because technically my grandmother was manipulated into GIVING him the money, and therefore what he did wasn't illegal. To make matters worse, we can't really get a clear version of the events due to my grandma's fleeting memory.

What do I do next? Apparently the elder abuse sector of the police department might call us, but I don't believe there's much they can do. Is there anything I can do legally to screw him over or is it time for some vigilante work? Also I live in Ontario, Canada if that means anything.

Answer:
 Start by contacting Adult Protective Service. They should be able to guide you. Also make a police report.Answer #2: You've called the police, and I assume you've turned over any evidence, you need to let the police do their work, it can be painstakingly so, they can't arrest anyone until they have the evidence they need.

If grandma's dementia is allowing her to be swindled, your Mom might want to consult a lawyer about getting a guardianship, so that someone competent and trustworthy is in charge of grandma's finances. Preventing fraud works better than trying to recover and prosecute after the fact.


Title: Tattooing Yourself (America, New Jersey)

Question:
I want to know if you need to have special permissions legally to tattoo yourself.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: /r/tattoos mod here.  Hopefully you are trolling.  If not, don't be a dummy.  Not only is it a health risk; you should also take a good, long look at /r/badtattoos.Answer #2: How old are you?


Title: I may have been illegally evicted during this pandemic.

Question:
Exactly one month ago to this date, my dad told me that he was going to kick me out of his house if I didn't get a "real job". I told him that I wanted a job on YouTube or Twitch, but he said no and made his threat to kick me out.

Today he came into my room around 7 in the morning, woke me up, and immediately began asking me if I have a job or any interviews lined up. I told him no, but I also tried to plead a case in that this pandemic has made job-hunting really difficult and that not many places are hiring. He didn't buy that and simply pointed out my door and said "Get out". He gave me thirty minutes to pack up some essentials and the next thing I knew, I was standing in my front yard and my dad had locked me out.

I had prepared for this since I didn't want to get a "real job" and I wanted to commit to YouTube or Twitch. One of my friends agreed to take me in last week and that's where I'm staying right now as we speak. His parents are fine with letting me stay, but I'm hoping that it's not too long since I might have a case of illegal eviction on my hands.

Here in Newark, New Jersey, I've read that an eviction needs a court order, but my dad didn't have one. He just kicked me out and that was it. And I also feel like this pandemic complicates things. There have been some parts of the country that aren't doing evictions right now and I feel like that should apply here. And on top of that, my dad just throwing me out into one of the most infected states should have some type of law against it. Do I have a solid case here?

EDIT: I'm 23, for what it's worth.

Answer:
 In New Jersey, your father can still evict you during the pandemic, but the state will not carry out the removal order (ie, sending police to forcibly remove you) until 2 months after the pandemic ends.  Your dad almost certainly has not legally evicted you yet, so you are not legally required to leave.  The problem is that this isn't really a legal question, it's a family one and unless you are ready to literally sue your family and likely create a lifelong rift because you don't want to look for a job, then your best bet is to work with your father on this.

Regarding streaming, the problem with this is that while there are people that can make a living streaming, it's basically akin to saying that you want to be a rockstar.  For every streamer that can make a living, there are thousands who can not.  It's just not a good bet and most successful streamers or rock stars had regular jobs until their career took off.


Title: (California) Employee wouldn't submit any certification that her leave was due to pregnancy related condition, she quit, now she is filing for unemployment & claiming I harassed her. Should I fight the unemployment or did I do something wrong?

Question:
Had an employee for 4 months.

We are 8 employees, private company in california.

Employee had many issues. She was constantly late on her work and she would lie about it.

She was down to her final warning when she let me know she was pregnant.

Before she told me she was pregnant, she managed to use all of her sick time and vacation time.

Two weeks into her announced pregnancy, she ended up in the hospital, said she was bleeding, and had to take 3 days off. At this point, she had no sick/vacation time.

I asked her to provide some type of certification that her condition was pregnancy related so she would be protected under the PDL since she was completely out of any type of leave. It was our procedure to ask for some type of certification in cases like this.

She sent me a doctor's note that had no identifying information other than she had been restricted from activity for three days. Nothing mentioned that it was pregnancy related and the doctor wasn't even an ob/gyn. I asked her to get some type of certification that it was pregnancy related so her time would be protected by PDL.

She said "My doctor sent you a note, I think that is enough".

On the day she was supposed to return, she quit.

She has now filed for unemployment, claiming I wouldn't give her the days off for her "pregnancy" and that I was harassing her.

I never harassed her, in fact, once I found out she was pregnant, I didn't even address her inaccurate, late work or her lies.

Should I fight her unemployment claim?

My boss usually won't fight them since it isn't worth his time. But I don't like that she did this.

 I am not happy she said she was harassed by me especially since I was in a situation in my life where I was truly harassed by my boss and I try my best to follow the rules, laws, and treat my employees with respect.

Answer:
 Provided you are not in the habit, as a company, of granting other employees pregnancy disability-related leaves without the proof of a doctor's note, you are in the right.  You are allowed in that case to require her to provide certification and that certification needs to explicitly state the disability is related to a pregnancy.

Even if you do allow/have allowed a certain subset of employees to take advantage of the PDL without providing a doctor's note or other verification, you still may be on the right side of the statute, but then the analysis would get a bit more dodgy.

I am not seeing any reason for you to not contest the UI claim.  Certainly if she could muster up a legit FEHA claim you'd be hearing from her beyond just the context of unemployment.Answer #2: This is not her first rodeo. Fight it. Answer #3: Is 4 months of employment even long enough for her to receive unemployment benefits?


Title: Felon - Jury Duty - NYC

Question:
Preface to the question: I am a convicted felon. The felony charges are drug related in the state of Colorado and now live in NY. The conviction, sentencing and release from jail all occurred over 10 years ago.

I was sent and subsequently filled out and returned a juror questionnaire/application a few months back. I truthfully listed at the bottom that I had a record in the appropriate area of the form.

Today, I check my mail and I've been issued a jury summons.

Am I somehow eligible? I plan to go (pretty sure it's illegal not to), but what should be expected?

Answer:
 According to NY law, a convicted felon should not be allowed to serve on a jury.  http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/judiciary-law/jud-sect-510.html

Maybe the jury service only searches for NY convictions.  You can call and write them in hope that they dismiss you early.  Otherwise, you'll probably need to show up and tell them you are a felon - tell them about your prosecution, give them any papers if you have them.


Title: [MS] Mentally unstable brother is filing writ if replevin for his guns back. Does this absolve me from liability if he murders someone?

Question:
My in June brother asked me to take his guns (including an AR-15) because he was kicked out of his girlfriends house and had nowhere to go and was voluntarily committing himself for suicidal ideation which has been ongoing for a year now. I got his guns and other valuables/personal items from his vehicle as directed and have stored them since.

The hospital contacted me to submit paperwork  for involuntary commitment due to the severity of his mental illness. The chancery clerk during this process advised me that he will no longer be able to purchase guns and asked if I’d like to proceed. I did.

He was involuntarily committed for almost two months before his release. In this time his ex wife had an emergency hearing to suspend his visitation because he told her he was going to kill himself on Facebook Live and wanted his daughter (6 years old) to watch. The judge issued an order of protection against my brother on behalf of his ex wife and daughter.

Now my brother has been discharged and has seen a lawyer (whom I have previously worked with to obtain POA for my brother so that I may assist with his legal and medical affairs) and has been advised to file a writ if replevin in the county I live in to get his guns back.

Previously I had asked this lawyer what I should do with the guns when my brother wants them back and his advise was to “lose them”. It seems now that his tone on the matter has changed.

My question is this... if I am ordered to give his guns back (which I am hesitant to do but will if court ordered) am I absolved from liability if he uses those guns to commit crimes?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Siblings/others of people who commit crimes have no liability because they held their firearms and returned them by court order. By default you would not be liable.

However, if you drove your brother to some place where he went in, killed someone, then came back out covered in blood and told you to drive fast... you might have a difficult time defending yourself against an accessory charge. Or if you purchased guns for him while prohibited.

But once a court restores his right to possess firearms, what he does with them is not on you just because you had been holding them. Answer #2: If you are court ordered you'd need to return them.

It's possible that you could be involved in a lawsuit if he went postal, but I don't see that going anywhere. Might want to review your homeowner's insurance to see if they'd help out or if you can get coverage that could, just in case.