Title: What to do when a delivery service breaks into your home?

Question:
USA, VA

I recently have had some work being performed on my house. I have an organization that is performing the work and in doing such there are various subcontractors that have been involved. One specific contractor has been responsible for most construction. This past weekend, on Saturday, there was to be a delivery from a major home store. Said store uses 3rd party delivery. I have never met, nor talked to, this 3rd party.

Estimated delivery was earlier in the day. When that delivery time came and past the contractors that are doing the construction left saying the delivery would be later during the day and asked if we would be home. They were informed we would be there until the delivery time. The delivery time passed by more than an hour and we locked our residence and left.

It was after 11 p.m. that night before we came back home to find a room full of a delivery. However, we couldn't figure out how they entered the home.

Ultimately, after several conversations with multiple groups, I was informed from the supervising manager of the delivery company they had been told the house would be unlocked. (It wasn't). Upon several more phone calls that story changed to they knocked on the door and it simply opened (unlikely). There was no permission for these people to enter our home. They were supposed to be met by someone in order to deliver.

Having a house worked on means most of my items are in boxes. I have submitted a police report and was informed that if anything is missing to let them know and they will change their report from 'suspicious entry' to 'theft/larceny'. I was informed I could also go before the magistrate and press charges but it would ultimately be a he said/he said and probably not end up anywhere.

I honestly don't think the delivery service stole anything. I believe it was a long day and they didn't want to make another 45 min drive back on another day. I think he just carded the door and did his thing.

Unfortunately, this was a huge invasion. The worst part is the story changing which is a lie that the door opened or was ever unlocked. I suppose the question would be is it worth pursuing filing charges knowing it will probably end up being pointless?

I am speaking to an attorney in the next day as I go through my things.

Answer:
 The delivery company should be held accountable. My concern is that if the staff and company aren't held accountable they will do this again and again. There is a chance it was a one time thing but if there are no repercussions, who's to say they won't continue? Regardless if anything was stolen or not, they broke the law and I can imagine how unsafe you must feel knowing they were easily able to break in and scope the place out. If it were me, regardless if I received financial gain or not, I'd still pursue it so the company and staff know this is not OK.  Answer #2: A few things are unclear to me.

Are you sure that they were not told that the house would be unlocked?  If they were, they would assume that they had permission to enter the house.  Have you tried to "card" your door?  This is not as easy as it sounds since most house locks are designed to prevent this.

If they believed they had permission to enter and were able to enter, I'm not sure what the crime is.  It's not "suspicious entry" and if nothing is missing, it is not "theft/larceny".  If something is missing you would have to be able to show that they are the ones who took the item rather than the contractors or someone else who could easily "card" into your house.


Title: Just read about the movie "Snitch"

Question: So how much of this movie is actually true? Would the police really arrest and charge someone who doesn't have any previous history with drugs and put them in jail for receiving drugs in the mail? I mean on the surface it sounds ludicrous but really thinking about it how true is this?

Answer:
 Yes?

If it was that easy to get out of drug charges, no one would have any drug charges ever.


Title: CA USA - mom's spending like crazy, she has cancer...can I legally protect my siblings and my credit?

Question:
I posted this same question in r/personalfinance and was instructed to check here as well.  Here is the original thread (https://np.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/5nd5lz/moms_spending_like_crazy_she_has_cancercan_i/)

From what I was told in r/personalfinance is that there really is no obligation to pay my parents debts as long as I am not a cosigner of the debt.  Debt collectors will try to persuade me to take responsibility, but there is no legal obligation.  The biggest risk is for my father and his financial/legal well-being.

I'm looking for any further legal advice.

--------

I am using a throwaway account because some extended family know my other reddit name.

My mother was diagnosed with cancer about 5 years ago and it has had its ups and downs, but as of the past year her condition has gotten progressively worse. Above that, she lost her job about 2 years ago, then lost her and my fathers home. They are good now, they are comfortably renting.

BUT...when they lost their house, my siblings and I found out about my mother's crazy spending habits (addiction) with credit cards...something like $45k of debt. Dad is retired, has pension and SSI and my mother...so my parents contacted a lawyer to help them settle all of the debts.

The debts were all squared up (some paid, some reduced or removed) and a seemingly 'fresh start' was given to them. Also note, they have little to no savings...maybe $1-2k total between the two of them.

Now, as my mothers cancer is progressing, she is beginning to lose her wits about her and she is back to her old spending habits. My mom 'runs' the house, so my dad is kind of sitting back and watching things take place...doesn't know what to do.

I live in the US and I have heard that when your parents pass away, you take on responsibility for their debt. I'm not loaded and neither are my siblings, so a huge medical debt or CC debt from my mother would be devastating.

Seeing this, my siblings and I want to know: Can we claim some type of immunity, or legal protection, from our parents debt before it actually accrues?

We appreciate any and all help or guidance you can provide. Thank you in advance!

Answer:
 > I have heard that when your parents pass away, you take on responsibility for their debt.

This is 100% not true although some debt collectors may try to convince you otherwise.

WHen a person dies, all that they own or owe is known as "the estate". The estate's debts must be paid from the estate's assets, if any. Only if there are assets left over can the estate be distributed to spouse, children, or anyone else named in a will. But if there are debts left over, the creditors are SOL.

Now, your dad could be negatively affected (because he would co-own assets with her and might be co responsible for her debts, depending on your state's laws and how the debt is structured) but you and your siblings are fine.


Title: [Iowa] - Wal-Mart and door greeters

Question:
Recently my local Wal-Mart has decided that they are going to start randomly checking customers carts as they exit the store. They take your receipt, scan it and then scan items in your cart.

My question. Am I required by law to allow them to stop me and scan my items? I’ve passed the point of sale. I have paid for my items. I own them now, not Walmart. I am not suspected of shoplifting.

I want to clarify this is a regular Walmart. Not a Sams Club where your membership requires it.

Answer:
 You are welcome to make your petty, pointless stand against waiting an extra 10 seconds to leave the store.

They are welcome to trespass you from the store permanently as a result.Answer #2: You can say no. They can ban you and call the police for trespassing if you ever show up again.


Title: Defending myself against a Nuisance Barking charge.

Question:
Carrollton TX - Nuisance Barking Citation

I have a new next door neighbor who moved in about 11 months ago, within 2 weeks of moving in, he started calling animal control on my dogs' "Nuisance Barking".  Now he has filed a formal complaint and I have to either pay the fine or go to court.  Our city ordinance doesn't have an exact amount of time they have to be barking to be considered "nuisance," and I just can't set the precedent of paying the $202 fine the first time, just to have more complaints made every time he has a bad day or decides they are being a 'nuisance'.  When the city set the court date, the clerk advised me to just pay the fine as they "almost never overturn these tickets."

My dogs are outside a total of 20 minutes a day, (4-5 potty breaks) cumulatively barking a total of 15 minutes PER WEEK, if that.  They are just responding to people in the alley or loud trucks driving by... not a constant yapping.

In addition to the items below, how can I prepare to defend myself in court?
*Proof that immediately after the first compliant, I bought bark collars per Animal Control's suggestion
*Documented Proof (city records w/Animal Control) after the second complaint I offered to do mediation (neighbor refused)
*5 other immediate neighbors who have never complained or even approached me about the dogs barking.
*Other next door neighbor who is offering to testify and/or write a letter to the court

Please advise Reddit - thanks in advance!!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 go to court and do your best to make your case. a judge might be a hardass. but if he is, then it's just a fine. but he might also reward you for immediately getting the bark collars and he'll dismiss.

that's about all you can do. there's no setting a precedent. the precedent already exists in the city laws. Answer #2: This is not legal advice, but I read the thread title and for one glorious moment I hoped that you were either a dog asking for advice, or you were a human who keeps barking and has been cited for it.


Title: Can I collect Family Medical Sick Leave if I am able to work but have bipolar/schizophrenia/schizoaffective ?

Question:
Hi. I work as a full time employee for a big tech company. I have full benefits (health insurance, dental, vision, stock option, 401k matching, etc). I work in the state of Virginia, USA. I have been working there for a year and a half and I don't like my job and lately my performance has been shitty and I am on track for being fired (they call it an "improvement plan" but realistically most people who get put on an "improvement plan" end up not keeping their current role). I have bipolar/schizophrenia/schizoaffective (see [https://www.reddit.com/r/mentalhealth/comments/8wyy7v/strange\_rapid\_cycling\_psychotic\_symptoms/](https://www.reddit.com/r/mentalhealth/comments/8wyy7v/strange_rapid_cycling_psychotic_symptoms/)) but my bipolar/schizophrenia/schizoaffective often times doesn't actually affect my ability to do my job. I mean sometimes if it is really bad it does but right now it's kind of meh and to be honest I could go to work, sit down at the computer, and do my job as usual without much of an impact. My dad says this:

"The federal law, called Family Medical Sick Leave Act, is every employee's right to apply for through Human Resource Department. You get 12 week sick leave, where you maitain you Full Health Care coverage and your position or job at work.

This is not scamming the government for handouts.

Every employee can request 12 week sick leave under the FMSLA. You are entitle for it by law. They can not deny it for you.

During the 3 month sick leave, you can take care of you mental health, and explore other job alternative while maintaining you health insurance coverage for treatment and prescription drugs."

\^ Is this real? Can I actually get this without gaming the system?

Answer:
 If your doctor agrees you need to be out of work for an extended amount of time, FMLA will protect you from being fired **for taking that leave**

It will not protect you from being otherwise fired for poor performance.

Edit - You would also still owe your portion of your insurance premiums for the time you are out if you are maintaining your benefits. Answer #2: 1. You realize that you will not be paid for your time on FMSLA, right?
2. You realize that you can still come back and be fired for your poor performance?


Title: Parent with legal concerns about child missing school for family vacation (TX)

Question:
We are planning a vacation to Hawaii in January, and my son would have to miss one full week of school.  We live in the state of Texas and I am concerned about the legal repercussions.

I have researched a few specific Texas Education Codes and Texas Family Codes as well as the Texas Education Agency website, and I am unclear if legal action can be taken.

I went into a rabbit hole cross referencing all referenced laws and am now looking for a sanity check that my interpretation is correct.  Based on my initial research I feared legal consequences, but after further research I think I have found everything I need to show that legal action will not be taken.

*All of the following references are according to findlaw.com

According to Texas Education Code 25.0195 section a-4 truancy prevention measures can be taken for missing more than 3 days in a 4-week period (which would be our case) but less than 10 days in a 6-month period (which will not be an issue).  The code explains the truancy prevention measures and does not seem like any legal measures will be taken but I want to be sure.  What are you interpretations of the “Truancy Prevention Measures?”
	This article references Family Code 65.003 – which is only for 10 or more days in a 6-month period and also Family Code 51.03 which does not seem relevant.

All said I don’t think that anything in Texas Education Code 25.0195 would lead to legal action

My second major concern is Texas Education Code 25.093 – Parent Contributing to Nonattendance of a Child.  However, it references 65.003 which is the 10 or more days in a 6-month period, and I have been unable to find anything under this code about the 3 or more days in a 4-week period.  This also references Texas Education Code 25.095 but this code seems to mainly deal with Warning Notices as opposed to legal action.

I also tried to draw from the Texas Education Agency website but I think all relevant issues are addressed in the codes above.
http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/News_and_Multimedia/Correspondence/TAA_Letters/Attendance,_Admission,_Enrollment_Records,_and_Tuition__2015-16/

Based on the above references should I be concerned about legal action?  Does anyone else if Texas have personal experience with this issue?

Answer: NAL and don't live in Texas, but I'm a teacher and I have kids in school. Kids miss school all the time for vacations. Unless your admin is super strict, you'll be fine. Just let them know ahead of time and make sure your child does any make up work they give.  If you're really nervous about it, just go talk to the admin and let them know. Chances are they won't really care.Answer #2: Also, in my experience,  it takes a lot more than missing one week for schools to go after parents for truancy.Answer #3: I live in Texas and pulled my son last year for a week in Denver. Unless your ISD is crazy, they should be able to accommodate.


Title: My Parents Won't Tell Me (21F) Where My Dog Is?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Call the police.

You may also have the grounds for a civil suit against your parents, though realistically your best possible outcome there is probably only the replacement cost of the dog.Answer #2: Keep the fact that they are family out of your mind.  In a case like this, treat them like any other person who stole your property and sold it off.

Your parents are making your decisions for you when they have no right to do so.Answer #3: Hopefully your dog is chipped/tattooed, and you've got all those documents lined up. Whoever they gave/sold your dog to, when they bring it to a vet, that information should be readily found, and help reunite sooner.Answer #4: Why would you trust [people you haven't seen in over 2 years and don't even like](https://np.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/5gqrfm/me_21_f_havent_seen_my_parents_aprox_65_m_f_for_2/) with taking care of your dog?

Answer #5: As others said, warn your parents of your intention to call the police when you return home if the dog is not returnedvia email, facebook direct message, whatever means. They likely did not put a lot of effort into rehoming so your dog is likely still somewhere in your parents area. Contact the local veterinary clinics, and when you get back put up signs with your dogs picture indicating that it was stolen and may have been sold. Put up signs at the local parks and dog parks as well, same as if it had run off. Answer #6: Get on Facebook and the rehoming and lost dog pages for your area. Post him as lost and rehomed without your consent. These are things that you can do right now.  If you are able to find him, have a trusted friend or family member go get him.


Title: what can be considered soliciting sex in canada?

Question:
So a friend of mine has himself in a bit of a situation. A couple days ago he asked his ex if she wanted to go over to his place and have sex, then he would take her out and she could keep her money. He asked for this for his birthday which is kinda messed up but whatever. Anyways, she said no, he said whatever and asked for his money and left it at that. Today however they got into an arguement and she decided to threten to call the police on him for trying to buy sex. Could she do that and would he actually get in trouble for it?

PS he did this through facebook messanger so its all there

Answer:
 The police and state are unlikely to pursue solicitation charges over a lovers quarrel.

Tell your fried to leave his ex alone.


Title: VA BUI question

Question:
I just picked up a kayak that I intend to use in a Virginia lake this weekend. I plan on taking a few beers out with me and I'm wondering the legality of that.

The VA boating guidelines state that "the laws for operating a motor boat are nearly the same as those for operating a car. No person is allowed to operate a watercraft under the influence."

That seems ambiguously worded as to whether the vessel needs to be powered or not. I'm not trying to get shithoused while on the water, but could I get ticketed by some overzealous park ranger or lake patrolman for having an open beer?

Answer:
 You actually have to dig into the statute for a clear understanding here.  The [law against operating a boat while intoxicated](http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title29.1/chapter7/section29.1-738/) refers to watercraft as defined [here](http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/29.1-733.2/), which seems to limit the definition of "watercraft" to vessels propelled (at least in part) by machinery.

So unless your kayak has an outboard motor on it, you're probably okay, at least in terms of boating laws.  Public intoxication is [still a misdemeanor](http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/18.2-388/) in Virginia.


Title: (Canada) I [17M] might have been been scammed by my legal guardian [50sF]

Question:
I turned 18 a couple weeks ago, and this incident happened while I was 17 (June 2018). I didn't realize how serious it was until now when I pieced the entire situation together.

note, I'm using a throwaway because I've left reddit open at home before and I don't know if they know my main username. I just want to be careful.

So, a month ago, the power went out. I thought I heard the breaker switch go off. I asked my legal guardian, my grandmother, what was happening and I was immediately told that the power bill had gone unpaid too long and that the company had shut it off. Five minutes later, the power went back on. I asked her if she'd paid the bill and she said no, but the power company would turn it off three times before turning it off for good. I thought this was weird but didn't question it.

However, when she went outside, I turned the breaker switch back on and the power immediately surged back on throughout the house. She came back in, acting surprised and asking why the power was back on. I reminded her about the "three warnings" thing she told me about, to which she replied ''Yeah, but how?''. Not thinking clearly, I told her I switched the breaker back on.

She spent the next twenty minutes turning the breaker on and off for some reason. Even though the power was working, and at this point I wasn't sure what she was trying to pull off, she says "I'm gonna call the power company and see what's up". Even though it was just her intentionally turning the breaker off.

So she stands outside my room and has a phone call with the company, in which she comes to the conclusion that if 600 dollars isn't paid by 7 PM that night, the power is going off. I begrudgingly pay half of this this, knowing that even if she's scamming me, she'll still turn the power off until she gets the money.

**Now, here's where it started to piece together.** Earlier this week, our power went off for real - meter shut off and. Apparently we've accrued an unpaid-for, very high power bill. Since the power is in my mother's name, and she's not here right now, my grandma says she can't call the power company because of voice recognition software - only my mother can do that. My mother does this and finds out that the bill has been unpaid since February. My grandma got the payment from me in June. On top of this, I realized that if there is voice recognition software, my grandma couldn't have had that conversation on the phone outside of my room - which means it was a ruse to swindle 300 out of me.

I don't know how to proceed. I'd go to the police but she's my legal guardian and I have no evidence other than the bank transfer to my grandma.

Furthermore, this type of thing has happened before. I usually pay half the internet bill to help out but sometimes she'll ask for it 2-3 weeks after the previous one instead of it being monthly, etc

**TLDR:** I might have gotten tricked by legal guardian into giving 300 to pay a bill that wasn't even paid for. I'm a teen who works part time so it was all the money I had saved up. I don't know how to proceed, and being a dependent puts me in a precarious position.

Answer:
 > my grandma says she can't call the power company because of voice recognition software

This is a lie, or at best a flagrant misunderstanding. None of the provincial or municipal power companies in Canada that I know of deploy voice-recognition as a form of access control, and in any case, _anyone_ can pay a power bill if they know the address on the account. The power company doesn't care where the money comes from. They shouldn't discuss the account with anyone else otherwise, but identity verification is generally down to checking your name, credit card info, or other facts - not down to voiceprints.

I would let this go, but stop giving your grandmother money. If you live in a province where the age of majority is 19, and if you have no power, call your province's children's aid system. If you're in a province where the age of majority is 18, move out and leave her with her problems. Losing $300 sucks, and it is _not fair_ that she conned you, but the odds of anything useful happening through either the police or small claims is just about zero. The real value here is an early and _relatively_ inexpensive warning that your grandmother cannot be trusted, before she got any more money from you.Answer #2: She's blowing anime up your ass. Don't believe a word she says from now on.

Find a job, save some money and move out.

- edit - I meant smoke but now I like anime for that phrase better..


Title: Several Car Break-In At My Apartments - What Can I/We Do?

Question:
So, this morning most of my apartment complex, including myself - awoke to the horror of many of their cars having **at least** one of their windows smashed. I'm talking somewhere between 15-20 cars with some kind of window damage and with other telltale signs of a break-in (glove box compartments left hanging open, items throw out of the cars, etc.).

The apartment complex is mostly gated - but that only prevents cars from coming through freely as there are substantially large gaps. We've had a lot of homeless people come through the area at weird hours of the night - mostly to rummage through the large waste bins.

If it helps, about a week ago on Monday, not only was my **locked** bike stolen, I walked to my car to find the passenger door left slightly opened. It was also rummaged through like many of the cars were today. However, I did not have anything valuable in that car and no damage was done. It seemed like only my easily accessible bike and car were targeted that night so I chalked it up to having bad luck and being targeted.

It now seems like that night was just a primer for the happenings of this morning. I woke up to find the passenger side window of my *other* car completely smashed into and seeing others with the same issue. Many of the tenants have already had a problem with management regarding the parking policies here as well as the lack of security (there are no security cameras and we haven't seen the security patrol car in ages).

What is the recommended course of action in this case, both personally and as a group?

For added information on my own issues at the moment; I bought the car that was broken into today a few months ago but have not had the title transferred under my name and the registration is currently expired. Will this affect the necessary course of action?

Answer:
 OP- Know that the landlord has very little obligation to do much here. From a security perspective, most states only require landlords provide a deadbolt on the front door of their rental units. Unless specifically specified in the lease, the landlord likely doesn't have to have cameras in the parking areas or secure parking areas from pedestrian access.

That being said- you can write a letter to the landlord asking them to increase security (restrict pedestrian access, install cameras, hire a private security company to do a nightly drive-through of the parking area, etc...) and have as many tenants as possible sign the letter.


Title: Just got into my first car accident today.

Question:
So im sorry if this post is jumbled im still a little shook up form the accident.

I got into my first car crash today and got a ticket. So to start this off im gonna say that I am 17 years old and this is my first crash. I have my drivers license and not a permit and I've been driving for about a year now.

The crash happened at a stop sign intersection. This intersection has a clear open stretch of road on one side (right) and a blind corner on the other (left).  I had pulled up to the intersection and stopped, making sure to look both ways and making sure that there was no car coming. There was a car on my right that was a good mile or two away coming down the road and nothing on my left. I knew that with the car on my right so far away that I could go through the intersection with ease. So I looked once more on my left, then back on my right. Making sure that it was clear both ways I started to pull out into the intersection to go straight through.

When a minivan came speeding around the blind corner on my left and hit my car.

The crash basically totaled both cars.
The only other person who was in the car with me was my grandmother and she was visibly shaken up like myself but otherwise fine.
From what i know there were two younger kids in the minivan with the mother who was driving. I saw the mother go to the hospital because her wrist was hurt, but both of the children were okay.

I got out of my car and made sure my grandmother was okay before calling the police and then sort of blacked out from shock for the rest of the while we were out there. My aunt came to pick us up and we took photos of both cars. The police officer who was called out to the scene filed the report and told me that I had gotten a ticket for failing to yield to the oncoming traffic.

I dont know what to do.. This is my first ticket and Ive never gotten in trouble for anything like this before.. I dont feel like it was my fault because there was nothing I could do about the corner and if I had pulled out any faster she could have killed me. What is going to happen, and what should I do?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Relax. You got a ticket. Happens thousands of times a day.

Your ticket has instructions on what to do. Usually you can login to the county website and plead guilty and pay the fine. Otherwise it'll have a court date which you show up.

You failed to yield to traffic. The accident was your fault. Hopefully you learn to drive more carefully. Hopefully the vehicle has insurance on it, because it sounds like you caused thousands of dollars worth of damage.


Title: Mechanic’s Lien being placed on my house.

Question:
Hello,

I am in California. The reason I am posting is because I got a new solar power system installed in my house and I got all the work done from a local company. They got the system working and running and I signed all the loan paperwork but now I received a notice saying that a contractor is trying to place a mechanic’s lien on my house because of a dispute with the solar company. When I tried to reach out to the solar company, they’ve shuttered their business and opened under a new name. So what can I do to avoid the lien being placed on my house?

I would really appreciate your help! Thanks!

Answer:
 You should consult with a real estate lawyer - this isn't DIY territory. But from what I know, the contractor has the right to place the lien, and your beef is with the solar company that failed to pay them, not the contractor.

Who is your loan with? The solar company itself?


Title: Does this count as blackmail

Question:
So (long story short)

I am trying to set boundaries with someone. I am telling them that they are not to come to my workplace or contact me again (they have no legitimate reason to do either). If they do either of these things then I will go to their (our) university and confess that I did several of their assignments and their degree will be (presumably) revoked.

I know this probably isn't the best way of handling the situation but the context is pretty fucked up and I am in a position where i feel this is the best option.

I live in Victoria (Australia) and have looked up the crimes act. It says it's blackmail if I do this to gain for myself where gain is a type of property.

Would I be committing blackmail or some other crime?

Answer: Yes, that is extortion.


Title: Tip written in by someone at dinner.

Question: Im sure you all know where I am going with this. I used my debit card at a dinner and left a tip in cash. Checking my account I see they wrote in an extra tip. Asshole. Anyway I did not keep the reciept. What are my options? Its not alot of money. But god it pisses me off.

Answer:
 First: always write in a 0 when you are not leaving a tip. On any form: never leave blanks.

Second: Call the business. Yell them you did not authorize it. They can pull their copy of the receipt that should show a different hand writing and different or modified total at the bottomAnswer #2: Is the transaction still pending?  If so, it is possible their POS adds an automatic tip that is then dropped off when they do their accounting and submit the actual amount.

I know this because I had something similar happen at a bar, where I didn't tip at all because the server was just awful (forgot my drink but remembered everyone else's all night long).  I called and confirmed with the owner that it would drop off before it posted and it did.


Title: [CA] VERY URGENT. Did I commit trespassing?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > I NEED a response ASAP

No you don't. Head back to Nevada, she can contact you in a year.


Title: [TX] A man i let stay with my wife and i recorded audio of my PTSD attack

Question:
A person i considered a friend,  put his phone against my closed door and recorded audio from my PTSD attack. I didn't harm myself or anyone, my wife was helping me get back to my "safe place".

When the episode was done,  he confessed he recorded the entire ordeal.  I didn't consent to recording and i'm very uncomfortable along with embarrassed.  I don't know why he recorded me or what his plans with the recording are.

**What are my options moving forward?**

Answer: He was not a party to the conversation, so consent was required.


Title: This year my dad hands over his company to one of my siblings.

Question: They and the company are located in Germany. I live in the U.S. (CT) and have to sign a contract that contains that I get some money but do not have any further claims. Do I have to sign the contract in front of a lawyer or notary? If yes, is it possible to predict the costs?

Answer: Almost all bank branches have a notery, and if it is your bank they will often let you use them for free.


Title: If a Swiss Company dicloses a customer's info, would it be covered under the GDPR?

Question:
The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area

I found an article that made me wonder the title question. In this article, seems like a VPN company revealed a blogger's name and information breaching privacy rules. The VPN blogger seemed to be their affiliate/customer. Now the company is posting his name on official reddit accounts, as well as anonymous medium posts (that have been since deleted), and their company owned blogs.

Here is the source of the story:

[https://medium.com/@gaetanosabin/did-nordvpn-and-protonmail-violate-gdpr-and-us-privacy-laws-by-doxing-vpn-affiliate-2fe7b0d51d1f](https://medium.com/@gaetanosabin/did-nordvpn-and-protonmail-violate-gdpr-and-us-privacy-laws-by-doxing-vpn-affiliate-2fe7b0d51d1f)

What do you think? Can this blogger sue them for this?

&#x200B;

Answer: A US court MIGHT uphold a GDPR verdict from a court in an EU country, but they sure as shit won’t have original jurisdiction over such as case and would absolutely refuse to hear it on subject matter and personal jurisdiction grounds.


Title: [NYC] Relative suing company we both worked for, for sexual harassment/discrimination

Question:
Without getting into the merits of the case, if I am asked to give a deposition, what is required of me? Can I just say "no comment"?

Can I advise the attorneys that my contributions are unlikely to support their respective cases?

I don't want to be involved for various personal and professional reasons. I may need to use the CEO and/or other current or former employees as references or connections in the industry.

Answer: I am basing this off of responses from similar threads, but the lawyers are gonna wanna interview you. If your story isn't helpful, they're not gonna use you.


Title: Police came to our house and searched my older brother's room. They said they were looking for some plants. Why would police search our house for plants?

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Troll Post

Answer:
 Probably marijuana.

And you're in violation of Reddit's TOS.


Title: I've had two speeding tickets on my record. Just purchased a new car and want to buy insurance for it but the rates are too high. My first ticket expires in October, and want to get it off earlier.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: No, there is no way I'm aware of to do that.


Title: I (18F) was told I need to severe a man I have an order of protection against (late 30sM) or I will be fired (Upstate NY)

Question:
I work inside a large chain store (known for its weird people and hating unions) but for a smaller company that handles advertising and samples.

I have a 5 year order of protection from when i was 15 against a man who kidnapped and raped me.

He came in and started to talk to me and i told him he needed to leave loudly and repeatedly (i was told when i got the order that this was what to do)

My manager comes and tells me to stop. I explain that i have an order of protection and she says that it doesn’t matter and if I ever speak to a customer like that again I will be fired.

Can she do this? Did I do the wrong thing?

Answer:
 You need to call the police if he is there, not argue with him. Sorry you went through such a trauma, but the police enforce protection orders, you do not have to (nor can you). Remove yourself from the situation and inform the authorities, if it happens again.Answer #2: Call the police.

Also report your manager to corporate. It's one thing to ask you not to make a scene in front of customers, it's an entirely different manner to leave the option on the table that you'd be expected to serve someone you have a PO against under the threat of being fired.Answer #3: It sounds like you can be fired not for refusing to serve him, but for making a scene.

If he shows up again, call the police and have them enforce the court order by arresting the guy.Answer #4: Court ordered.

Call the cops now - That is not ok, and may be a sign he has other plans as well.


Title: Walked in on a girl changing in the bathroom, Texas

Question:
This happened at a university in Texas.

So yesterday morning I got up to get a shower, when I opened the door there was my next door neighbor completely naked, changing I think. We have bathrooms that are both genders, and there is a lock on the door. I guess she didn’t lock the door. After I opened the door, I saw her and stood there a couple seconds, surprised and confused, then immediately closed the door and went to a different bathroom. Tonight I heard that she said I kept the door open for almost a minute and took pictures of her while she was naked.

Everyone now looks at me like I’m a pervert in my dorm.

What am I supposed to do? I didn’t mean to see her like this.

Answer: Go talk to your RA, explain the situation, and how you have been hearing that she is spreading rumors and you feel a change in the environment. If it continues, note every single thing you have heard from different sources, as well as any interactions you may have with her. It would be wise to type up a document explaining what happened and saving multiple copies just incase. If you feel the environment becomes hostile because of this, you can always consult an attorney and have them type up a Cease and Desist letter stating that if she doesn't, you will seek legal action as well as file a police report (harassment) Answer #2: Cut off all contact with her. Go out of your way to avoid her. If the police come to speak to you about this, refuse to answer their questions until you retain an attorney. Then, hire an attorney.


Title: Girlfriend touched/kissed by father

Question: I don’t know what to do or even if I CAN do anything. I am in a long distance relationship with my gf, she is currently 18. It happens rarely but she claims that her dad will kiss and touch her in her sleep. Is there anything she can do? I know leaving is the best option but she has no job or place to stay other than her parents home. I really don’t know what to do. Please help.

Answer:
 Her location is important.

She can call the police.


Title: Someone asked my friend for 20k to work together ( start a business) but after a while the guy kicked my friend out of the STORE (business) and didn't give back his 20k, we have no evidence to prove this because my friend thought they are friends, he didn't do any paper work, what do you think?

Question: The only thing that we know it that he has no Insurance on his store

Answer:
 What we think?

One your friend should have gotten stuff in writing he will likely have a hard time getting his 20k back if he get's it back at all.

Seccondly we don't know what the question actually is and what the location is so we don't even know what steps your friend could potentially take to get the 20k back.


Title: [Texas] CEO sits behind wheel while employee tests their bullet proof glass with an AK-47

Question:
So i saw a video where Texas Armoring Corporation CEO sits behind the wheel of a bullet proof SUV and his employee or someone he hired (both falls under same in law since he pays for them to do it) shoots with a gun (AK-47) as a promotional stunt to show that the car is indeed bullet proof.

I wanted to ask, in the case that it actually did not work like it should have and killed the CEO. will the employee be tried for manslaughter? or since he did not have a guilty mind or wanted for it to happen and was ordered, should he not be tried as guilty?

Thank you very much.
Topic:
BestOf

Answer:
 I know the video you're referencing. Very likely, some paperwork was put in place beforehand, perhaps waiving liabilty and/or negligence.

Regardless, my mind goes to any workplace death, and what happens. I believe an investigation will always take place, with the intent to determine whether a homicide had occured.

I did find an article about Common Law, Accidental Killing v. Involuntary Manslaughter: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Accidental+Killing

That article mentions that each State would adopt their own version. This page lists various conditions in TX law: http://www.easylawlookup.com/Texas-Law/Injury-Topics/Accidental-Death/_easylookup.blp?site=easy&=data=abccod2&subject=injury&topic=accidental+death&simple=on&topicview=


Title: (MN) My wife offered to pay for half of an expensive house repair and then backed out when it was time to pay up.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You need marriage counseling not legal advice.Answer #2: You sound more like business partners or neighbors than a married couple. I know of no legal recourse you have in this. You should address your serious relationship issues and then you wont have problems like this


Title: Would LOVE some legal advice! (Please!)

Question:
 LOCATION: MASSACHUSETTS

Hello,

So 2 nights ago I went on a date with a girl. I am prescribed Xanax legally, I hadn't taken my daily (XR's) prescribed dosage at all that day because it was my day off so I was home doing nothing/no anxiety. A little bit before our date (due to being anxious as she is absolutely GORGEOUS) I took one of my Xanax pills (3mg XR's) and it definitely did take the edge off. The date was short as she had to be up early in the morning. We had a few drinks (I only had 2 beers which I believe is the legal limit of 0.08%) and yes I know I'm an idiot for drinking on benzos but it happened. I drive her home, I start driving home, everything's fine, then TOTAL BLACKOUT. I swerve into some guy's yard and hit a tree but it surprisingly didn't do any damage to his property and just dented my door that I should be able to pull out anyway. This is my first OUI (25 yrs old) So the police come and see my prescription bottles (all legal) and question what dosage/meds I'm on to test if I actually know (I pass). They try field sobriety tests that I fail, I get handcuffs put on and sent to the town police station to "sleep it off" However, before that they breathalyzed me at the station and I blew a .0009 (NOT .009) so welllll below the legal limit. 2 hours later I am awoken and brought to the courthouse and put in a holding cell. I wait my turn and he reads the list of charges:

1. OUI Drugs (Criminal)
2. Marked lanes violation (swerved onto wrong side of road when I crashed I guess) (Civil)
3. Open container (Old beer can that had a few sips left in it from god knows how long ago that one of my passengers must have left in the back and using as a butt-can (Civil)
4. Negligent operation of a motor vehicle (Criminal)

The OUI Drugs and Negligent operation are marked as criminal offenses whilst the other 2 are civil. I don't have the money for a private attorney (Broke college kid) and mom and dad aren't too pleased with this and told me I'm on my own.

So, in your guys' opinions, the fact they never drew blood to prove Xanax being in my system in the first place compounded with the fact I passed the breathalyzer, how do my chances look with a public defender? I THINK I told the arresting officer I had taken a Xanax prior to the date but it's all fuzzy up until I was awoken in my cell. Thank you to any help I can get! :)

Answer:
 What drug you were on doesn't matter. You were impaired by the medication/drug combo which is well evidenced by the fact that you blackout out, crashed and then failed a field sobriety test.

Do not talk to the police about this again, or to the girl, or anyone else. Get a lawyer. If you cannot afford to pay a lawyer then ask for a public defender.


Title: Divorce and deportation ON, Canada

Question: Dad moved out to his illegal girlfreinds apartment that he pays for and just sent over the papers for the seperation of my mom and him. We have proof of him cheating on my mom before the seperation but we also have recordings of the girlfriend saying hes only with him for the papers. We want to deport the girlfriend but also keep the house that my mom paid half for. Shes not able to pay for a family lawyer that she spoke to ($5000) atm so i just wanted to see the options for us.

Answer:
 Your mother needs an attorney, but you should put out of your mind all the other stuff: that he cheated, that the GF is illegal, that you want to get her deported.

The only thing you have here is: your parents marriage has broken down, your father has moved out. It's extremely sad when a marriage breaks down. But that's it - the marriage has broken down.

And can I just say - while I understand caring adult (I assume) children might want to take sides, keep it to supporting your mother through this difficult time. This isn't about you, this is about her and him.


Title: Being sued by old roommates dad because he had to pay the rent

Question:
I don't know if this is needed or not, but I live in Canada.
Anyways, at the beginning of December I moved out of my old apartment because of complications with my roommate. I unfortunately did not remove myself from the lease yet. I am going through that proccess this week. But, I got a text from her dad on the 1st saying that he had to pay the little over 500 dollars for my half of the rent for January. (She had a month to find a roommate but did not find one and expected me to pay rent for a place I do not have keys to or any of my belongings in.) After that he told me that he was going to take me to court for the money and that he had Lawyers working on something for him. I do not plan on getting a lawyer for this if he does decide to sue.
But, I am just wondering how much he could actually sue me for? Basically he's suing a 20 year-old for $547.00. I don't quite understand why he would spend more than he is trying to sue me for.
Also, I don't really care how much I could end up paying, I'm just wondering what it could be.

Edit: Thanks everyone. I should have pointed out that I know I am in the wrong. It is my responsibility to get my name off the lease. I did not know it was my responsibility to find a new roommate. Honestly did not know that, so, thank you. As for why I said I am confused about why he is spending more to sue me for so little is because he said he had multiple lawyers working on stuff for him. I know it's just small claims, but aren't lawyers expensive? Especially when working on something like this. So from what I gathered, I am going to be sued for 547.00 plus his lawyers fees or whatever. Again, thanks everyone.
Edit again: I also should have stated that her expextation of me to pay the rent was there regardless of if I was off the lease or not, but as stated before, it's my responsibility to find a new roommate for her.

Answer:
 > expected me to pay rent for ~~a place I do not have keys to or any of my belongings in.~~ a place I am contractually obligated to pay for

Ftfy

You have a lease. You cannot just walk away and expect someone else to bust their butt to find a roommate for **you**

Edit words


Title: Is there a document that can be signed to prevent someone from filing suit?

Question:
Oregon resident here.

I'm being accused of making 'sexual advancements' towards my minor cousin, who is 17.  Besides these claims being completely fictitious, she's made false claims in the past and has a track record of making poor life decisions.

Her family would like to go to mediation to 'find the truth'.  I was close to her mother before all of this started and I don't believe she wants to peruse any legal action.

Is there a document that can be drafted and signed by the accusing party and her parents that prevents them from filing any suit if I agree to meet for mediation?  Does something like this exist from a criminal case?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  I do have a meeting planned with my lawyer later but I want to gather as much information as I can before hand.

Answer:
 > Her family would like to go to mediation to 'find the truth'.

That's not the purpose of mediation.

The purpose of mediation is to assist the parties in reaching a negotiated settlement of a dispute (i.e., one that they agree to). The settlement normally includes a release of all civil claims related to the subject of the dispute - which is what it sounds like you want. Not every dispute gets settled through mediation, though.

As others have said, mediation - even if successful - won't prevent you from being prosecuted for a crime. This particular mediation proposal sounds to me like an invitation for you to incriminate yourself.Answer #2: Don't go to the mediation.  Just don't do it.  Answer #3: Possibly for civil charges but not for criminal. The DA is the one who brings criminal charges.


Title: Husband wants a divorce and I don't. What are my options?

Question:
My husband and I have been married just over a year, and he informed me this weekend that he doesn't think the marriage is working and wants a divorce. I want to try to go to marriage counseling and see if we can reconcile. Is there anyway I can legally postpone the divorce from happening and have the judge rule for counseling?

Edit: forgot to put that this is in the US. We moved to Georgia after we got married, but our marriage license is Mississippi so I'm not exactly sure where we'll be seeing a judge, since my family is in Mississippi and that's where I'm currently staying

Answer:
 You can certainly request that, as part of the divorce process.  Many judges require attempts at reconciliation before granting a divorce.

However, you will not be able to force him to participate constructively, nor can you force him to remain in the marriage.  If he's dead set on getting out, he'll get out.Answer #2: you can drag out the process, but if he wants out in the end you can't stop it

plus, why would you want to be married to someone who does not want to be married to you?


Title: Got summoned for speeding, 30mph more than the speed limit. I'm an international student living in Colorado and have no experience with legal matters.

Question:
Couple of friends and I were traveling to a nearby town in my car. The route seemed to have tiny towns on the way and the speed limit varies a lot. While passing one of these towns (it was inconspicuous) I seemed to have missed the speed limit sign and kept going with the same speed. Got pulled over and the officer handed me a summon. On it, it states that I was speeding 65mph in a 35 mph zone and need to appear at the local municipal court about a month and a half from now (this happened today).

As stated in the title, I'm an international student and this makes me immensely worried as I think it might affect my stay in the US. I'm not sure if this might lead to problems with my student visa and if not, with other matters like finding a job or an internship as this might stay on my record.

I'm 21M and this is a first time offense. It was an honest mistake but I do realize that I am guilty. But I'm not sure about speeding that much though, my friends were with me in the car and they agree that I wasn't speeding that fast. When I saw the officer's car pulling me over I immediately checked my speed and it was at 52mph and I was slowing down already for at least 10 seconds. I don't know if this helps but I thought I would mention it anyways.

I am looking into finding a lawyer that would help with my case, locally but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Traffic court will ignore whatever statements your friends make, so don’t rely on that as a defence.

There is a good chance that cop had been pacing you for a short while so could have easily have detected you at the higher speed before you started braking for 10 seconds.

As for most cases like this, your only hope is to engage a local (as in where your traffic court hearing will be) lawyer who specialises in traffic law.


Title: Is my used car contract invalid?

Question:
I put down $2500 cash on a $6000 car from a used car lot two days ago. Being my first financed car, I had no idea what I was doing. But everything went great, signed my contract, but didn't have proof of insurance so I couldn't drive off the lot. Next day (today) I came back with proof and was ready to go when they ran my license (which I believe they should have done before I took a test drive) and discovered it was suspense.

Now that's a whole different bag if fun. Long story short, it is possible to get my license but I no longer wish to do business with them because: They began to yell at me and my friend who wrre perfectly calm and polite about the whole thing, I was hung up on by manager after asking what to do, etc.

All I want is my $2500 back and be done. They are saying it nonrefundable, but everything is refundable. Please help. I'm on my last limb here.

WA State, I'm the only one on the contract, had a bankruptcy last year. Sorry if I left out anything.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 Everything is not refundable.

You can still get the car. Someone else has to drive it off the lot. So the contact can be executed. Just go get your car.


Title: (Virginia) Employees were promised a bonus for reaching sales goals, but that bonus is now being rescinded

Question:
Hi guys. I work in food service in a college town. Our main customer base is college students. Back in October, during the college's homecoming weekend, anybody who worked a shift during that weekend was promised a $50 bonus if we met or exceeded the sales from last year's homecoming weekend. Not only did we exceed the sales for the weekend overall, but every single hour was more profitable this year than the year before. Our general manager sent in the paperwork for the raise to her boss, the regional manager, so that corporate knows who's payroll accounts to add the bonuses to. Now, 2 months after the homecoming weekend, none of us have seen the raise, and we're being told that the regional manager would not have authorized the incentive if she actually believed we would have met the sales goals. None of us are seeing a dime of this money. There were about 25 of us who worked that weekend, adding up to a total of $1250. Everybody is rightfully upset that they won't be seeing their money. Do we have any legal avenues to pursue, or should we just move on and forget about it?

EDIT: Hi guys, thanks for the responses. Sorry I haven't been able to reply, I've been at work. I talked to some of my coworkers today and we decided to talk to our GM about taking it up the corporate ladder. She agrees that we deserve what we were promised and has talked about bringing it up with the central manager. If that leads to a similar conclusion, my coworkers agreed that we should seek a solution in small claims court. Hopefully, we can get this sorted out. Thanks again for the responses guys.

Answer: Yes, you could go to small claims court. Answer #2: HR would LOVE to hear this! Yes, you absolutely have legal ground here. Take this to court asap!Answer #3: Report to Virginia department of labor and industry for nonpayment of wages. The employer is also subject to a $1,000 civil penalty. Not clear if that's per-offense (ie for each employee). Answer #4: You were promised a bonus but you said your bosses put in paperwork for a raise. Is it possible there's been a miscommunication and the regional manager thinks you are trying to get a permanent increase instead of a one-time payment?


Title: (Southern California) Took down a Trump flag hanging at my school. What repercussions could I face?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 You should not touch someone else's property.

If the flag was placed there in violation of rules, you should have called the people responsible and let them handle it.

The odds you will get in any real trouble over this are very small, but depending on the choices of the flag owner, school district, police department and district attorney you might not be totally out of the woods.

In the future, remember that actions like this carry risk - the safe choice was to call the right people instead of removing and damaging a flag that does not belong to you from a flagpole that does not belong to you.


Title: Transferring from a very expensive place to live to a very inexpensive place to live. Im making a really good salary and heard that when I transfer, corporate can't lower my salary based on the cost of living. Is there any truth in this? (US)

Answer: I am unaware of any law that would prevent them from adjusting your pay rate due to a lower cost of living. As long as your being paid at least the hourly minimum wage for the new area you're living in, your employer can change your pay rate at anytime for any reason.


Title: Dealership sold me a truck without having the title

Question: So I live near Atlanta, Georgia and early August I went to a dealership and bought a truck. I put a good amount of money down and was given a temporary tag and told I would be getting the real one in the mail and if it didn’t I could just go down to the tag office and get it there. It never showed up so on the day the temporary one expired (mid September) I went down to the tag office and was told they didn’t have it to give me. When I called the dealership I was told they didn’t have the title yet but assured me they would have it at the beginning of the next week and would call me when it arrived. So the tag office gave me another temporary but said this would be the last one they give me. Two weeks go by so I call up the dealership again and it takes me two days of being put on hold or hung up on to find out they still don’t have the title. Something about Wells Fargo not releasing it to them. But they assure me that by the time the temporary I’m using now expires I will definitely have it. It’s two days away from expiring and when I called them today it still hasn’t gotten to them. I’ve paid two payments on it already (with a bank not affiliated with the dealership) so that plus what I put down is over $7,000. Obviously I’d like to keep the truck, wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t. I really don’t want to have to give it back if they are unable to get the title and I don’t know how I’m supposed to get to and from work when the tag is expired. Is there anything I can do to expedite them getting the title and if they can’t get it will I be refunded by them?

Answer:
 I'm confused, did you finance the car with the dealership or is Wells Fargo the actual entity the finance is through?

Typically when you finance a car, the lienholder keeps the title until the car is paid off. So if Wells Fargo is the lien holder, they arent going to release the title yet anyway. This shouldnt affect your registration though.Answer #2: If the issue is that they dont have a clear title. look at your contract with the dealership. There should be a time frame listed that states when they have to provide a title by, and if they can't do that usually they are required to return your money. They might try to avoid doing that by finding another vehicle for you instead.


Title: Me and My mom stuck in saudi arabia with abusive dad

Question: hello, I'm a 14-year-old girl who just moved from Canada to Saudi Arabia a year ago. my dad lives here and made me move. when I first arrived I was alone and scared. my dad left us to work in Saudi Arabia when I was young, so I don't have memories of him. just last year he decided he wanted me to live with him(my parents aren't divorced). the whole school year my mom was still in Canada, and my dad continuously emotionally abused me, my depression was at an all-time high and I missed my family (both my brothers and mom were in Canada), I would facetime my mom everyday crying because of the abuse he put me through. My dad has always been short-fused, stubborn and had anger issues. for example, he consistently physically abused and emotionally abused my older brother when he moved to Saudi Arabia to graduate(he endured this for 9 months). Now he's basically disowned my brother(the one who he abused) and moved on to me. has the primary source of finances (my mom doesn't have a job, and my brothers have mostly labor jobs) so we can't just up and tell him because he will physically and emotionally abuse me, and if he takes legal action in Saudi hell gain full custody of me. the ideal solution is to take a "vacation" to Canada and never leave, until we're sure he can't get to us and that my mom has full custody. My mom has finally taken into consideration divorce-but it has many consequences too. if she goes and tells him she wants a divorce my dad he will trap us and abuse me, then most likely kick my mom out, then we really won't stand a chance. even though she doesn't like the idea of hurting or lying to my dad(which is understandable they've been married 23 years) it's what needs to be done. other than financial and emotional things, I was wondering what we can do from a legal standpoint, in terms of the divorce, I really need help and have no one to turn to so please help save us.

Answer:
 Are you a Canadian citizen?Answer #2: What country or countries are you a citizen of?

How old are your brothers?Answer #3: Assuming you're a Canadian citizen you should call the Canadian embassy.Answer #4: Do you hold a Saudi passport as well or are you just Canadian ? That will make a hell of a difference. Reach out to the Canadian embassy they can help out but be subtle about it. If he knows, you could get in trouble.
My best advice is to wait until you are both in Canada before you do anything and keep your plans under wrap. He can stop both of you leaving the country. Especially if you are a girl, being of legal age isn’t enough to be able to leave. Your mom will need his permission to leave.


Title: Landlord refusing to return my deposit

Question:
I recently moved out from renting a room from a landlord looking to fill a vacant room in his house on a month-by-month basis. The rental agreement and the move-in/out inspection paper was drawn up by me, and signed by both parties (which indicated the amount of deposit as well as the date of signature). However, we did not complete the move-out portion of the document. Althought the official date of my move-out was not documented on the rental agreement, there is a text message conversation on the day of my move-out that clearly demonstrates that my lease has ended that day.

It has been 30 days since I moved out but I have not received my deposit or an itemized listing of damages. The landlord actually confirmed that I will be getting my full deposit back several times (documented via text messages), but I have yet to receive anything from him.

I would like to begin taking actions against him, but I don't have his mailing address.

For reference, the landlord did not lease through an agent, and doesn't own more than 10 rental properties (far as I know). And this is in the state of Georgia.

I would like to know if I have a good case against my landlord, and any other tips will be appreciated :)

EDIT: just learned how to insert line break, for easier reading

Answer:
 Time to take him to small claims court to get your deposit back. Answer #2: You need to research Georgia state law on deposit returns. You can google it and quickly get a number of resources telling you if you're entitled to the deposit + a penalty.

I would send a professional a succinct demand letter to the landlord to the same mailing address where you sent your rent checks. You should be firm (but not threaten) that if you don't have your deposit returned to you by date x, you will file in small claims court. Make to send the letter via certified mail.

You should be considering small claims, but I would send the formal letter first.


Title: Help I'm only 17. I was painting on a wall and got caught. Idk what's gonna happen or how badly this could fuck up my future.

Question:
So I was skateboarding with some friends when I saw a wall in a park. I graffitied a nice helicopter and city skyline on the wall on a Monday. We were skateboarding the next Wednesday and a cop car comes and stops us and starts to question us on the graffiti. I knew it was only me and not my two friends but they knew about what I did. My one friend was with me on Monday when I did it but he did not take part, he just sat there on his skateboard watching. During the questioning from the cop, my one friend (who doesn't know how to lie at all) said he was there at the park but at a different time. The cop calls two people to is who saw us on Monday painting, and identify my friend but not me. The cop starts to question harder and thinks that my friend is the one that did it and myfriend was willing to get in the car before I just yelled that I did it. The cop was recording that I said it and I went on to tell them what I did.

This was my first ever confrontation with the police at all. I had never written on a wall before and I came completely clean. I'm 17 with my birthday in 6 months and the cop has all my information.

How badly am I screwed. The cop said the worst that would happen is that I get a ticket and fined. Am I gonna have a problem getting a job in the future? Or am I just freaking out over nothing?

Oh and I live in Pennsylvania

Answer:
 You've never done graffiti before, but just happened to have spray paint with you while skateboarding?

Why do I question your honesty about that?


Title: Nightmare Landlord

Question:
Hey everyone, so I'm in a bit of a sticky situations with my landlord at the moment. To give you guys some background info on the situation, I've been living in a house for a year now with three other roommates. The three guys moved out after living there for two years, and now two new tenants, who are my good friends, are moving in. The thing is, my landlord is borderline harassing my new roommates and I over text about how we need to deep clean the house and restore it to how it was two years ago or else he'll kick us out (which I think is just an idle threat). The funny thing is, he's never even met the three guys that moved out because he lives in the Caribbean, which is extremely far away from where we live (Missouri). He also sends these monster long text messages that are consistently condescending and rude, he gives off the impression that we are his employees, and honestly, it's fucking bullshit. It's gotten to the point to where we want to talk to a lawyer to get him to calm down and get off of our back a little bit. Basically, he treats us very poorly and unfairly. What can I do?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: There's no legal requirement that a landlord be nice to you. Doesn't sound like there's really a legal issue here. Are you trying to break your lease?


Title: Is having a bake sale at a public place and claiming you are donating it to a certain nonprofit, but then keeping all of the money illegal? [NY]

Question: Like this seems pretty fraudulent.

Answer:
 Yes, fraud is still illegal.Answer #2: > Like this seems pretty fraudulent.

Because it is.


Title: Can I answer my front door, butt-ass naked, even if it's an officer of the law?

Question: This is North Carolina by the way.

Answer:
 No. It's called [indecent exposure](http://statelaws.findlaw.com/north-carolina-law/north-carolina-indecent-exposure-laws.html).  And it doesn't matter who you're exposing yourself to.Answer #2: No. In fact, in some states -- Massachusetts is one -- it is your responsibility to ensure no one can see through your window, for example, and see you nude. God help you if, when you choose to go nude, there is a child on the other side of the door.

It's not worth it. At the very least, cover up your naughty bits with a towel.


Title: Burned at work. US-Oklahoma

Question:
TL;DR- My husband works at Sonic, and he burned himself at work yesterday. Improperly trained, no incident report made by his manager. Should he sue? If so, how do we go about it? If not, what should he do?

So my husband got burned at work because he was told to use a sanitation rag and water (instead of the grill scraper like he is supposed to) on the hotdog roller while being trained by someone that wasn't even a crew trainer, just another cook. He was never trained by a crew trainer, ONLY other cooks that were not legally supposed to be training him. He told his manager right away, but no incident report was made. She literally only said "Ouch", she didn't ask him if he was okay, didnt sugggest to go to the ER, didn't do anything, and my husband continued to work until the end of his shift.
Today, he went with coworker 1  to pick up coworker 2 from work. He showed coworker 3 his burn and told them that no incident report was made. About 15 minutes later, his manager (same one from yesterday) came outside, seemingly upset, telling him that they could file the report right then and there, "but they will UA you at the hospital." Clearly insinuating that she believed he would fail. (He wouldn't.) He said he would leave it alone for the night, considering he didn't have time because him and coworker 1 & 2 had to be elsewhere at that time.

The burn is about 3in×4in. The center 2×2 area blistered up really bad, and doesn't hurt. We believe it's due to the nerves being damaged there. It will most definitely scar, and we can't afford medical attention for it as is, let alone if it gets infected.

I have photos, but I don't know how to post/link them, so if someone is willing to contact me for the photos, I will gladly send them so you can post/link them in the comments.

Our question is basically what should we do? We have the contact information for someone higher up in the company. But we were wondering if we /should/ sue, if we'd have grounds to sue, or what other action could be taken. This was in no way his fault, he was doing what he was trained to do (improperly and illegally.) No report was filed. But there are cameras on site. Will he get fired if he moves forward with any actions?

Answer: His sole recourse is workmans comp. He should file a claim with the company and see a doctor. Workmans comp covers medical costs and lost time for any work related injuries and any permanent disability.


Title: Landlord is taking away my parking space

Question:
I am asking this just so I am aware before I sign the new lease that they are sending my way. I received an email onThursday stating that my parking space(#28) would no longer be available to me due to an error on their part. They apparently gave the spot to another individual the day before I signed my lease but are now realizing this and telling me that I have to park in another building and walk to my apartment. I have a year long lease(6/1/2018 until 5/31/2018) and was specifically stated in my lease that I was given parking space #28. I was wondering if this is allowed or what I can do to keep my space? I love in Wisconsin and the winter is awful here so I would like to remain in my building for parking.

Thank you!

Answer:
 If the lease says that you have the space, then you have the space. If they gave someone else the space that wasn't in their lease, that's their problem. If they both gave you the same space, then if they expect you to not have the space, you need a reasonable reduction in rent to compensate at the VERY LEAST.

This is a contract. It's a signed, written contract. They don't get to change the terms and they don't get to not honor it. They fucked up HUGELY here.


Title: Legal advice California regarding HR

Question: I was being sexually harassed at work and I had told my manager and she did nothing about it so then I went to hr and told them not to tell my boss because she wouldn't like that I did not go to her again with the issue and instead whent to HR ps. I went to BE because my boss laughed at the situation I was being followed stared at inappropriately and constantly bothered. I went to HR and they said everything is confidential I cant even tell my friends about the issue because it would cause problems in the work place then the next day the Hr lady goes to my boss and says did you here what happened to -my name- ? My boss said no what and she proceeded to tell her that I went to her for sexual harassment anyways I got called to my boss office she flipped out on me screaming at me so much that i could not stop crying and  I got a panic attack and needed my inhaler was Hr allowed to tell my boss even though she said it was confidential. I went to report someone harassing me and I end up getting yelled at.

Answer:
 There's no legal issue here.

You need to learn how the workplace functions. If you speak to HR, they can and will speak with your manager about it; they'd be negligent not to.


Title: Father is cosigned on (soon to be) defaulted student loan.

Question:
I will attempt to keep this as brief as possible.

My family lives in rural Michigan. Years ago, my brother cosigned my father's name to numerous private student loans.

There is some question as to if my brother actually obtain my father's consent for every single loan or if he cosigned without asking my dad.

Last I knew, approximately 5 years ago, the loans totaled approximate $70,000 dollars. It is my understanding that nothing has been paid on them since, as my brother went back to college and his loans went back into deferment.

My brother graduated earlier this year, and he his girlfriend are expecting their third child. As such, they requested and were granted a further forbearance by the loan company. My brother has, in the past, cut communication with my parents when they tried to discuss this topic with him and continues to threaten to do so. They are effectively being stonewalled by the primary on the loan.

My concern is that both of my parents are retired, living on Social Security, and have no pensions left. They are concerned that, should the loan be defaulted on, that the lender will put a lein on the house and attempt to foreclose on it.

The property has minimal value. Approximately $80,000 dollars. My parents have lived there for over thirty five years.

Is there any recourse for my parents? Would bankruptcy be an advisable course, and would it absolve them of their responsibility? Would they qualify, as cosigners, for some sort of debt relief/forgiveness?

Answer: You can't cosign as somebody even if you have their permission. The cosigner needs to sign the document personally. If your brother forged their signatures, that's fraud and your parents would not be liable. But they would probably have to hire a lawyer to help prove the signatures are fake.


Title: Boyfriend got arrested for possession of 14g of marijuana, not sure what to do next.

Question: As stated above my bf was recently arrested for possession in Illinois. We’re both young and never had any trouble with the law so we’re not rlly sure what to do. Should we get a lawyer for court or is there nothing a lawyer can reallydo for us? Is he allowed to leave the state to come home to see his family for the holidays ? How will this affect school?

Answer: Your boyfriend needs to say nothing and get a lawyer. 14 grams of marijuana in Illinois is enough for PWID (possession with intent to distribute). That's a much more serious crime that just simple possession. A lawyer is *always* going to be able to do more for you in a criminal case that you can do for yourself alone. Answer #2: He should get a lawyer.  A drug conviction can cause any Financial Aid he is receiving to disappear.


Title: Threw a party at a friends house

Question: Hey, my friend and his family went to Europe and he told me it was okay to throw a party. He gave me all his house info. They came back a few days ago saying they found out about the party. There were no damages to the house and everything was put back into place. Can I get into legal trouble? What kind of trouble would I be in?

Answer: I'm guessing the friend is a minor and not the owner of the home.


Title: Town forgot to bill property owners for water line, now sending me a bill four years later

Question:
This is in Connecticut.

Four years ago my town completed a water line that services my condo complex and was supposed to bill property owners for it. They forgot to do so, and now I just received an assessment for it. I just bought this condo last year and assumed the project had been paid for already. Now I am stuck with a few thousand dollar assessment that was supposed to be charged to the last property owner four years ago. Do I have any sort of recourse here since I did not own the property when it was supposed to be assessed and billed?

Answer: Title insurance should cover this.Answer #2: If you do not have title insurance you may be on the hook for it, prepare for a legal battle.  Might even want to inform the old owner and request they pay for it.  Might have to pay it then sue the old owner.


Title: I share a lease with 2 others. Am I allowed to refuse entrance to the home to one of my roommate's friends who I have taken issue with?

Question: I wish for this person to not be in my home for personal reasons. Am I allowed to deny them access?

Answer:
 If your roommate invites them in, they can come in, you cannot legally block them and they are not trespassing.

If the "personal reasons" you mention actually have to do with this person breaking the law (drugs, weapons, Kinder Surprises, etc.) you can call the police.


Title: Could you use the ambiguity of this sign to get out of a ticket?

Answer: The fact that there's a fairly universal graphic on the sign would tend to destroy any possible ambiguity of the text.Answer #2: What ambiguity?


Title: Water heater exploded in my mothers restaurant. Landlords are saying that it's the tenants responsibility to replace it.

Question:
This is in oregon, and the landlord responded saying that the lease agreement states that it's the tenant's responsibility to replace the water heater, even though it was there when we arrived.

I was just wondering if this is language that could legally be in the lease, and, if it *is* legal for the landlord to not replace failing equipment on his property, are we able to replace it and then take it with us when we inevitably move?

This landlord consistently avoids all responsibility to fix anything, including taking years to repaint, and fixing our broken back lit sign with a white tarp with our logo on it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, since my mother is flabbergasted that the landlord is not accepting responsibility to fix essential plumbing equipment that is part of the building he owns.

Answer: This is governed by the lease, and it is extremely common in commercial leases for it to be the tenant's responsibility. If it is the tenant's responsibility, she would almost certainly not be allowed to take it with her.


Title: Lawyer didn't show...

Question:
I posted a while back about my idiot husband who got a reckless driving charge and plead 'not guilty' at his first hearing. His second hearing was set for yesterday. We lawyered up and our lawyer said that my husband would not have to attend the hearing (He's currently going to school) Well the lawyer forgot to write the court case down on his calendar and no one showed up on behalf of my husband.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and the police came last night to our home and arrested him. I called the lawyer and he eventually picked up the phone. He apologized profusely and said he would be at the court house first thing in the morning to appear before the judge for my husband.

At their 8:30am hearing, he was able to talk my husband out of jail time as well as his bond. I'm going to go pick up my husband around noon today from the county jail.

Is there anything we can do against our current lawyer? False representation? Not sure what to do but I'm not one to let things slide by. All humans make mistakes.. This mistake just lead to my husband being put in jail for the night and also this being put on his record...

Answer:
 You can file a complaint with the bar. If you do that, be prepared to find a new lawyer.Answer #2: I think you need to make an assessment of this attorney and their character.
If this is a "good" and "honest" attorney, they will likely work tirelessly to rectify their error.
If they are not, they will shrug this off.
Do you see any evidence of one or the other?


Title: Am I legally obligated to pay six dollars? PLEASE HELP IM DESPERATE.

Question:
Throwaway account, obvi.

Okay so I'm sixteen, and I am in eleventh grade.

There's this girl in my third period named Tionah who I'm friends with, and she was on her period today. She asked me to go get her a bag of chips from a vending machine with her credit card.

So I asked the teacher, went and tbh I had never used a credit card before, I've always used physical cash.

So I was swiping the card over and over again but it wouldn't work. Then this kid named Colin came by and were lowkey friends, we barely know each other but he was skipping and he's always in trouble.

He told me he was going to "help" me use the credit card, and then he snatched it out of my hand and wouldn't give it back.

The card wasn't working and we realized it wasn't the card, it was the vending machine.

So he took me to another one and I was still under the utter bullshit lie he was going to help me get the bag of chips.

This other vending machine was not working either, but it kept charging everytime he swiped and so after the first time I frantically asked him to stop.

He didn't stop, he swiped 12 times before a drink fell out.

He threw the credit card back at my head, and so I took it back to class with no bag of chips, but twelve dollars stolen.

I frantically started apologizing and telling Tionah what happened, and then the bell rang. To make up for the bag of chips I never gave, I gave her a pack of crackers from my lunch box.

I texted her after and I said "PLEASE don't report it, that will get me in trouble too. I will pay you back the twelve dollars, and we can pretend like nothing happened, I won't fuck with Colin anymore."

She utterly ignored my request and reported both me and Colin.

I sat in a room arguing with Colin, with Tionah and a bunch of staff members watching. About twenty minutes we argued but that's not what matters, here's what does:

After all the conflict, the school deputy told him

"Colin, you will bring six dollars tomorrow. You will also get ISS." Colin said okay, and then deputy moved on to me

"Shane, you will bring six dollars tomorrow. You will also get ISS because you were supposed to be in charge of the credit card and this happened." And I retaliated very quickly.

I told him that I wasn't going to do either because I didn't do anything wrong, especially after they even had camera proof of all I just told you. I did not give him the card, he took it. Like I said, they had camera proof but they still said it was my responsibility to somehow get it back or keep it safe from "fraud".

And then he told me, specifically

"Shane if you don't comply I will charge with you with credit card felony and send you to the big house, along with you still paying the six dollars."

The person I'm really pissed at is Tionah. Trust me, we are NOT cool anymore and I cussed her out a little bit ago.

If she had not reported it as I originally suggested, Colin would still be in trouble because he's always in trouble. I wouldn't be in trouble and she would have still regardless gotten her twelve dollars. Literally NOTHING would have changed in her perspective and now I also am in trouble, I have fucking ISS which IS NOT GOOD FOR A COLLEGE RECORD. She gained nothing from this besides a petty revenge on Colin which also took me down with it.

But anyways I hastily agreed and left the room. But I still don't think I should have to pay the six dollars or do ISS, I didn't charge the card at all and so now I'm wondering:

Am I, Shane, at all legally obligated to pay the six dollars? And if I don't, can Deputy really send me to "the big house" and/or charge me with anything?

I know it's only six dollars but that's still my money, I would've happily paid  the twelve dollars before all this happened and I exposed the perpetrator.

LEMME REPEAT THE FACT THAT I DID NOT STEAL ANY OF THAT MONEY. HE SNATCHED IT OUT OF MY HAND.

So like I said, the one question I'm asking here right now is

Am I, Shane, at all legally obligated to pay the six dollars? And if I don't, can Deputy really send me to "the big house"  and/or charge me with anything?

Thanks...

&#x200B;

Answer:
 The school can't charge you with fraud or send you to "The big house".  They cannot force you to pay money.

They can send you to ISS or punish you in other ways that are available to them.


Title: My girlfriend was recently assaulted by her step mom. Now she’s getting kicked out of her house and she has nowhere to live. There there any legal recourse she can take in Texas?

Question:
Hi I’m really not sure what I’m doing or who I should be asking so I figured I would come here.

My girlfriend (19) was assaulted by her step mom a few weeks ago. Her step mom was arrested and charged for assault/impeding breath. My GF filed for a protective order and her step mom isn’t allowed within 500 feet of her now. Now it’s been a few weeks and her dad is kicking my GF out of her house. She has nowhere to live that’s close to her job/school other than with my parents for the next couple of months.

Is there anything she can do? We’re both young and don’t have a lot of money for a lawyer or anything. I don’t know what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 She is an at-will (month to month) tenant, even without a lease and even without paying rent and her dad is presumably her landlord. Texas state law ([Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 91.001](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm)) give the exact rules and procedures for how landlords must prepare and serve termination notices.

But the short version is, the law requires one month's notice be given in writing. At the end of that month she's have to leave or face eviction in court. It rarely gets to that, and she doesn't want an eviction on her record. The tough part is how to get her dad to follow the law and what to do if he doesn't (by forcing her out, changing the locks, etc.). She can report to the police that she's been illegally evicted, and they may tell her dad she has to be allowed back in, or they may say it's a civil matter to take to court.


Title: You find a $20 bill on the ground and keep it, months later you are charged with a class b misdemeanor.

Question:
Long story short, my mother in law picked up and kept a $20 bill at a grocery store three months ago. A woman who lost $64 complained to the store so they went through the footage and found my mother in law picking something up. She was called by a detective, then visited by him the next day, and he informed her that the city wants to press charges and fine her $700. She is a wonderful lady with no criminal background, and this matter is absolutely ridiculous to me. I think she should fight it. What do you think?

EDIT: She received a citation for "Theft of Mislaid/Lost/Mistaken Property" from the police

Location: UT

Answer: She’s contacted by a “detective” and *threatened* with a very large citation for something insignificant that happened months ago? Honestly sounds like a scam so be careful. I’d still say to a criminal defense attorney


Title: [Update] We were in an accident yesterday. Wife's car is totaled. Woke up this morning with major neck, chest, side, and back pain.. Wife woke up with chest pain, neck pain, and massive bruises on her legs. Where do we go from here (other than the hospital?)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Not really advice but I was rear-ended by someone on the freeway who has State Farm three weeks ago and they've been super easy to deal with, including arranging for a rental for me. I think you'll be fine. Hope you guys feel better!Answer #2: Not a lawyer, but I have SF and their customer service is fantastic. If you haven't already, ask the police to fax the report to the adjuster, as well. That might speed up the process.Answer #3: >(it was a classic car)

I'm not trying to be rude when I say this, but I saw your photo in a comment to your original thread and it just looked like an older two door car to me.  What kind of car is it?  I know next to nothing about cars, but since you said this I got curious.Answer #4: State Farm is awesome and when I totaled my car I ended up getting $6000 more for it then I paid. From my 10 years of experience with them, they are easy to deal with. I wouldn't worry too much about that part anyway. Good luck!


Title: [WA] FREE WEDDING THAT FELL THROUGH

Question:
Hey Reddit,
Back in September, I won a free wedding and honeymoon at a bridal show, but I found out the manager of the show breached her contract with the vendors and the vendors have backed out. I had no idea this was going on behind the scenes and I've spent the last 8 months thinking my wedding and honeymoon is taken care of.
We found out this wedding was probably not happening two weeks ago.
Our wedding date is May 6 and we didn't budget for this to happen. We have spent almost all we've got trying to put it back together because we have family and friends flying over for this. We can't even afford a honeymoon.
Key notes: We never signed a contract saying we would receive these services, just this manager's word. We didn't think too much about it.
Reddit, is there anything I can do legal wise with this?

Answer:
 They promised you services worth X dollars, and you and your guests relied on that promise and spent a lot of money.  Yes, sue them for X plus damages plus court costs.

If it's an expensive wedding you won't be able to do this in small claims court, depending on your state's limit on small claims court claims.

You should probably reschedule that wedding, though.  You will be able to sue for money but you most likely won't be able to force the vendors to perform.
Answer #2: Offer, acceptance, and ~~consideration~~ seem to be here. [See below re: my remarks about promissory estoppel, OP.]

Because verbal contracts are sticky as wet shit, you're going to definitely need to consult with an attorney on this. You could get back the amount of money you've spent trying to remedy this situation.

But this is only from a non-legal perspective. You need a contracts attorney to speak with ASAP. Word to the wise though, next time, *make sure you get everything in writing.*


Title: Legal question--how do I say the name of this section outloud?

Question: I know this is a stupid question for you folks but I'm reading [this law](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0718/0718.html) and I get to the part where it says "A unit owner may tape record or videotape the meetings."  Sorry, don't know how to link to that direct part.  So, if I were to say out loud to someone, "It says in Florida [insert answer here] 718 something or other, 'A unit owner may tape record or videotape the meetings.'"  That's the part I need.

Answer: Florida Statutes section 718 dot 112 paragraph 2 c


Title: Cops busted a few friends for dealing pot a few months ago but they were never charged. Asked to rat out dealers but they didn't, arrested two and a half months later.

Question:
Sorry for all the text.
I should start off with telling you that I have very little legal knowledge but I know something fishy when I smell it. Currently I'm in Greenville, N.C. which is a small college town. Police have been pulling over fraternity brothers relentlessly for traffic violations and asking to search cars ever since one truck with fraternity letters on it was pulled over and pot and a scale were found inside. A Greenville Police officer entered a home without a warrant because "there were beer cans inside" despite 21 year olds living in the house (although they lived upstairs and did not immediately come down) and seized a felony amount of pot and cash. No citations written, no business cards handed out, no nothing.
Cops left with weed and cash and a week later my buddy got a text from a cop (supposedly). Cop said charges would be dropped if he ratted out a dealer. Buddy didn't want to play ball and got charged, currently in a first offender program.
SO, another friend, lets call him Guy, was cruising around town when a University (ECU) police officer pulled him over and subsequently searched the vehicle (with consent) and found a large amount of marijuana. The police took the weed and let him go, no citations or anything. A week later he is contacted by the police department and asked to rat out a dealer and his charges would be dropped. Guy never said anything to the cops.
Today after 2 and a half months from that interaction he is arrested on felony drug charges by Greenville Police Department (a different agency) undercover officers (after they questioned me and shined flashlights in my face because his car was in front of my house) he was arrested and booked. His court date was assigned for tomorrow at 9 am, not enough time for him to retain the lawyer he wants.
So my question to you: Is it legal for police to seize "evidence" if they never report the crime? If the suspect is not offered a deal by the district attorney why should they take it? I have seen this exact thing happen to quite a few people in this town, some people rat out dealers and they don't get charged...isn't that illegal for the police to facilitate? (They are taking people's weed without reporting it and then threatening them with it later) And finally, if this conduct is illegal how do I go about reporting it to an agency that will actually do something about it? (DOJ, FBI, etc.)
Thanks for reading, this situation just doesn't add up to me.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer: You want to complain to the DOJ about the cops taking large amounts of pot from your buddies?


Title: [MA] Landlord not heating vacant apartment below us, driving our heating bills up

Question:
My roommates and I live on the second floor unit of a duplex. The first floor unit is currently vacant and is in the process of being remodeled. However it's been under construction since we moved in last September and due to a stop work order (lack of proper electrical permits.) There is no heat on in the apartment below us, and the temperature inside the vacant apartment is basically the same as the temperature outside.

Our last two heating bills have been exorbitantly high. I'm talking $800+ per month for just heating services. We contacted the old tenants who said their bills rarely exceeded $200, even in the winter. They also said the bottom unit was occupied while they were living there.

Our landlord has been as helpful as he could with the situation. He helped coordinate a service visit by a heating repairperson, however the repairperson said the heat is working just fine. We have done everything in our power to help weatherproof the apartment, but it's not helping. The only logical solution we can see is for him to turn the heat on in the apartment below. We have approached him about doing so but he is reluctant to do it.

I have done some googling and according to MA tenant law all habitable spaces must be at 68 degrees during the day at 64 degrees at night. Does this apply to vacant apartments, too?

We cannot afford another month of these outrageous heating bills. We are basically paying to heat the entire two unit building. Can we withhold rent until he agrees to turn the heat on? Do we have any recourse, and if so, who do we need to approach?

Answer: I've lived in my fair share of crappy Boston apartments. It's quite likely that the entire building is extremely poorly insulated and that the previous tenants heating bills were being supplemented by the people downstairs. In other words, it's not that your heat is leaking out through your floors; you're just not getting any free heat coming up.


Title: Renting a room. Landlord told me they were being foreclosed on Yesterday. The writ of possession is written in such a way that I have to be out tomorrow. What can I do?

Question:
/r/legaladvice I am in full panic mode.

Two months ago I rented a room from a family I met through craigslist.

Yesterday the June 17th, she told me that they will foreclose on the property this Friday June the 19. It was already 8:00 pm when I found this out so I could not call any offices or lawyers for legal advice.

Today I called every agency I could think of for legal advice ( constables office, two different lawyers). They all stated that there was nothing I could do. I found an act called the "protecting tenants during foreclosure", but that appears to have sunseted.

I can't find a place in 24 hours. I am going to have to buy a storage locker for my things and sleep in my car. When I moved in I paid the last months rent (July's rent), so it seems like I'm out that money as well. I never missed a payment and have excellent credit. I did everything right and now I am about to be homeless. I can sue the landlord, but they have nothing left.

Is there anything I can do? Even having the weekend to look for a place might save me from being homeless. I don't know how I can recover from this.

I understand you are not my lawyer. I just want some kind of plan or some kind of thing I point someone I hire to work on.

This happened in Fort Worth, Texas by the way.

Answer: Read the lease -- does it say anything about giving 30 days notice to vacate?  Foreclosure doesn't mean that the landlord will be thrown out of his house on Friday, and if you have a rental contract you won't be tossed out either.