Title: Grew up in a Christian school, strong religious background and now in public school and im doing a project on evolution. Is there anything protecting me from doing a school project against my religion? Or at least a substitution?

Question:
So i grew up strong Christian in a small town and i learned everything according to "The Christian timeline" and now that im in college i feel like my whole world has turned upside down learning about evolution and climate change, etc... all for the first time and i hate to say it, but its causing me a lot of stress. Growing up with one taught "fact" then being told that everything i grew up learning is a lie, is alot to comprehend. This has all happened so recently and im expected to write up and present something that i don't believe in or even understand the foundations of. Its a 5 page report and a presentation, I know i can just simply "do it" and bs it, but every bit of information i find sounds false and almost cringy to me so i have no clue where to even begin.

And i have tried taking to my professor about it and i think she saw it as maybe a joke? Or at least just didnt really say or do anything about it. She lives in a big city so the Christian timeline isnt really too common here.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: I'm going to try to write this as neutrally as possible. It is completely legal and above board for your professor to require that you show mastery of what you were taught. I am assuming that she is not requiring that you profess your belief in evolution. It is a normal part of education for you to recap, explain, and sometimes even expand on class material no matter how you individually feel about that material.


Title: (TX,US)Wrongfully accused of not wearing a seatbelt.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 What the officer did is essentially turn his back on two far more serious charges and is giving you a much lesser charge. He's being nice to you. He was lying that he didn't see you speed. Answer #2: Truth be told, he cut you a deal.  The cost of a ticket for going 25-35 over and/or a reckless driving is SIGNIFICANTLY greater than that of a "no seat-belt" ticket in Texas.  If he shows up to your court date, he'll have little trouble convincing the judge to reconsider exactly which charges you're guilty of.

I would plead 'no contest' and pay the ~$150 for your current citation.


Title: Can a mother legally refuse to tell a grown child who their father is (possibly parental kidnapping)?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Absent a court order, contract or some other legal requirement, no one is required to tell anyone else anything.

Your grandmother was under no obligation to your mother, to the biological father, or to anyone else to reveal the name of the father.


Title: [CA] Company not refusing to cooperate where my brothers final paycheck is.

Question:
My little brother (19) got a job making pizzas for a Little Ceasars last year. After working there for the better part of a year, he gave a letter of resignation at the end of his shifts. That was on a Friday. He received his pay for the previous two weeks of work the Monday before that Friday. So he is owed wages for Monday-Friday of his last week.

After waiting a few days, he called the store to see when his paycheck would be in. The manager told him he would have to call a corporate number to get that answer. He called the number and was told a paper check had been mailed to the store and that he should've already received it...so he called the store back and gets the same answer, no form of payment...so he calls the corporate number again and now he's told by someone else that they sent an electronic "final pay" card (employees received a type of debit card that their wages were added to every two weeks) to the store that he should've received. Que calling the store again and still nothing about any form of final payment arriving there.

This happened close to a month ago and still nothing has been resolved. Sure it's not much pay, but we live in an expensive area and any money helps. It just seems like no one wants to cooperate in helping us figure out what happened to his money. We are all kind of at a loss as what to do next, so I decided to come here.

Answer: They are waaaaay past what CA law requires. Forget the company. Google "California wage claim" and file with the state.


Title: Baltimore City Police need help..

Question:
I've lived in then around Baltimore my whole life.  The crime - specifically violent crime including murder is absolutely out of control.  Nothing changes except the murder rate goes up every year.

What needs to happen to get other authorities involved (state and/or federal)?  Does the mayor need to make that call?  Can the citizens make any sort of request?

I know this is somewhat of an unusual question.  Thanks for your time..
Topic:
BestOf

Answer:
 As a non-American, from all I’ve seen of your police, I’d say more police would be the absolute last thing needed. Invest in education, in jobs, in housing, in healthcare, and stop treating your poor citizens like they’re criminals by default.Answer #2: I also live in Baltimore. One thing to remember is that historically, the Baltimore police is *not* a city agency. It is a state agency under state control while using city money. (Its budget is already greater than many other city agencies combined and it grows every year still.) So...the state is already involved. The federal government is already involved as well as BPD is under a consent decree from the Department of Justice due to the egregious civil rights violations it has committed over the years.

I think the biggest contributor to crime in Baltimore is poverty. One way you can see this is that Baltimore is highly segregated and although instances of murders of like white middle class individuals are highly publicized, almost all murders are in the Black Butterfly. The way we work against crime in Baltimore is to increase people's access to legal income.

I work in workforce development here so I don't want to doxx myself too badly but I know, for example, that there are job training programs in this city that are ready to scale to current demand if they got a fraction of even just what the police budget *increases* by each year.


Title: [TX] Legal action possible after problematic birth at midwife/birthing center?

Question:
Hi all, I have a friend who had her baby at a midwife/birthing center and during the delivery there were "problems" related to oxygen deprivation and now ~2 years later she found out that her son may be autistic. I don't know the specifics (she hasn't really wanted to talk about it) but apparently during the birth the assistants did everything, which wasn't much, while the midwife was either on her phone texting or gone altogether.

So, my friend hasn't brought up the idea of negligence (not sure if that term is applicable for midwives/birthing centers) but I'm wondering about it and would like to know if it's possible before bringing it up to her. I'm sure she signed all types of agreements/waivers/etc. but I've heard (though maybe incorrectly) that those don't mean "that much" if you have the right representation.

Thanks all!

Answer: She can consult a medical malpractice lawyer, assuming she hasn't blown the statute of limitations.  But given what is and isn't known about autism, proving a causal link here is going to be extremely difficult.Answer #2: It's possible in the sense that it's not impossible. Even if you had all the facts, malpractice is too fact specific.   She can consult with an attorney and give him all the facts (as she understands them) and he can tell her if there is something that may be worth pursuing.


Title: Is my internship illegal?

Question:
I live in Florida. At the beginning of the summer I accepted an unpaid web development role at a start up. I was skeptical to begin with, but they said I could set my own hours and it was only part time. I also planned on working another part time job. I was the only unpaid intern they hired (which they said was because unlike everyone else who was local and could continue working throughout the year, I had to return to school at the end of the summer). They stated since I was unpaid the work I would be doing would be different. I decided to go for a few days to see what it was like since there was no real obligation.

After the first day, the CTO pulled me aside and stated that once we finished the training period I would be paid for my work. Now, I likely would not have stayed if they had not said they intended to paid me. However, the work I have been doing is exactly the same as everybody else, and the one month review where they were planning on converting me to paid that was supposed to happen weeks ago has been continually pushed back. The supervisors are now all at a conference for a week leaving only interns in the office and another week without pay for me. I would feel bad if I left because everything we've been working on has been in partners and I don't want to leave mine in the dust. When I give my availability for my other part time job I cleared my Monday though Thursday since I thought I would be making money at my internship during that time, so the opportunity cost here is high. Should I report my internship? From what I understand, since I am doing work that is normally done by paid employees and I am not paid, it's illegal. I should also note that all interns are technically independent contractors (I don't know if that changes anything).

So, is this internship illegal, and if so, what is the procedure like for reporting one? Woolf I be able to get paid for the hours I worked?

Answer:
 > However, the work I have been doing is exactly the same as everybody else

The DOL has [a comprehensive test](https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm) for whether an internship may be unpaid, and this sounds like it may fail several of the criteria:

> The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment
>
> The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
>
> The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
>
> The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;

If you're doing regular work, and your employer is not legally able to employ volunteers (and if they're a for-profit company, they can't hire volunteers), then you're owed wages.

Separately, the IRS has a dispute process to determine whether these staff members are bona fide contractors, or whether they're employees. It also sounds like your boss is trying to avoid paying income tax or contributing to unemployment for these workers, and [you could take this up with the IRS](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee).

Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, Florida's state-level Department of Labor does not handle wage disputes. You'll have to either sue your employer yourself, or talk to the Federal Department of Labor about filing a wage claim. Neither is going to be fast.

Whatever you opt to do, do not work for free any longer. You do not owe your boss notice unless you have a binding contract controlling termination; you can walk away at any time and find a paying job.


Title: I replied to a listing on craigslist for a job as a door girl/hostess and then...

Question:
I was looking through craigslists for jobs and I came across this ad: http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/evg/4709896546.html
So I replied with an email containing my phone number and a couple of pictures of my face as requested. Later on the following day he texted me saying that he was at the Dolphin's game with "some of his girls" and that hes interested in me for a different job, and that'd he'd like to talk to me later.
Anyway, the "job" was for a private poker game he allegedly runs, I was to be a hostess and get 1.2k a night. So red flags right there, talked to him some more, eventually decided fuck it and arranged a meeting with him in a public place (with my boyfriend present) the following day.
We meet him, he looked like a harmless fat guy, nothing special, goes pretty into detail about his "business" and so we decide he's legit but just exaggerating the truth.

So come to today, he says we should meet on Thursday and "hook up" as a thank you for the job that pays so well. I get really offended, tell him I'm not doing that, and he says hell give me 3k up front if I at least let him "eat me out and give him a bj". So gross, I passed over the phone to the boyfriend and he tried to get some information out of him, the guy dropped the niceties and called me ugly lol.

So I have a phone number, first name, the craigslist ad, an email, and a company his business partners are associated with.
Can I get this guy on soliciting sex? He very clearly implied I had to fuck him to get this "job" of his.

tl;dr: got rused with a big pay job on craigslist, guy seemed legit at first but then asked for sex (as a condition of getting the job) what do.
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer: What to do?  Move on.  If you're really offended, report what happened to the police.  That about does it.


Title: Would Mr. Incredible have won his cases?

Question:
First, Mr. Incredible was sued for saving a man who publicly threw himself off a roof. The man went through a window, and sustained injuries. A criminal in the building threw a bomb, which landed on elevated train/monorail tracks.

Next, Mr. Incredible stopped the train from crashing into the ground. At least 10 men and women were injured.

Mr. Incredible lost both lawsuits, but would he have won, assuming the movie takes place in California?

Answer:
 The problem with your question is that California's Good Samaritan laws were changed 5 years after the movie premiered. So your hypothetical is temporal-dependent, not just location-dependent. Answer #2: Watsonian: The real reason Mr. Incredible lost those cases (and likewise why other superheroes lost similar cases shortly thereafter) is because public opinion was turning against the practice of allowing costumed and anonymous superpowered vigilantes free reign to do as they please so long as they claimed to be "fighting crime" or battling "supervillains". The particular case of the man that Mr. Incredible saved on his wedding day was merely the flashpoint for that precipitous change in public opinion, turning him into a scapegoat for that widespread disillusionment.

Doylist: The real reason Mr. Incredible lost those cases was because it set up the plot for the rest of the movie. Without some excuse to force Mr. Incredible and his fellow superhumans to stop their traditional vigilantism, there would be no way for him and his family to redeem the practice of superheroism by foiling Syndrome's plot. The movie thus requires that legal outcome in the opening segment in order to deconstruct the classic concept of superheroes and subsequently reconstruct it, forming an effective commentary on the superhero genre and its continuing yet somewhat modified relevance in light of societal changes over the decades.


Title: Wisconsin Rent Help: Did not sign lease which we were given 1 month late, gave 30 day notice of intent to vacate, landlord will not honor it, says we are liable until the end of Feb.

Question:
So here is the situation. My girlfriend will be student teaching this spring and I took a new position in my hometown. To save money we both decided to move in with our parents for the 5 months she will be student teaching.

Once, everything was set in stone with my new position I contacted our landlord and notified her of our intent to vacate.
First, some background. We have been living in this place the past 2.25 years (moved in August 2013). Have been on year to year lease for the first two. Our second year lease ended at the end of June. We continued to pay rent, as usual, on the first of each month. Our landlord contacted us about a new lease in the middle of August and we requested month-to-month b/c we knew my GF would be student teaching and I was starting to look at other employment. She denied this request, we asked for a 6 month lease and she also denied this because she back dated the lease to the start of July and that would put the lease end date for December and she thinks it is difficult to rent the place in Winter (we are in Wisconsin and on a lake with electric baseboard heating). She asked when my GF would be done with student teaching and we told her the end of May. She asked if we could stay to the end of May and we said, "most likely". So she drafted up the lease, back dated it to the beginning of July and had the end date be the end of May and gave it to us at the end of August I believe.

We have not signed this lease and she didn't request back. We e-mailed her our 30 day Intent to Vacate (technically at the time 41 days). She is not accepting it and saying that the previous year's lease with the 60 day intent to vacate is enforceable.
Any legal advice either way would be great. We are in Wisconsin and I have read through the [landlord tenant statutes](http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/atcp/090/134.pdf) 100 times it feels like.

Thanks! This is also posted in /r/personalfinance

Answer:
 This says 28 days notice for a month to month. There is nothing to support her claim that the notice period in your old lease applies.

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/704/19Answer #2: you don't have a lease. if LL wanted you to sign, she should have evicted you once you didn't return the proposed lease.

but your question boils down to: do my lease terms remain in effect when the lease ends and I go month to month?

many (most?) leases have an explicit provision that answers this question with a yes.

so check your most recent lease for that provision.

For your most recent lease is silent, then state law controls. which is probably 30 days.


Title: HOA isp rules

Question: We bought a house about a year ago. The realtor flat out lied to us and refused to give us some information,  which could have deterred us from buying said house if we had it.  So we live here, and we got internet service awhile after.  Down the road some time we started having problems with the internet and the isp themselves.  So we had a different isp come out to see about a set up, they told us that the layout for the cables is set up so that ONLY the isp we have can function in the community. This is a deal that the isp has with the HOA. Can anyone tell me is this is legal for the HOA to do this, and if there is a way we can combat this to get a different isp? (I checked Google and everything I found was outdated and/or for a different state. I live in south Carolina)

Answer: Are you saying that they concealed information at closing? There should have been a file (or at least a mention of) the CCR for the HOA in the stuff you got at closing. Yes, the realtor should have mentioned it, but if they included the file, you had a responsibility to read what you were getting and signing.


Title: Free speech versus mystery novels?

Question: I have a First Amendment/free speech question.  I am an author (living in Washington state), and I recently completed a new murder mystery novel dealing with a serial killer who operates in the District of Columbia, targeting congressmen and senior government officials.  A relative of mine who’s read the manuscript has expressed concern that once it’s published, I could be arrested or prosecuted for making a threat against the government, expressing an intent to commit the crimes described in the book, or providing a template for someone else to commit them.  Is this a genuine risk?  My understanding of Brandenberg v. Ohio and Hess v. Indiana is that I can’t be held accountable for someone else’s reaction to my work if I didn’t intend to provoke their actions, if I wasn't targeting a specific audience with my statements, or if a substantial amount of time has elapsed between writing/publication and their actions.  Is this accurate?  In the era of the NDAA it's hard to tell.

Answer:
 I am a WA attorney, not yours, and not an IP expert. Your relative is almost certainly wrong.  No one tried to arrest ~~Gerard Butler~~ Channing Tatum for that White House Down movie (though perhaps the producers should have been....).

Edit: I confused the two "Kidnap the President" movies that came out at the same time - Gerard Butler was in Olympus Has Fallen - in my defense I've seen neither of them.


Title: Does anyone know of a good way to find a lawyer who does civil rights cases and real estate law, and understand government corruption, and is licenced in Oregon, and preferably lives in Vancouver Washington. The bar is useless for this.

Question:
Forgive me for the complexity of this, the short version is "it's our house now", and the long version is:

Part of the problem we are facing is a municipal fraud ring that has tried to force us to walk away from our house, when we have about .4 to .5mil in equity in the home. The situation has reached the point that even the patrol officers taking complaints of the vandalism, vehicle tampering, and intimidation, hence they have told me to got the local FBI office.

Part of the problem is that our building department has a special version of the code just for us. The municipal fraud ring has mostly preyed on the elderly and disabled. Part of the problem is that there is an income property development in a city park, and it's drainage system has been removed, and the run off has been directed at our house via damns and ditches on city land. I have offered to fix the illegal drainage and I've been told that "you will be arrested for vandalism" by the city. Which means that in a winter or two our house will be totaled. The latest lie from the city is that the mass transit service and a local hospital will fix their illegal drainage, which their legal departments of both said "WTF?" to.

Our 1912 2 bedroom house now must meet new construction code for multifamily because "you have been too much trouble". The weird part is that the main protagonist had been fired for malfeasance of office, and yet would show up with a city car, pretending to be a Residential Housing Inspector, once even with coke on his nose. He has an unpaid 8.7 mil judgement for taking one house from an elderly homeowner, and this happened before we bought our house. At one point he said about our house "you've turned it into a meth lab, I can have it torn down in ten days". This is when the threats from neighbors started, but since then I've also had death threats from an income property owner. Three LEO's have been in the house, one spotted that I was forced to do unusual things for a single family home and thus said "so the building department is trying to bankrupt you". Obviously they didn't even suspect me of illegal activity such as the said non-existent meth lab.

If we could get law enforcement to do their job, we could finance the extra $100k that their new stairs etc cost, and move into our house. Right now they have screwed up the paperwork so much that we can't even get additional financing to cover the new "code demands".

The vehicle tampering has turned nasty, as the mechanics and LEO who have seen the car have said the fuel line damage was not the work of a rodent, and the knife marks are clearly visible. The car's fuel line burst and it covered the underside including the catalytic converter, with about 4 or 5 gallons of gas before I could pull over. Fortunately the car was cold. This is the third time that it was serious, rather than just breaking head lights, taillights or damaging the sheet metal.

We have limited funds for legal representation, as I have medical bills like most peoples car payments, thanks to a drunk driver and glaucoma. And I have a lengthy arrest history, as while recovering from almost being killed by a drunk driver, my name was assumed by a criminal.

So how can we find a lawyer we can afford, and hopefully can handle some of the issues with the FBI, which has received letters and calls on our behalf, even from a judge, and yet has done nothing? As at one point the Marshals Office called and then nothing happened. Thanks for your time.

Answer: You should look into mental health assistance ASAP.


Title: If my wife and I co own a house and property with my parents, what happens if we divorce?

Question:
I'm from Ontario, Canada. My parents want to gift us property to build a house. However, they've been instructed by their lawyer to only gift us a small % of the property so that they can avoid paying capital gains as much as possible. It is my understanding that this means they will co own the house that I build (since it's on the property that they own a large percentage of.

My question is, are me and my wife legally entitled to live in the house that we build and pay for? Does it depend on the percentage that we own? And what happens if I die, or if I divorce? What would happen if my parents decided they didn't want us to live there anymore?

Answer: The correct answer to all of these questions should be the contract all of you write up and enter into before committing to this, which covers all of these eventualities.  Otherwise it's a complete clusterfuck when these fall apart.  Do not do this without a contract.


Title: High School handed out Bibles a few years ago, and I was attacked because of it. Was the school at fault?

Question:
I attended public High School in a small town in Tennessee, in 2010 while I was in 10th grade the high school allowed people from a local church to come in and pass out bibles. Taking a Bible was not mandatory, and I did not take one. However I was a known Atheist, I never went out of my way to make this publicly known, but word gets around in a small school in a small town. Throughout the day that the bibles had been handed out, I found them stuffed in my locker, and my backpack. Eventually, near the end of the day, I was approached by another student who demanded I take a bible, and he slapped it down on the desk I was sitting at.

&#x200B;

At this point, I was feeling irritated with the harassment I'd been dealing with all day. I told him "no thanks" and threw the bible full force towards the front of the classroom where it hit the wall and fell to the ground. He then lunged at me, and we both tumbled to the ground.

&#x200B;

The fight was broken up several minutes later and we both went to the nurse (me for bruises, him for cuts) and I spoke with the Vice-Principle and told him what happened. I was suspended for a week, and he went to court and did community service.

&#x200B;

Anyway, the whole situation has been on my mind for a few days now, and I feel like the School was in the wrong on this, but I'm not sure. Can anyone clarify this for me so I can stop thinking about it?

Answer:
 The school is not directly responsible for a fight you got into with another student.  They broke it up and gave you medical attention.

The school is not directly responsible for the harassment other students gave you, unless it was sanctioned or not properly handled by the school - and you give no indication of that.

There is no issue with the school allowing a religious group to come talk to students, providing they would allow other religious groups to do the same and that participation is voluntary.  The former issue is not your issue; the latter was clearly followed here as you were not required to participate in the Bible handout.


Title: [Australia] There has been no trash collection at my apartment for three weeks; have been told there will be no collection for at least another two weeks. Is this legal?

Question:
We moved into a brand new apartment complex; some of the apartments were still incomplete when we moved in, and we were among the first tenants. We are renting.

For the first couple of months everything was fine; there are three communal trash areas; two trash rooms in the parking basement, and one area outside with several large skip bins. They *were* being emptied at least weekly.

Now, there's been no trash collection in over three weeks. The elevator shaft absolutely reeks of rotting garbage, the outside area honestly looks like something out of a third world tip, there is rotting food, babies diapers, plus miscellaneous trash not only overflowing the bins, but now slowly filling the entire outdoor carpark.

I contacted our real estate agent, and pointed out a clause in our tenancy agreement that the landlord agrees to make sure that the premise is reasonably clean and fit to live in - this is clearly not being upheld. Their response was that the strata management are at fault, and the agency themselves can't do anything.

The strata management have stated they can't make any decisions until their next general meeting which is December 1.

In the meantime, this is a massive health risk and insects have not only infested the trash areas, but are in the building itself - both the halls and our actual apartment. This is a brand new apartment, literally, and we keep it spotless in terms of kitchen and bathroom hygiene.

So, my question is, if the real estate agent says they can't do anything, and the strata management say they're waiting until December, is there anything we can do as tenants, or anybody we can contact to make a more serious complaint?

The trash removal has been private and not handled through the local council/county so I don't know if it's worth making a complaint through there. If I do, is there a chance something can be done sooner?

Thanks for any advice.

EDIT to add: I'm in NSW.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Definitely contact the council. See if there's a number on the side of the bin, or a company name you can google and call. The rubbish build up (dirty nappies in this heat? Fuck that) is potentially a health hazard, too. Be the squeaky wheel. A whole month with no rubbish pickup would indicate that the strata company may not have been paying the company that does the pickups, which means you might have bigger problems soon enough.Answer #2: What Australian state are you in?


Title: [NH] Fiction-hypothetical, So in this novel I'm reading about a school shooting, the judge recuses herself from the case

Question:
because her daughter was a student and saw her bf being shot, and the judge feels she can't be impartial. Fine, whatever.

But then the judge sits around all summer, basically unemployed? On leave? Wouldn't a judge still have other cases to attend to? Or does everything come to a halt if you've recused yourself? (everyone still addresses her as 'Judge', right up till she officially resigns after the the trial in the fall.) (she goes back to being a PD)

Is this just a plot hole?

edit: [Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Minutes)

Answer: A judge will still be a judge, she will just be assigned another case.


Title: Seeking help for an "exhibiting a firearm" charge in CA. Please help.

Question:
Any information on exhibiting a firearm (charge 417 PC) with no prior criminal record for violent crime?

Curious, my fellow redditors, anyone have any knowledge on the outcome of public defender vs. lawyer for such a charge?

Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Get a criminal defense attorney.

You won't get a public defender unless you can't afford to pay for an attorney.


Title: Can unborn/unnamed children be added to a will?

Question: My sister and her fiancé are planning their will an want to add stipulations for future children. However, they are unsure how to do so by not explicitly naming them. Is this something that can be done and if so how?

Answer: I leave xyz to such child or children as are born in my lifetime and survive me on trust until they attain the age of (18) and then to them absolutely.


Title: [California] Bought a house, gave my girlfriend 20% ownership as tenants in common, now the relationship appears to be going downhill... if we break up what happens?

Question: I bought the house in January and initially I was the only one on the loan and on title. A few weeks later I delivered a grant deed to her granting her 20% ownership as tenants in common. At this point, I'm the only one obligated on the mortgages but we are both on title. If we break up what would I owe her? The down payment was 100% mine. The house payment, including taxes and insurance, is $4,350.00 a month and she's currently only paying $400.00 a month towards the house payment. If we are forced to sell, after expenses, does she get 20% of my down payment or does she only get 20% of the equity gains (appreciation + amortization)?

Answer:
 >At this point, I'm the only one obligated on the mortgages but we are both on title.

Wow. So you likely triggered some clauses in your mortgages that make the entire mortgage due.

You need a lawyer. This is going to be expensive. There's a couple ways to deal with it. But you need a lawyer.

Don't try to self help it. You're going to need to fix this. Get a lawyer who does real estate and or family law. You need to untangle this.

Calbar.org is the state bar's website. They have referral services. If you google your county+ bar, you can find the referral service for your county bar. Note that the state bar is a governmental agency, while the county bar is a private group like a rotary club.Answer #2: You owe her nothing except proceeds from the sale.  You both can co-habitate the house, or make an agreement as to who will live there.

She'll get 20% of the selling price of the house.  The amount of money you put in as a down payment doesn't matter, since financing the house is a completely different thing than the value of the house that you granted her.

In the future, it is not a wise idea to give people equity in real estate unless they're also tied up in the financing, or you have a written agreement for how things will be handled.


Title: Is this true?

Question:
So I'm seventeen and today after school I went to a local pool supply store, because the air is a refresh from the hot sun.

I noticed that a girl who I vaguely know from school was working there. I asked her how old you have to be to apply and she said 18, so I jokingly asked if I could just lie about my age and the manager (who I guess thought I was serious) said "No, I can hear you right now."

I left the store but I came back later because I was bored waiting for my ride. I started asking the girl what jobs I could apply for and she recommended the local Smoothie King. My sister used to work there and she said the manager is a total bitch so I said

"Uhm no, the manager there is a bitch"

The same manager heard me say that and told me to "tone it down" and then the girl told me he's apparently friends with her.

All of a sudden the manager from Smoothie King came into the store and went in the back with the other manager.

So I left. But before I did the girl told me her manager might try to report me to the police and charge me with disturbance for

1. Threatening to lie about my age (Which I guess he thought I was really gonna try)

and

2.   Calling his friend a bitch in front of him, right before she walked in

I thought this was ridiculous but now I'm actually worried.

I never shop at the pool supply store or the Smoothie King, so I don't care if their managers don't like me.

But is it true I can get charged with disturbance for the two things I said?

Answer:
 >But is it true I can get charged with disturbance for the two things I said?

Probably not.  It's not illegal to call someone a name.

You could be asked to leave, and if you refuse, you could be arrested for trespassing, though.


Title: Lady is suing friend over livestream

Question:
Hello, I am a friend of a small streamer. He makes his entire living off streaming on youtube. He recently attended a furry convention and spoke to several attendees. His schtick is being awkward to talk to and very amusing. However people called into the convention saying he was threatening people. He was kicked out. The lady who kicked him out however decided to pursue legal action. She claims that he recorded (streamed) without consent and that the event was private. However from what I know, he payed for a pass, and Ohio is a one party consent state. We could really use some help and any Ohio lawyers anyone would recommend.

She took action today and filed a copyright claim on his video streaming the event, claiming that it was justified because no consent was given. She is effectively cutting off his only source of income, because if a youtuber receives a strike they cannot stream.

Thank you.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 If she actually sues him, he should retain an attorney.  Lots of people threaten to sue.  Most don’t - at least in situations like this.

He cannot stop her from expressing her belief that she has some intellectual property right to the material to YouTube.  And he can’t stop YouTube from doing with that information what they will.Answer #2: The one party consent thing doesn't matter in this situation.  The issues is what the terms and conditions on purchasing the pass to the event were.  If the terms explicitly prohibited filming/streaming of the event then she may very well have a claim, but without knowing what those terms were it would be speculative to say more.  I won't comment on the copyright aspect of it since intellectual property isn't my bag, but your friend needs to check those terms and conditions.


Question:
I was caught by a Police officer "holding" my phone while driving and I am going to contain the fine and points in court.

My phone had recently been updated to a Beta version of iOS which caused a conflict with my car stereo and caused the system to jam - effectively playing music at maximum volume. I was on a dual carriageway and was not able to pull over so when the traffic crawled to a stop I grabbed my phone to try and turn it off at the source.

Given that I was suffering hearing damage for around 4-5 minutes I decided that it was safer to try and switch off the phone rather than continue driving with music on a full volume.

I know holding a phone is a diving offence but in this case, I was doing so because all else had failed I was starting to panic.

Is there a term for breaking a law in the interests of safety?

Answer:
 > I decided that it was safer to try and switch off the phone rather than continue driving with music on a full volume.

You know your car stereo has an off button, right?Answer #2: >Given that I was suffering hearing damage for around 4-5 minutes I decided that it was safer to try and switch off the phone rather than continue driving with music on a full volume.

But the legal and safer decision would have been to pull over and resolve the issue.  Answer #3: Will the officer be able to confirm your testimony that he could hear your music at full volume prior to stopping you?Answer #4: Just a note to people saying turn the radio off.  My after market radio use to do this.  Specifically if I received a phone call while using bluetooth the radio would go to max volume when the call ended.  All buttons on the radio ceased to work after that.  It would require me to turn bluetooth off on the phone or to remove the radio panel.

I handled it by having the phone on one of those phone holders.  It made it easy to push the bluetooth off button.


Title: I'm being Blackmailed on Twitter and don't know what to do.

Question:
Alright so about 5 months ago I was talking to a girl and we exchanged pictures and stuff and eventually we just stopped talking and i thought it was in the past. It wasn't. Last month she wants money from me or else she's gonna send the pictures and videos to people my followers  (people I know irl) and I just ignored and blocked her. She ended up messaging people I know and telling them things about me and is now saying that I seriously have to give her money or else she's gonna send them. I have no doubt in my head that she will and I tried reporting to to twitter but they haven't done a damn thing. I'm from California and I have no idea where she is from but I think it's Texas.

Can anyone please help me out here? Also sorry for horrible formatting and possible typos, I'm on mobile.

Answer:
 If she actually distributes them, and if she actually lives in Texas, she'd be committing [a misdemeanor](http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2015/07/2015-61-unlawful-disclosure-or-promotion-of-intimate-visual-material/). You could call the cops (in Texas) and ask them to investigate, but if you honestly have no way of locating her (how on Earth were you going to send her money) then that likely won't go far.

Don't send blackmailers money.Answer #2: Are you sure it's a real girl? Because this is exactly like the fake girl scam.


Title: [RI, USA] Military SO nicked a car and was caught on camera. What can we expect?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Again, the UCMJ states:

> The accused faces maximum punishment of bad conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and 6 months confinement if proven guilty of this charge.


Title: Customer watching porn in store, not leaving until repeated requests to leave after closing time. OR, USA

Question:
Not my story but it happened to my coworker. When my store closes, it’s just one employee because it’s a small coffee shop. The other night my worker was closed and announced that we were closed, and did a sweep of the store. She let a gentleman in the back corner know we were closed, before ducking into the bathroom to check if anyone was there. Everyone except this man had left, and as she’s coming back from the bathrooms she sees his phone screen and he’s just blatantly watching porn with headphones in.

She walks away, wipes down some stuff, and comes back two minutes later to tell the guy again, we’re closed. It takes her about five times telling him we’re closed and finally one aggressive statement of “You have to leave now.” before the dude finally leaves, with his jacket covering his pants.

My coworker is in her 30s, and i am a legal adult teenager, who is the main closer. I’m scared this dude it gonna come back. I know i can call police if he won’t leave after close because that’s trespassing, but can we do anything to stop him from watching porn in our building? I don’t think he was touching himself or acting on the urges at all, but nonetheless. If i called the police next time he came in, would anything come of it? Are people really just allowed to watch porn wherever they want as long as they don’t do anything?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 A business is free to refuse service at any time. If the guy refuses to leave, you can call the police to have him escorted off the property. Watching porn in a public space is generally pretty disruptive, and many businesses have obvious policies against it. I don't believe it counts as indecent exposure or an adjacent misdemeanor in Oregon, though many states /do/ still have laws around porn. If it's CP, then straight out call the police.

If he is getting off or touching himself, that's straight up public indecency; thus, call the police.

Have your friend talk to her manager about having this guy banned.


Title: So I missed my flight with American Airlines because of air traffic and the airline is refusing to compensate me.

Question: Is there anything I can do to get twirl compensated?

Answer:
 >because of air traffic

What does that mean?


Title: (Canada) My landlord hasn't cashed my cheques in 6 months. What would be the advantage of her doing this on purpose?

Question: I've been living in this apartment for 3 years. The landlord has never has cashed my cheques on time usually every 2 to 3 months to the point where I started giving her cash because I really don't like having to constantly keep up with how much money I owe her. I just can't be bothered to go to the bank an withdraw that sum of money EVERY month and I'm away a lot so about 6 months ago I went back to giving her cheques. She hasn't cashed them since...I'd also like to add that she refuses to allow me to wire her directly the money which would be easier for everyone since I'm away on the first of the month quite regularly.  I'm about to go and give her my cheque for June which I know she probably won't cash either. I'm just wondering what would be someone's motivation in doing this? Surely no one is that retarded.

Answer:
 Maybe they are getting a divorce? Filing for bankruptcy?

Whatever the reason is, its not your business really. Enjoy the interest on the money while it sits on your account.


Title: (USA State Farm) I found my wife's lost $25k wedding ring 2 years after it was replaced. What are my options?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Treaties and International Law

Answer:
 Did I read correctly that you ended up replacing the ring out of your own pocket and not taking the insurance's offer of $17k? Or did insurance end up paying for the second ring?

If you never got any money or a replacement ring from the insurance you don't have to do anything. You own both rings. Answer #2: Mistakes happen.  Likely they will ask you to return one of the rings.  Given the sentimental value (and lower price) of the first ring, they will likely be OK with you returning the second.

IME State Farm is pretty reasonable.  They should be able to help with the shipping issue.


Title: Can I ask my lawyer for a refund if I haven’t had any progress made on my case in 8 months? (Mo)

Question:
Title says it all. My ex and I got back together so I don’t feel like I need my services anymore. And she hasn’t done anything at all. In fact, I get charged $25 for just calling and asking about my case. I’m wondering if I could legally have a right to get my money back. I feel like there is probably some fine print somewhere that says this is not the case, but thought I would ask you all before I even tried to call and get myself charged more lol.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 >In fact, I get charged $25 for just calling and asking about my case.

Because they're taking the time to answer your questions. Time is money for lawyers. You took up time they could have been working on another case.

It really depends on what kind of case it is, what kind of agreement you have with the attorney, and what point in the case you're at.


Title: Is it perfectly legal to tie a rope to your bike and record people trying to steal it?

Question:
For example something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tufnWwV2J5I I think it's funny as hell but are there any possible repercussions to doing this?

Edit: Could you be held liable for any injuries they get from flying off the bike? Maybe recording them without their consent?

Answer: We've had this question a dozen or more times in /r/legaladvice. It's likely to be considered a booby trap.


Title: Knownly gave me herpes. Can I sue? FL

Question: So I was seeing this married girl, got done and went to bathroom, saw proscription for valtrex, herpe medication, but it was in her husbands name. She was exposed to it but didn't tell me. We didn't use condoms, if I get herpes can I sue her? I know aids would be attempted murder but this has to be something.

Answer:
 Sure, feel free to do so and then get ready to face a counter-suit for alienation of affection. This is, of course, assuming you catch it and can prove that she was the one you caught the disease from.

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/Chapter771/All

Edit: Ah crap, got caught by troll.


Title: mail theft

Question:
North Carolina

My wife and I ordered $260 worth of t-shirts and sweaters from Rage On online and since all their stuff is customize, the estimate shipping time was 30-45 days. So we waited and after almost 2 months, it still hadn't arrived. I checked the tracking number and it said that it already shipped. Then like 2 weeks after that it still hadn't delivered so I checked again after Christmas and it said that it was delivered successfully on December 20. At this point I was irritated so I e-mailed Rage On and explained to them that I hadn't received it and asked if I could possibly get my items resent or get a refund and they didn't want to do either of those things. I called the post office and they told me I needed to contact the post office that it was sent from. I checked the confirmation e-mail and Rage On had the address right and since it had already been delivered, it shouldn't be an issue from the sending office. I asked the post office again to check for my package and they tracked down where it had been received. My apartment building number is 1342 and it was signed for at 1423. They had a signature so they sent me a copy of the signature. I took it to the property management and asked them if they could possibly decipher the name and look up who it belonged to. We knew what building they were in so it should have been easy but we couldn't find it because the signature was illegible. The lady in management also said that even if she did find out who signed, she couldn't tell us their apartment number because that would be an invasion of their privacy and security. So we filed a police report online but it got denied because we knew what apartment building to be looking in, and that was considered "having an idea of the suspect."
So we called in to report and gave them every bit of detail we had and now we're just waiting for them to investigate, which we are promised they will do since mail fraud is a federal offense. That's good news but we have no idea when that will be and we won't know until after the fact. Once they find who signed for our package, we can get our stuff if they still have it and if not then we can take them to court.
We still don't understand how this even happened. We ruled out the possibility of it being an error by the sender or the sending office because it was addressed right and got all the way to our post office. It could be the delivery guy's fault for reading 1342 as 1423, but that doesn't make any sense because our apartment number is 95 and the only apartments in the other building are 140-160.

TLDR: we got a $260 package stolen but we have the signer's signature and already filed a police report.

Answer: Real talk, there's not much you can do here except have the shipper contact USPS depending if they purchase the insurance. It's not mail fraud because it sounde unintentional. The chances of that resident being charged with a crime is nearly zero if it happened once and it was delivered to them via USPS. Have you just knocked on 1423 and asked them? They most likely got the package and had no clue what to do with it.


Title: During an ACL reconstruction surgery, I became hypertensive, hypotensive, then went into respiratory failure and cardiac arrest due to a medication error.

Question:
This incident happened in Las Vegas, NV.

About a week ago, I underwent an ACL reconstruction surgery using a part of my patella ligament as a graft for the ACL. The surgery took place in an outpatient center. Everything was looking good during pre-op and the day of the surgery prior to the surgery. I had only undergone surgery once before with general anesthesia, to remove my wisdom teeth. Everything was ok then, so I wasn’t too concerned about the surgery. The last time remember before going into surgery was approximately 0830.

At some point, I remember waking up, but not opening my eyes, with what felt like intubation, as there was something in my throat. I was trying to resist it, but then I blacked out. I assume they had sedated me to put me to sleep again.

When I woke up at around 1115, I woke up in a hospital a few blocks from the center in the ER. My chest and throat felt sore and I felt completely exhausted. I had an ER doctor come to me, along with the orthopedic surgeon that was performing the surgery, and explained that there were complications during the surgery.

When they gave me toradol (I’m pretty sure that’s what it was from what I kept hearing, to increase the anesthesia when they started cutting into the bone), my body started to negatively react and my blood pressure spiked and my heart rate increased. They then gave me metoprolol to stabilize me, but it apparently reacted with the toradol and dropped my blood pressure, down to around 50/30, before I went into respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. They had already taken out a piece of the ligament when it happened, so they had to discard it and pack and close the site to transport me to the hospital. They were forced to perform chest compressions until the paramedics arrived.

At the hospital, they were concerned for my liver as the AST and ALT levels were alarmingly high as a result of the stress on my body. They wanted me to stay overnight to observe me to make sure I was stabilizing for a good period of time. They wanted to perform an U/S of my abdomen to ensure everything was ok with my liver, but bloodwork from later in the day showed that the AST and ALT levels were lowering down to normal levels, so they dismissed it. The surgeon and anesthesiologist that were performing my surgery visited during my recovery in the hospital to check and redress the wound. They were confused as to what had happened with the surgery and were still trying to find the root cause of the incident. The surgeon recommended I see a cardiologist to perform a stress test on me before I have any surgeries and make sure that my body wasn’t affected from the surgery. They also spoke to me about having to do a second surgery to complete the reconstruction, since the piece of ligament was no longer usable.

I was discharged the following day and went straight to physical therapy, as that was part of the original plan of recovery. I went home afterwards and rested, making sure to take care of my wound.

A few days following the surgery, I receive a call from the anesthesiologist to check up on me and make sure I’m feeling ok. At this point, I’ve been doing well. He lets me know that he’s still investigating the incident. A couple of days after that, about six days after the surgery, the anesthesiologist calls me again and notifies me that after investigating, he found out that someone had stocked his supplies with different medication than what he was supposed to have. He informed me that instead of giving me toradol, he had given me adrenalin, and that that was the cause of my BP spike. It probably had also reacted with the metoprolol when they wanted to bring it down and it was the reason I went into cardiac arrest.

I had a follow up appointment with the surgeon to see how I was doing and check on my wound. Everything was doing better than normal, as far as recovery goes. I was asking him for a document or report explaining what had happened with the surgery and the reason I almost died. He said that he has submitted the report to the state and is waiting for the state to conduct an investigation of the incident.

Because of what happened, I’m going to need another surgery, which means more time off work that isn’t 100% pay. I’m also a lot more worried about something like this happening in the second surgery, so I want to sue because of what happened and because I’m going to need another surgery. I’m wondering what I should do from here, if I should contact a lawyer now or until I have a physical document explaining what happened, or until the state investigation is finished.

Please, if anyone knows how I should move forward with this, let me know! I’d really appreciate it, thanks!

Answer:
 I'm not sure how you should move forwards with this, especially because medical malpractice-type issues are really outside the scope of this subreddit. However, many medical malpractice attorneys offer free consultations. I'd suggest setting one (or a few) up now, in an abundance of caution, and seeing what a lawyer says. Look for a firm that does a lot of medical malpractice cases. Answer #2: Lawyer up and sue.  Whoever told you to wait for the state to straighten this out had no idea what they were taking about.  This was a serious case of malpractice that could have killed you or caused permanent harm.

There is no way a competent physician could mix up adrenaline and toradol.   They are completely different medications.   There is something that we use in nursing called the 5 rights of medication administration that are safety checks to make sure that someone isn’t given the wrong medication.

My guess is that they had adrenaline out in case of an emergency and the anesthesiologist pulled it instead of toradol by mistake.  If he was actually paying attention, there is no way this could have happened.

I’m an ICU nurse.  You have no idea how lucky you are.   If your BP was 50/30, nothing was getting properly perfused.  If they were doing chest compressions, you were extremely close to death or an anoxic brain injury.   Also, follow up with a cardiologist and do whatever they say.  Your heart has been through a lot.


Title: [VA] My brother's doctor keeps prescribing him Xanax

Question:
Hi everyone, obligatory intro right off the bat. Made a throw away on the off chance I was somehow identifiable on my main account. Things in my family's personal lives are an absolute mess right now so I'll really try and only leave in the relevant details. I apologize in advance if I stray away. Also on mobile, so sorry for if the formatting is bad. Not really sure where to start so I'll just jump right in somewhere, sorry if the timeline seems all over the place.

So, my brother became a firefighter a couple years ago. He has really grown a love for his work and it's probably the only thing he has passion for. About a year ago, he had witnessed something on the job that really messed with him and he now has PTSD. He went to our family physician, not a psychiatrist, who evaluated him, and put him on xanax, then on ativan for sleep.

One of the issues here is that I think my brother lied to our doctor, or didn't tell the whole truth. My brother has had a huge problem with alcohol for a long time. Alcoholism runs in our family and he got started on it a long time ago. I think that if our doctor had been aware of his addiction, he would not only be restrictive with xanax, but getting him to see an actual psychiatrist for a proper evaluation.

Last November, a couple months after first being on the xanax, our mom died. He has taken it the hardest as he was a mom's boy and at times she was the only one who he seemed to believe was there for him. It has since spiralled out of control. Both his xanax and ativan prescriptions are going up in dosage due to tolerance. And he's mixing it all with alcohol. There have been several times I've sat awake wondering if I'll get a call that he's died in his sleep.

I think he's realized just how fucking great those pills are and has no intention to stop using them because of his PTSD. While I can't stand him on them, I've begged for him to do something other than drown himself in pills and alcohol. He tried therapy only to back out as soon as he was hit with the truth. The doctor just keeps prescribing him this stuff, with seemingly no intention of getting him any other help.

I think if our doctor was aware of his addiction to alcohol in general, he would not have just passed out the prescriptions like it's fucking candy. It has now been a year on the pills, with no sight of any other resolutions. I dated someone who was very reliant on pills and I watched them turn into a psychotic and horrible person because of them, so this situation is sensitive and frustrating to me. My brother is on a road to going to jail because everything just keeps getting worse.

Onto the legal advice... Not really sure what I'm looking for out of this as I'm typing it out. I guess what would be the repercussions of me going to our doctor and telling him my brother is out of control with the alcohol, and that he should not have just been put on xanax all willy nilly. What options do I have if my doctor decides to take him off, and my brother is going through withdrawals or uses his PTSD as an excuse to not stop? Is it even legal to insert myself into my brother's medical life, even though he is dragging us all down with him?

I'm more mad at the doctor for being so fucking ignorant and just handing out xanax like there isn't a fucking pill epidemic going on right now. I'd really like for him to know my brother has addiction issues and he shouldn't be on the pills, but I really don't want to make my brother's life even more hell by taking it away. While on the other hand, I can't keep watching him actively dig his own grave.

Sorry for the lengthy post, just didn't want to leave out anything that seemed relevant. And thanks in advance. Honestly, any kind of advice at this point would be better than where I am now with no clues for anything.
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer: As a general rule, his doctor cannot tell you anything about his care. However, you can tell his doctor anything you would like. Whether his doctor acts on that is up to him. His doctor also can't tell you if he's going to act on it.


Title: My credit card information was stolen

Question:
I got a call from my bank last night that somebody across the country had a fake copy of my card, and had cleaned my account out. They somehow got access to my PIN number, which I suspect from a skimming device of some kind. The bank is refunding me the total amount that they spent/ withdrew, which is a silver lining to all of this. This morning, I called and filed a police report, and given that they were at ATMs and Walmart for their spending spree, I'm cautiously optimistic that they might be caught.

My question is this: if they are caught, do I have any grounds for a lawsuit against them for emotional damages? Obviously it shakes up a family when your accounts are emptied out, and it makes you afraid to go spend shopping, because who knows if your info will get stolen?

Answer:
 It happens.

>do I have any grounds for a lawsuit against them for emotional damages?

Probably not. Emotional damages are hard to prove. Also, with all the banks who want a piece out of this person you're not likely to get paid even if you do win.


Title: Brother was attacked in prison, his memory is affected. Is it possible to get him home?

Question:
Hello,

My little brother made some bad choices and he ended up being arrested in 2013 while on Probation from an officer that threatened him constantly, and would raid his home every other day. His probation officer was not aware of these raids. A few weeks ago this officer was arrested for corruption and falsifying evidence. He was an alleged shooter at a public place. The video was released after his sentencing, and he is not on the video at all. The only testimony is the officer that threatened him and was recently arrested for corruption.

My brother was held for 3 years before his trial begun, because his bail was 1 million. In 2016 they offered him a deal of 26 years if he pled guilty, and parole eligibility at 13. He pled no contest.

About two months ago he was jumped by 4 people in his prison. His jugular was cut, his carotid was cut. He was stabbed 3 dozen times mostly in his neck and upper chest. He died and was resuscitated 3 times on his way to a hospital (they airlifted him out of the prison).

My brother is incredibly different now. He's out of the hospital. He's now in solitary confinement.

My brother doesn't remember his own children anymore. He doesn't remember his stepmom that's been in our family for 15 years. He lost almost all of his memories for the last decade. He acts like a child. He cannot associate things anymore. "Is it cold where you are?" he responds "I feel cold." He knows he has a brother with my name, but, when I speak to him he cannot associate it. "I'm <name>, how are you?" "I have a brother <name>. Do you know him?" "I am <name>, your brother." "I have a brother?"

Can I use this traumatic event as a possible way to get his sentence commuted?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Talk to his criminal attorney about whether the officer's arrest has any effect on his case at all.

I hope I don't sound callous, because I'm sure you love your brother and it sounds awful what happened to him in prison, so I'm sorry for you.

But real talk -- you haven't said whether they were state or federal charges and that makes a difference.  You also have said that the officer was a jerk and out to get your brother and that the video doesn't show him... but you haven't said that you have a strong case that he's actually innocent and/or the officer fabricated evidence in *his* case.  So I don't think that's an avenue that's going to work out for him.

As far as commutation of the sentence, in almost every state and for the federal government, commutation/clemency/pardon are in the discretion of the executive (governor or president) and there should be a detailed process you could find online.


Title: 3 of my dogs were involved in an attack against another dog but the other dog was at my place unannounced. Who's responsible?

Question:
My girlfriend and I are renting the basement of a house month-to-month. We have three rescue pit bulls. The owner has three mixed breed dogs. Total we have six dogs in this house. They all get along well for the most part but dogs are dogs and sometimes conflict happens. Last night, we were letting our dogs out to go to the bathroom and the boss of our landlord stopped over with his dog unannounced. The dog had never been here before and we did not know the dog was here and five dogs were involved in attacking this one dog. Three of those dogs were mine. Dog that got attacked suffered a few stitches in the ear and a few puncture holes but nothing more. The dog will make a full recovery without issue. The owner of the dog is now threatening to call police unless the vet bills are satisfied but I say he's somewhat responsible because he brought his dog over to our place. Is my landlady responsible as well since her dogs were involved to? I want to do the right thing but I also don't want to be stuck with the whole bill since two other dogs were involved in the attack and had we been informed ahead of time, this never would have happened.

DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS

Answer: If the animal was brought on the property under the control of a guest then you are liable (shared with the owner of the other dogs that attacked the newcomer). It's your responsibility to control your animals in this case.


Title: Landlord is always turning off water and does not properly care for building. What are my rights as a tenant? Cincinnati, OH

Question:
No less than twice a month, our landlord turns off the water in our building for "repairs and maintenance". So far, they have given notice in advance, but it is a rather frequent event. Yesterday, the water was suddenly off without warning. We were originally told that it was a water main break. Later we found out that it was just the supply line that was running to our building. The water was off for over 12 hours and finally came on around 1am. This morning I found a notice on my door that said they had restored the water, but not the hot water, and we will be without hot water until sometime monday. So, no shower, no laundry facilities, no dishes. Water is supposed to be included in our rent and we have been without it multiple times this year alone. What do I do?

Side note:
Several other things have happened in the past year that are a complete lack of consideration by the landlord.
*We went almost 4 months with no working air conditioning in our apartment last summer before the management finally provided us with a window unit for one window. (we have a large 2 bedroom apartment, it didnt help much at all)
*The upstairs neighbors air conditioner was draining inside their apartment last summer and was dripping through our bedroom celing. This took over 2 months to repair.
*In February, the heat was shut off for more than 24 hours for maintenance and repairs to the water system

I'm slowly losing my patience and my mind. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

TLDR: My apartment is poorly maintained and its affecting my daily living and sanity. HELP!!!!!

Answer:
 NAL, but live in Ohio and fairly familiar with landlord-tenant laws. If you have any outstanding repairs and whatnot, by [Ohio Revised Code](http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5321.07v1) you send a certified letter with return receipt (and keep a copy of the letter) detailing what needs to be fixed. They have 30 days to remedy the problem after which you can deposit all rent and such with the clerk of court, get a court order for them to fix thing, or terminate the lease. There's a few options there so feel free to read the info in that link.

As for the issue with the water being shut off, if they're giving notice for repairs and maintenance I can't see much of a problem with it, but if it's becoming excessive or suddenly shut off for no reason that can be an issue especially since it's in the lease that they provide water. You may be able to leverage that to have them lower your rent specifically for the time spent without water or file a complaint.


Title: Installer threatened to put a lien on my house for cancelling check on a bad install. What can I do?

Question:
I had a garage door issue this week. Chrome duped me and sent me to a "well-reviewed" website for repair.  I called the number and they would send out a technician who has an arrival fee of around $30.  I then received another call that the technician was on his way and tried to confirm the business name, but they didn't respond with the name on the website that I referenced.  I got sent to an uber for garage door repairmen.

&#x200B;

Technician arrives and says he'll do the job.  I ask for a Liftmaster, he responds with yes he'll install a Liftmaster Chamberlain.  The item is branded a Chamberlain he says, which is parent to Liftmaster, and they are the same thing.  I agree to the install. Brief research, ok, seems legit.  Whoops.

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He takes down my existing hardware (which, legit, did not work), which was a solid piece of metal and replaces it.  I sign the bill and test it and it works, sign the invoice (and have a copy), give him a check and he leaves.  He left behind my old garage door mechanism and track instead of taking it with him.  He did take my original wall-mounted ground sensors with him.  I have these weird clip-ons now.  The item is a Chamberlain; investigation shows I could have purchased it at Home Depot for a third of the install cost.

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The next morning, the system does not work.  The install looks mounted crooked.  The track is multi-piece, not a single solid piece.  The keypad isn't installed in the wall like my old (legit nonworking) keypad, but screwed into the rubber and hanging over the edge. I take photos.

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I call the company and they send him back out.  We move the keypad to the correct location.  He pulls out some wires, puts them back in and then shows me it works. They weren't seated correctly?  He leaves.

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Twenty minutes later, it doesn't work again. I call him, he tells me it's an hefty charge  to come out again and replace the wiring to my remote sensors.  I say he should have done it originally and it should be under warranty; he says no.  I don't trust that this will fix it, plus it sounds like if it's the wires, it isn't that hard a job to re-run them at a thicker gauge.  However, now I just don't trust this installation at all.  It's been less than 24 hours, I ask him to come back and remove his equipment.  He says he'll call me back.  I cancel the check.  He doesn't call me back.

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I call a different installer and they come out, evaluate the installation, write down that it was not properly installed, and they install their system and cleanly (professionally) uninstall the system from the first company. I should have company #2 first.

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I call the first (sleazy) parent company.  I say come get your equipment it was professionally uninstalled and I will pay the installer for his time uninstalling my old equipment. He says "ha the check is already cashed" (no it wasn't I checked with the bank), then says to keep the equipment and he will instead put a lien on my house for the amount.  Amount is less than $600; Broward County, Florida.

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What are my options?

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Answer:
 Pay him then sue him in small claims

That’s the only clean way to do it


Title: (USA) A friend managed to lose $1500 in a type of Steam secondary market, can he get it back?

Answer:
 He didn't lose $1500, he lost a bunch of digital items he might be able to hypothetically resell for $1500.

I think your friend is leaving something out in his story that will probably explain why he's not pursuing this.Answer #2: I am confident that, if you knew all the details about *how* he was using the service, it would be clear why the ban was justified.


Title: [Mississippi] My wife's mom left her a CD with a good amount of money in it when she passed 20 years ago. Now her family is trying to add themselves onto the account.

Question:
The way the account is set up, no one but my wife is supposed to be able to access it. Her dad had to go before a judge to access it to buy her a car.

Her family, mostly her dad's side, really wants her to stay in our hometown. We both want to leave Mississippi. Her dad has spent the last few years lying about how much money was left in the account and not telling her anything else about it. When she turned 21 and was supposed to be able access the account, her dad didn't tell her about it and re-activated the CD for the next year so she couldn't.

Fast forward to now, she still hasn't gotten into it (mostly out of fear of her family.) We are planning on getting it later this month when it becomes available without a fee. We want to bring it into our personal shared savings account. We've decided to use it to pay off some debts and a down payment on a house far away. Her dad has recently been talking about adding his and her older brothers name on the account.

If they do add their names onto the CD, would they be able to get the money out and strand us in this town?

Personally, I am suspicious about the timing of all this. Her dad didn't start talking about adding names on it until after we starting talking about moving away. My wife is freaking out, she's never been able to stand up to them and I'm worried she's gonna give in and we'll be stuck.

Answer:
 How or why do they think they can add their names? Can't she go to the bank in person, and make sure she has access, and that she's the only one with access?Answer #2: I’d be worried that the dad got out more than the amount necessary for a car after getting permission from a judge and that may be a reason he didn’t want your wife to get access so she wouldn’t know yet.Answer #3: She can withdraw her CD early, tomorrow even. There's nothing illegal about it. She would have a penalty, which is basically forfeiting some of the interest paid since the last renewal.

IMO, it would be worth the penalty to get ahead of it and withdraw it now, when it's not expected and transfer it to an account at another bank.


Title: Do I have to show my Armed Security license to the police?

Question:
A couple of years ago a woman in plain clothes and claimed to be a police officer asked me about Armed Security license while I was working.  Her friends were trying to get her and everyone to leave right from the start but became more insistent when she asked to see the license.  Since she was in plain clothes and couldn't be sure if she was a police officer I told her that wouldn't be appropriate and she didn't keep on trying so no big deal.

If she were a police officer, what would have been my options?  Could I gave asked to see some kind of police ID?  Could I have flat out refused even if she was a police officer?  Could I have been arrested if I refused?  I'll also note that nothing prompted this.  I was just standing outside of the retail store where I did security and don't know if there was some kind of problem.

Answer:
 If she did not show you a badge or other evidence that she is in a position of authority, I see no reason you would be obligated to provide your license. If she provided a badge, you would need to be able to prove proper authorization to be carrying your weapon.Answer #2: There are fifty states in the United States. There are six states in Australia, 31 states in Mexico, 13 provinces and territories in Canada, and 195 countries in the world, and maybe two more depending about how you feel about Palestine and Vatican City. Most of these have different laws about the topic.

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Do you think perhaps your question requires a bit more detail about where this retail store was before it can be meaningfully answered?Answer #3: I would have asked to see her ID to prove she was actually a police officer and warn her that failure to provide such proof would result in my holding her for the Local PD for representing herself as law enforcement without credentials !Answer #4: I know for sure that anyone claiming to be law enforcement needs to show proof when asked. There’s no reason to keep it secret unless they’re undercover


Title: [SC] HOA is refusing to provide financial statements, even though master deed and CC&Rs require them to.

Question:
I own a house in Charleston, SC. The management group recently raised our HOA fees by about 70%, citing some work that needs to be done to exterior as the reason. We happen to know from financial statements about 2 years ago that they are sitting on a very large cash savings account from previous fees.

Today I called this management group yet again to ask for financial statements (I have asked multiple times before), and the lady basically said she wouldn't talk to me anymore, because she had already spent "too much time" explaining why they needed to raise our fees. After I told her I was not calling about fees, I was calling to ask for financial statements again, she said I could not have them because there is "Private information" on them. I told her that if she needs to, she can black out any confidential information and send me the abridged version. She refused this as well, saying that editing the documents will "take too much time".

I have no idea what "private information" would be on these financial statements, as we didn't have any problem getting them about 2 years ago. I believe the president of our HOA is in bed with the manager at the management group, and that this "private information" is probably personal kickbacks.

I am planning on contacting a real estate lawyer soon, but am just hoping to get some advice here first about the technicalities of my situation.

Thank you for reading.

Answer:
 Send a registered letter with receipt requested requesting the information "as per the follow terms of the master deed and CC&R".

Get that paper trail started, it will help your lawer.

Caveat: IANALAnswer #2: In addition to getting the paper trail started I would bring this up at every meeting they have until it gets taken care of. Be polite and respectful but don't back down. Make sure everyone in the association knows they are dragging their feet providing the required information.

If they persist this is the sort of thing a local news station would love.Answer #3: Have you asked the President of the HOA for his assistance? If he's hesitant to provide them or comes back with the same answer then something is definitely up.


Title: (CA) Is there actual legislation that says you have to have auto insurance?

Question:
Hi Legaladvice Reddit! I am currently taking an accounting class and my professor has said that there is no actual legislation or law that requires you to have auto insurance. This seems crazy because if you don't have insurance the DMV suspends your registration etc.

Is he right on this one? Thanks!

Answer:
 You have to either have insurance or post a bond ($35,000 to my recollection, but that may have changed) to the state.

Professors should really swim in their own lanes; not sure why an accounting professor would say such things.Answer #2: No, he's wrong.  Insurance is mandatory in CA.


Title: [Mich] Being denied the ability to turn on electric and gas at home I just started renting from past due bill

Question: I'm fairly certain I can't legally live in a home with no heating/electricity, and my energy company is claiming I owe them $300 from a place I lived and move out of in 2013. I moved out in Jan of 2014, and they kept billing me after. I was signed up for electronic billing, NEVER received any bills. They claimed they sent notices of the bills etc...to the place I previously lived and that I never cancelled service. Which is true, I assumed my landlord would help with that. Now they are saying they refuse to open an account for me unless I pay it in full. I simply can't afford it as I'm putting down the majority of my next paycheck for the security deposit/lease. I offered to pay half and they still refused to start service. I feel like I'm being denied the ability to live in a home by the utility company, is there anything I can do? I even asked them to waive the portion of my bill (almost all of it) from when after I moved and they still refused. Can anything be done?

Answer:
 > Which is true, I assumed my landlord would help with that.

Why would you assume this? Why would a landlord close an account in somebody else's name? Did your lease say he would do this?

You never cancelled the account so you owe them. If you can prove who was using the utilities during that time (if it was occupied) you can sue them.

Did you ask if you could work out a payment plan?


Title: [MA] - HOA president violated bylaw - But claims immunity because is was a honest mistake and made in "good faith"

Question: Are misinterpretations of bylaws acting in "good faith" or is this potentially  a legal nightmare?

Answer: You haven’t given nearly enough detail for anyone to say anything meaningful.


Title: My 16 year old daughter has been receiving money from a 50 year old man online. Is there anything I can do legally to stop this creep from preying on young girls?

Question: I went through my daughters phone tonight and I found messages between her and a 50 year old man named Roger. There was nothing sexual there or nothing of them meeting up or anything as he lives states away from us. But I saw him telling her that in exchange for her company over text and over the phone and stuff, he’d send her money. They’ve been talking for about 3 months now that I saw and have video chatted and called a NUMBER of times. I genuinely believe that nothing happened sexually but he has her send regular pictures of herself in skirts and the like and tells her how beautiful she is and it’s disgusting. I looked on her Paypal and she’s received nearly $1000 from this man over the course of 3 months. I don’t even know how to talk to her about this because I’ve never dealt with it and I don’t believe it’s technically illegal. I don’t know what I can do about this old creep preying on young girls and my daughter. I don’t know if I should discipline her or make this into a teaching moment (we’ve been in situations like this before). I don’t think in terms of the law I can do anything as there is nothing sexual there (a blessing and a curse). He’s some cop that lives in Idaho and we live in Minnesota. What can I do? Is there anything in terms of the law that he could get in trouble for ? Who can/should I reach out to?

Answer:
 https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/protecting-your-kids

Report his ass NOW.Answer #2: NAL; I'm a school counselor and mandated reporter.

I would recommend the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.Answer #3: Report this to the FBI. I'm no lawyer, but this does sound like grooming. And even if it doesn't qualify, he could be exploiting other children.Answer #4: Report his activity to whatever station he works at—doesn’t have to be a criminal report if it’s not feasible, just make them aware. I would also inform your police or whoever you can tell that way this is documented that a COP is preying on a CHILD because their asses will definitely try to bury this once it really comes out. I guarantee you his reputation means more to him than anything so that may be enough to scare him off.

Edit: what exactly is he asking of her? He’s def treating her like a sugar baby, but ofc there’s levels to the sugar so if it progresses this can be considered sex work for your daughter...


Title: My medical insurance has canceled my wife's chiropractic benefits, I need to appeal, what are some strong points I can add to my appeal letter?

Question:
My medical insurance includes 20 chiropractic visits per year (with copays). My wife has back and hip problems, and the visits to the chiropractor have been helping her deal with them. We are not old (she's 28), so we're hoping that these regular visits can help curb any longterm issues down the line.

Unfortunately, since we only get 20 visits per year, I had to space them out to be about once every 3 weeks, so they last the whole year. Each visit included an adjustment, as well as a 30 minute targeted physical therapy appointment.

Yesterday, she received a letter in the mail stating that insurance would no longer be covering her appointments, because the service has been deemed "preventative" and not active. The only reason she can't have more appointments is because they only give us 20 a year. Was I supposed to have her go once or twice a week for a few months and then nothing for the rest of the year?

I need to write an appeal letter to attempt to get her appointments covered again. Is there anything specific I can mention to get my point across best? Is it possible to ask for more than 20 visits per year so she can be adequately covered?

Answer: Look into physical therapy instead of chiropractors. Most insurance covers much more PT Answer #2: This is probably best suited to /r/insurance. This isn't really a legal question.


Title: [California] My boss fired me due to my attendance but I’m curious if the circumstances fall into wrongful termination.

Question:
Somewhere around the first week of June 2018, I volunteeringly entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. I told my boss that week about my program and that I would have to take 2 weeks off from work to attend group. He agreed with my request and the following week I began my program. I was able to avoid sober living, however the doctor required my wife keep me under 24 hour surveillance for the duration of my partial hospitalization (2 weeks, 5 days a week). After I returned back to work, my rehabilitation dropped me down to an intensive outpatient (6 weeks, 3 days a week). Unfortunately, because I was still required to attend a Friday group, I was only able to work Monday through Thursday (My schedule before being Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm). During the month of July when I returned back to work, I had to miss every Friday. I also possibly took one or two personal days, one was because of my birthday. I had not missed a single day for the month of August 2018 up until my termination which was yesterday Monday August 13th, 2018.

However when I was terminated, he stated it was due to my lack of attendance.

Here’s the thing, I understand the concept of “At-Will” termination, however I was under the impression that my rehabilitation fell under a form of disability here in California (I came to this assumption due to the fact that I was offered disability pay from my rehab for the duration of those 2 weeks, but I chose to decline this resource). The thing is, my pay stubs and time sheets for the entire year of 2018 reflect that, besides my time off for rehab, I had superb attendance. I even showed up early and stayed late most days. I also requested to use my sick and vacation leave hours to cover those 2 weeks I was away, which my boss also agreed to. I feel I should also mention that two employees, that I know of, habitually miss far more days this year than I have, sometimes taking entire weeks off at a time.

So I’m confused and a bit pissed (It feels like he is throwing my time off, that he gave me and I payed for in sick and vacation hours, back in my face). Was my rehabilitation legally considered a disability and if so does this fall under wrongful termination?

Answer: Being terminated because of attendance issues related to a disability *may* be actionable. Being terminated for taking a personal day for your birthday definitely would not be.Answer #2: Addiction recovery _can_ fall within the remit of the ADA and other legislative protections for disabilities. Both rejecting a reasonable accommodation for that disability and discrimination on the basis of that disability may be actionable. Sit down with an employment attorney before you write this off.


Title: sold motorcycle kid got into an accident

Question: So over two years ago I sold a motorcycle.  I accidentally left the license plate on it like an idiot. I live in Utah and here they don't require a bill of sale so I just signed the title and let the kid ride off. About a month ago a got a call from a lawyer saying that he got into an accident and he still had my plate on the bike and never registered it in his name and that I have to pay for it. I don't have proof that I sold the motorcycle, am I really liable for this? What should I do?

Answer: Do nothing unless you are served papers.  If you are, hire a lawyer.


Title: Silly high school drama escalated and now i can't find a job [NC]

Question:
I'll try to make the "story" as brief and easy to understand as possible.

Best friend from high school and I got into a big argument over her new boyfriend. Have not spoken directly to her since June 16th-ish. I have attempted to contact her to apologize for something i said, but she has completely blocked or is ignoring any and all contact.

She is contacting places I applied to work for (safe to assume that she is contacting every business in my small town since there's no way she would know where i applied) and telling them "blackdahliax is a terrible person, she steals from people, don't hire her" or something similar. She called a business on my first day working and told me, not knowing that i was the receptionist, that i needed to "speak to my boss regarding blackdahliax because she is  not mentally healthy and is a compulsive liar". The phone system they had recorded calls and i played the audio back, recorded it with my phone, and compared it to videos i have of her speaking when i got home. It was definitely her. I was so embarrassed that i didn't return to that job for a second day of work.

Stopping here just to clarify. She thinks i am a compulsive liar because i told her that her boyfriend was cheating on her and he denied it, so i must have been wrong. His word is gospel to her. I had a sufficient amount of evidence against him but she refused to believe it.

Anyways, she also did that to a restaurant where another friend of mine worked and the friend told me. I have had three companies offer interviews and then cancel. This girl is preventing me from finding a job.

I spoke to a family friend who is a family attorney, and she said i should attempt to contact her again before i move forward. I have given her over two weeks to respond to an email and she hasn't.

I have no money to hire an attorney and would not feel comfortable hiring the one who is a family friend. I don't know what to do, if there is anything i can do. She will be going off to school in less than a month, but that doesn't mean these companies will forget who i am. I cannot move due to my financial situation, though that would be a good solution. I'm stuck in this rut and there has to be a way out. Right?

Any and all advice is very, very appreciated.

**EDIT:** The reason I decide not to return to the aforementioned receptionist job was because I wasn't really a receptionist. I want to clarify since I'm getting a lot of comments about it. I went in for work that day and was given a schedule. out of that schedule, I was to train as a receptionist for one hour and the rest of my training would be done in another building. My one hour of training was when the call occurred. **That it NOT the only reason I left the job, it just help influence my decision**. I was hired through a temp agency and I was told I would be a receptionist. The manager told me when I came in that morning not to wear professional clothing in case I got chemicals on them and I knew something was wrong. What I was really supposed to do, and they did not tell me, was answer the phones for the other full time receptionist on her lunch breaks, then go to the other building (a day-care like place) and clean the rest of the day and all day on Tuesdays by myself. The job description mentioned "light cleaning such as window washing, sweeping tidying lobby" but I was being trained to soak children's toys in bleach and pretty much scrub the whole place down on my hands and knees. Eventually I was able to talk to the other employees and ask what the girl who I was replacing did and they said she did the same thing. As I began telling them about myself, they realized that I was lied to as well. One employee told me "They should have hired a man for this job. You have a degree, you need to find something better than being a janitor!". I left at closing that day and I told my supervisor at the temp agency I wasn't going to return, what the employees said, and that I did not want to be cleaning. I have not heard from the agency or company since.

Answer: Not returning to the job was probably a big mistake. You should have sought the chance to talk to the boss and tell them that you are experiencing harassment from a former friend. A lot of people have experienced shit like that. An ex screwed up an attempt to do this to me where he wrote out my entire name correctly despite there being no last name on my badge and my last name is a weird Eastern European name that no one spells right. Answer #2: sounds like a bunch of civil issues, ones you can sue over in small claims. Answer #3: You were "too embarrassed" to go back to work? Even though you took the call and I'm assuming didn't transfer it to anyone else? Can you clarify this situation a bit please?


Title: [NY] My dad, who has emphysema and was hospitalized for the 2nd time in less than a month, is being discharged instead of being referred to rehab.

Question:
My dad has emphysema and was never prescribed oxygen by his pulmonologist. On June 10, we found him collapsed in his apartment. He was severely dehydrated and incoherent, so he was probably lying there for a while. We called 911 and he went to an ER and then was transferred to a hospital and they couldn't figure out why he collapsed. He was there until the 13th and was then referred and transferred to rehab for PT and OT.

He stayed in rehab until June 30. However, once he got home, he rapidly declined and I had to call an ambulance on July 3 to take him to the hospital of his choice, because his doctors are all listed as being affiliated. His oxygen level was 83, so they gave him 2 nebulizer treatments and kept him on oxygen. He's still very weak and says he feels sick after each bout with PT. Unfortunately, it seems that the PT there thinks he's ready to be discharged to go home and refuses to refer him to rehab for some reason. He lives by himself and has no caregiver. My sister and I took turns staying with him the few days he was home after discharge from the rehab, but I used up all my family leave and have to work and my sister lives in PA. We really can't afford to pay for home health care out of pocket and his Medicare insurance will only cover 3 hours per day of home health care.

We've appealed his discharge for today, which will only keep him in the hospital for another 24 hours. We can appeal it again every day, but that will only keep him in the hospital and has nothing to do with him being referred to rehab. The hospital workers won't say why they won't send him to rehab and insist that the PTs diagnosis overrides what any doctor there has to say.

I'm home sick right now with tonsillitis. I guess I wore myself down running around trying to get things done, going to the hospital and rehab every day and then trying to take care of him at his home. His apartment was like a dungeon, because he didn't have the strength to clean. We got it cleaned up, but he needs new a/c units, plus the one in his bedroom doesn't work (they're from the 70s and the landlord is being an ass), and the air in the place is really bad, especially in his bedroom. His stove doesn't work, and we only just got the paperwork from the landlord to get it replaced.

We're all exhausted and don't really know what to do. We all want him to go to rehab. Even the people from rehab agree with us and think it's ridiculous that the hospital wants to send him home. What can we do?

Answer:
 Your father has oxygen dependent COPD and has been hospitalized twice within a month. This really is not something that PT and OT are going to fix. In order to utilize the Medicare benefit for rehab the person has to be rehabable. They have to make progress. If they get him into the facility and he does not make progress he could be discharged under Medicare quite quickly.

 He has have a 3 day qualifying hospital stay to utilize at Medicare benefit. Since the extra days are under appeal, this becomes iffy.

 If his prior stay was 3 uncontested days sequentially it may trigger his benefits. The rule is a 3 consecutive within 30 days of rehabilitation services.

 Contact your local area agency on aging for resources. He should probly be starting a Medicaid application or looking at a spend down if he will need extensive health care.

 Now I'm going to tell you something you totally don't want to hear.

 COPD is ultimately a fatal disease. By the time it's progressing to oxygen dependency and multiple hospital visits it is time to really start talking about how he wants to shape the end of his life.

 If there are other factors here like weight loss and decline in functional ability, he may be at the point where he can utilize his Medicare hospice benefit. It provides nurses, home health aides, social workers and even in home physician visits.

 With the hospice benefit, he could stay out of the emergency rooms and have a greatly increased quality of life.

 I'm in health care. Not lawyer.