Title: My old landlord is threatning to sue my family because we moved after being told she was putting the house on the market Kentucky

Question:
Last month I paid My rent in full on the first like I do monthly. A week after doing so my old landlords aunt called and said we had to move my landlord decided to sale the home. So my family found a new place and moved out on the October 15th. Now the old landlord is threatening to take me to court for missed rent for November and damages to her home. But when we left there was none except for what was there when we moved in.

The house was in bad shape over a year ago when we moved in. The roof was falling in, floors bowed in the middle tiles missing in the bathroom, and in some rooms the floor was pulling apart from The walls. She promised to fix all of these and didn’t do any of it. We had electricial problems like crazy the breaker box kept going out. Her stepfather always came to the house to fix those so he was in there a lot. You would think if we had busted holes in the walls he would have them seen them like she claimed!

So now it’s November and she’s claiming we owe her rent. I told Her we left when we were told to and she got mad claims she’s taking me to court for her rent money and damages that we didn’t do. Only after she found out we moved did she claim we ruined her house not once during the year we lived in it did she make a accusation. Kept saying we were good renters up until this so my question is what should I do? I know I don’t owe her any money but she’s richer than me so any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
 Ugh. Everyone still has to take the appropriate steps when moving out, selling a rental that’s currently occupied, etc. Did you have the “you need to move out
Due to selling the house” in writing signed by the official landlord? Answer #2: >  I know I don’t owe her any money but she’s richer than me so any advice would be appreciated.

Actually you almost certainly do owe rent, unless you gave proper notice before moving out. Answer #3: Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but your lease is still valid until the home is actually sold. Right? And even then it could continue through the rest of the lease? 🤔 But if the house was in such terrible shape then you vacated a dangerous situation. I hope you have things in writing and maybe contact the county and perhaps they can have building inspectors come out and deem the house inhabitable therefore voiding your lease. 😊


Title: [WI] Bought a house. Sellers did not disclose a bat colony that will cost up to $25,000 to fix. Do I have any recourse?

Question:
Let me start by saying that, if I had to guess, I'd guess that the answer to my question is "no." However, I don't have any legal training, and since many thousands of dollars are on the line, I figured taking 10 minutes to post this on Reddit couldn't hurt.

On May 1, my wife and I purchased and moved into a new home. A few weeks in, our cat killed a bat in the middle of the night. Less than a week later, she caught and killed a second one.

In the dining room, there is a weird sag in the ceiling, and the ceiling tile is cracked in a few places. A few nights after we found the second bat, we heard chittering noises coming from the area around the cracks in the ceiling. We researched bats online and found that, if left unchecked, bat droppings will accumulate over time and eventually cause structural damage of the sort that we're seeing.

A bat removal expert told us that there's no way the previous occupants could have possibly not known about the bat situation. The house's owners were renting it out before they sold it to us, so they probably decided to sell the house rather than dealing with the bat problem.

When we did our home inspection and asked the inspector about the sag in the ceiling, he didn't seem worried about it and say that it could be a variety of things but probably nothing serious.

It's a very frustrating situation. We're looking at probably over 20 grand to do the whole process of bat removal and ceiling replacement. Our home insurance doesn't cover it, our home warranty doesn't cover it, and I can't think of any way to put the home inspector or (more critically) the seller on the hook. Am I wrong, or did my wife and I get successfully swindled and screwed?

Answer:
 You are getting ahead of yourself. Two bats and a sagging ceiling doesn't mean you have a bat colony. The sag could be unrelated o the bats. The bat person who said it would be $25k could be fishing for work, or throwing out a high number to make his next number seem more reasonable. If there is no ceiling access you can make a whole somewhere and install an access, or use small cameras just for inspection.Answer #2: Not a lawyer:

Any way to contact the former tenants of the home? If they have records of pest control, or of contacting the owners about the problem, you can prove the sellers knew about the issue.


Title: Turned in the boy who raped my cousin. Steps to ensure he is prosecuted?

Question:
Title basically explains it all.

Evidence I have/victim has:

Audio clip where he changes his story several times before admitting to committing the crime

Visible marks on his chest which will match up with the victims story

(Likely) Witnesses who may have heard screaming and/or cries for help next door. This was on a college campus so I doubt the soundproofing in the dorms is good enough to drown out all noise.

I contacted the police about the matter on her behalf, immediately after she told me what had happened and they checked in on her and she told them what happened. They asked later for the audio files and an essay from me describing everything she told me in my own words, I complied and gave them both.

What are some steps I can take from this point to ensure he is prosecuted? Based on the evidence, what is the likeliness he is prosecuted?

I appreciate all answers.

Answer:
 There is no way to ensure prosecution.  That is fully at the discretion of the DA/prosecutor.  No one can say what the likelihood is that the prosecutor decides to move forward.   That's determined on a case by case basis, and without having the entire case in front of us, it's impossible to say.

The best thing you can do is cooperate with the authorities, support your cousin, and don't try to be Batman (vigilante justice or detective work are more likely to throw a wrench in a case than help it).


Title: Can University require that I download apps on my personal device?

Question:
I live in Missouri and I attend a community college. Because of covid they are requiring that on my personal, not school given device to download an app that locks my computer for testing? Can they fail me in my classes if I refuse?
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Yes, since when do you not use personal equipment for college? Also that software is standard for most online tests.


Title: College girls being harassed; feeling unsafe in apartment. What rights do we have as tenants?

Question:
Hello all,

The location is Urbana, IL.

Myself and three other girls live in a gated apartment complex just off our college's campus. We have had numerous issues with building management. As far as we know none of the issues are illegal but they are annoying and do set the scene for the recent harassment.

The real problem is our upstairs neighbors. Every night they are very loud and disruptive (it sounds like bouncing a ball, constantly), they run up and down the shared staircase and they play music throughout the night. They also frequently pound on our front door late at night. We don't answer because our peephole is clouded and we are scared. We've told building management about this but they have not done anything about it.

Several specific incidents involve them watching us walk to our unit, asking us if we live there, and replying "good to know." At one point one of us was woken up in the early morning by a shrill scream and we learned from a police report that a woman was battered on property. A different night one of us was getting something out of her car when a man quietly walked up right behind her; when she turned around and saw him she screamed and he fled.

The straw that broke the camel's back was this week. Throughout the night it sounded as if they were playing with a pellet (not BB) gun. We heard the noise the gun makes when fired and it sounded like pellets hitting out doors and balcony window. In the morning on of the girls found a hole in her car windshield and what looked like pellet marks on the side. We filed a police report.

I know it doesn't sound like much but we are very scared. The nightly pounding on our door, plus the verbal comments and now the possible pellet gun has us very afraid. We want to call the cops every time they are disruptive at night but we are worried about retaliation we don't want to seem whiny.

We have drafted a letter to building management that we plan on sending.

What else can/should we do? We just want to feel safe.

Answer:
 You very much should call they cops (non emergency line) when they are firing the pellet gun and pounding on your door.

Does your lease say anything about quiet hours?  Have you told your apartment complex about the constant noise?

Do you know if your town has any sort of noise ordinances they are breaking with the music at night?  A look through your cities website should give you an answer.

*If* this continues and you want legal advice, chances are your university has some sort of free legal aid offered to students.  look into that and see if they can be of any help.


Title: Legally speaking, how can one person "own" exclusive rights to the use of a material for artistic purposes (e.g., Anish Kapoor's recent purchase of exclusive rights to the new material, "Vantablack")?

Question:
Originally posted to /r/explainlikeimfive but it was removed because they don't accept legal questions, apparently. Thought about posting to /r/jurisprudence, but that sub doesn't seem as active as /r/legaladvice. Sorry if this post violates the rules, I'm just trying to get an answer and I'm unsure where to ask!

The story that prompted this question is [here](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/03/469082803/some-artists-are-seeing-red-over-a-new-black).

From what I understand, this company called Surrey Nanosystems created a new material--Vantablack--which artist Anish Kapoor has bought exclusive rights to use in art, which strikes me as rather weird.

So, how is this possible from a legal standpoint? How is it different (if, in fact, it is) from someone claiming to own exclusive artistic rights to steel, for instance, or a particular plastic? Also, if someone else obtained a quantity of Vantablack and then produced a work of art using it, would Kapoor have standing to sue? That strikes me as counterintuitive, but then again, that's the reason I'm here.

Any insights into this are greatly appreciated!

[edit]: I suppose the location for this would be the UK, as that is where Surrey Nanosystems is located. But I would also be interested in whether Kapoor's claim would hold up if another artist produced a work with Vantablack in the United States.

Answer:
 Surrey Nanosystems owns a patent on the process that produces Vantablack, and a trademark on the term "Vantablack." This gives Surrey Nanosystems an effective monopoly on the production of Vantablack for the duration of the patent (20 years).

Surrey Nanosystems has agreed not to license those properties to anyone other than Kapoor, in return for some consideration from Kapoor. Violating that agreement would be grounds for Kapoor to sue Surrey Nanosystems for an injunction forbidding further licensing, and for any actual damages, and for any damages set out in the contract (which we're not party to). That agreement is presumably not retroactive, so sales of Vantablack before Surrey and Kapoor entered into the exclusive license do not violate that license.

Nothing in particular stops someone else from coming up with a parallel process that creates a similar material, or from selling that material to others. It just wouldn't be Vantablack. If the parallel process were too close to the patented process, then Surrey Nanosystems could sue to block production of the similar material using that process, and to recover damages for patent infringement.


Title: Restraining order on mother in law

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Unless you have a substantiated reason to suspect that she'll harm you or abscond with your daughter, a restraining order won't be granted.  That said, even with a restraining order, if she wants to kidnap your daughter, she will.

If your daughter is in school, inform the schools of the situation and that the mother in law is not able to check her out or pick her up.


Title: Car Rental Company changed rental rate after vehicle returned

Question:
* Rental car company quoted $152 for two weeks which is the price after 10% AAA discount, and $40 off weekly coupon

* Extended rental another 6 weeks and 4 days.
  * Was told I would be at the same rate via rep over phone

* After final return, they changed weekly rate to $96/week     w/ 10% AAA discount, and **one** $40 off coupon.

*Bank* says initial price quote is just an "estimate" like you get from a car mechanic estimate and is not legally binding.
Since I gave them my credit card info to start the rental, they're free to charge me whatever they want and only the **final** bill is legally bindable which they won't do a transaction dispute with.

>.

Is this true?  The rental company can change the rate on me and even though I don't sign the final bill or agree to it, they can charge me whatever they want?

 How is the quote not legally bindable?

Is my only option small claims?

Answer: It's common knowledge you can't always keep the same rate if you extend a car rental. And they certainly weren't going to apply that $40 coupon for all the weeks. It was a $40 off a weekly rental and you got that. It's not $40 off the weekly rate for an unlimited number of weeks.


Title: Got into An accident, Turned out that I wasn't insured, Debt collection states I owe $108,000 now.

Question:
I'm just going to start at the top.

Feb, Got into an accident with another vehicle, I ended up pulling out in front of her which resulted in her hitting the front left end of my truck. Her Vehicle was totaled but the inside of the vehicle seemed to be lined in airbags from my point of view.

First, I received a letter stating i owed $21,000. Fast forward to now. I received a letter stating I owed $108.000 (Total) due to UMBI (uninsured motorist bodily injury). I looked the day after the accident at her facebook, She said she should been getting released that day with bruising and a swollen leg( I believe, Its been a while).

I do want to figure out what to do since I know I am liable for what happened but to that high of an extent would amount to 5 years of my wages.
I Honestly have no clue where to start and any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 What do you mean by turned out I wasn't insured? Did you think you had insurance but it turned out you missed a payment and it was cancelled or something?Answer #2: Were you sued? Did you not respond?

Get an attorney or work out a payment plan with the insurance company. Bankruptcy may be your best option.Answer #3: Frankly, it sounds like you are judgment proof with no assets. You really have two options:

1. Try to settle for less. How much less depends on if you really are judgment proof with no assets.

2. Do nothing. Once they sue you and obtain judgment, file BK.


Title: Can my employer fire me if something in my medical records shows I have violated drug policy (marijuana, NY)

Question:
Throwaway - I work for a health insurance company in NY and recently switched to my own insurance policy as I aged off of my parent’s policy. The company processes their own claims/medical records. If my doctor orders labs for blood work and urinalysis and I test positive for marijuana, it will show up in the coding on the lab’s claim.

Can my employer use the claims as proof that I violated their drug policy and take action(i.e. fire) me over it?
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 IANAL but most likely any information collected for purposes of your healthcare is private and distinct from your job. These are two different areas. The health insurance side likely requires HIPAA compliance so theoretically, the health information shouldn't be getting to the employers side. I think it would be a violation and most likely not good practice. None of this is something reddit can answer for 100% because we don't know the company policy.Answer #2: Can they fire you? Yes. Would you have grounds to file suit against them? That's a lot more murky. It's an evolving area of the law and certainly not something Reddit could give you any definite answer on.

https://www.nysba.org/Journal/2018/Jul/Medical_Marijuana_in_the_Workplace/


Title: [Illinois] Ex-Boss of mine is claiming he lost my tools off of his trailer, I asked for them to be paid for but he tried low balling me and is now no longer responding. Do I have any credibility in court?

Question:
About 8 months ago, I quit my job while working for a small time non union electrical contractor in my area. I had originally took the position and was kind of swindled by the guy to begin the entire thing with promises of full time work and fair pay. This guy used me at every opportunity possible, cutting my wages where he could and effectively destroying my personal savings in the process. I finally stood up for myself and quit after the abuse, (that I should have documented to begin with). I began to look for a job elsewhere but because I had left on impartial terms I had neglected to get my tools from him when I left. Fast forward 8 months and I sent him a text asking about my w2 for tax purposes which also reminded me that he had my tools in his possession still. I asked him if I could swing by that weekend to pick them up. He responded saying that he was sorry but he had lost them and among various other things off of his trailer. This semi infuriated me but for what it is worth I figured he would at least compensate me for what he had lost. When I was working there he didn't own this trailer and therefore I didn't leave them on there myself, he had to have put them on this trailer himself or his worker for them to have been lost in the first place.

I inquired specifically about a set of Dewalt drills of mine that I had received the year before as a gift from my parents. This drill set costs in the upwards of 400 dollars alone not including my hand tools which I had received through my tech school which would be somewhere in the ball park of 200-250 dollars as well. I was not as worried about my hand tools as they were fairly worn and many needed replaced anyway but my impact and drill were still relatively new and had new batteries as well. When I told him the cost of it, he told me he would pay me some money because he "felt bad" but said he wouldn't give me the cost of the drills in its entirety which infuriated me even more. I told him we have a problem then. I should note that I had lost tools of his while on the job before and was forced to replace them with my paycheck, which I did. He is now claiming he is not responsible for them as I should have came and got them earlier which I agree with to a point. I should have got them earlier, however he continued to obviously actively use my tools in my absence for him to have lost them off his trailer at all, thus making him responsible in my eyes.

However being young and unexperienced with this kind of ordeal I want to know if I have any shot of being able to take him to small claims court to get the money out of him as he won't even respond to my calls now and obviously isn't going to pay me for them. Honestly I don't think he has even lost them I just think he doesn't feel like giving them back to me because he is entirely a narcissist and kind of a piece of shit in general. This is not the first immoral thing I have seen this guy do from taking advantage of customers to fudging numbers in his bids.

Thanks for any and all answers. Please be brazen with me I just want to know if I will ever see my tools or at least the monetary value of them in this life time again.

Answer: IANAL, but waiting 8 months to claim your property could likely hurt your case. IMO, it's unreasonable to expect someone to hold onto your stuff for that long. I'm sure there are laws regarding situations like this. At what point does unclaimed property convey, or how long is the person possessing it obligated to be responsible for it?


Title: Is there a way to adopt without fathers consent?

Question:
Hi all,

My wife has a 9 year old girl that I would like to adopt in the future. Her biological father is listed on her birth certificate, but has not seen her in years. He refuses to pay child support (is in and out of jail because of it) and will simply not respond to any messages (texts, calls, e-mails) from myself or my wife.

Over the last few years we message him asking if he we would like to spend some time with my wife’s daughter, but he never responds.

He lives in Virginia in the USA, we all live in York in England. I am British, my wife is American.

We had to go to court to obtain permission to take my step daughter to England. The judge ruled that England is the best place for her and gave us permission to bring her up in England. They are here on a spousal visa and we will most likely never return to the US. We had to have him served to appear in Court as he would not respond to us at all.

I would like to adopt my step daughter as I feel she deserves a proper Dad. I’m not sure why he won’t respond to us about this (Maybe a pride thing?) but if I do adopt her he is no longer responsible for her child support (I believe), and given he has absolutely no interest in seeing her, I think it would make sense to allow me to, but alas that is not the case.

Adopting her would make her a British citizen too, which would be great for her.

Is there anything we can do about it? I’m not sure about the law regarding adoption without the dads consent, especially an international adoption.

Cheers

Answer:
 You probably need to consult with a real live lawyer in person -- this isn't a simple legal question.

Maybe crosspost this to r/LegalAdviceUK as well?


Title: Colorado civil attorney ex is an alcoholic

Question:
Please assist in any way you can. Sorry if this is more of a relationship issue but I think the law part is important.

I dated my ex for a number of years. He is currently a practicing civil attorney in Colorado and is (was) very good at what he does. After a number of incidents personally, he became a much heavier drinker than he used to be. I know the old joke that attorneys like to drink a lot but it got to the point where he couldn't sleep without drinking, was mixing booze with his coffee, and stuff like that.

After we broke up we keep in touch and his drinking seems to be getting even worse. Beyond that, he seems to be losing way more cases than he ever has before. I'm sure everyone goes into slumps and things like that but I'm talking about maybe a 95% loss rate from the conversations we've had.

Is there a legal department that I can talk to about getting him help? I've tried everything to get him to go to rehab and reached out to some other people close to him but it's been no good. I also don't want to ruin his life by getting his legal license taken away or something like that but I'm really worried about his clients.

If the answer is to just mind my own business and let the clients judge him and his record for themselves I totally understand.

Thank you.

Answer:
 > I know the old joke that attorneys like to drink a lot but it got to the point where he couldn't sleep without drinking, was mixing booze with his coffee, and stuff like that.

It's not just a joke. Substance abuse is a very major concern for attorneys. I think like 1 in 5 lawyers have problems abusing alcohol.


Title: Can I stop making payments on water softener?

Question:
I got roped into buying a water softener and am paying monthly payments on it. I sold that house in October of 2016 and the water softener conveyed.

I know I could have paid it off with the proceeds of the sale...but, legally, could I just stop making payments on it? What would happen if I do?

Answer: They can likely sue you for the remaining balance, but it depends on the contract. In fact, there may have been a clause that the remaining balance was due upon the sale of the house.


Title: Attacked by a former friend at a party, now I need surgery. I don't know what to do next (VA)

Question:
Greetings

I made another account for obvious reasons, I was at a party drinking with some friends, when I got into an argument with a former friend and he threw himself at me causing my knee to bend and tried to fight me, after a few moments I hit him in the face and chipped a tooth. At first I did not think it was that big of an issue so I went to the ER and bones looked okay. I went to get an MRI done, and I have a torn ligament and a small unknown body inside the knee, I don't know how to follow from here. I will have to have a total of 4 months to fully recover, What should I do ?

Answer:
 I assume you did not call the police.

Well, you can sue your friend. Depending on your damages, it would be small claims or civil court. If your friend has no money then you likely won't get any.


Title: Need help with a Paypal dispute

Question: I recently sold American Airline miles to a broker. Basically, because American Airlines is strict about their rewards policy, I booked a ticket for the passenger and the broker paid me via paypal the money for the miles. American Airlines flagged my account for fraud and canceled the ticket. Apart from the 90K miles that I had used for the ticket, I lost an additional 240K miles between me and my husband's account. The broker is now disputing and wants his money back. What are my options? I'm in Detroit, MI. Broker is in NJ. Please and Thank you.

Answer:
 What are you looking to get out of this?

If you sold something, you need to uphold your end of the bargain. That American Airlines caught you violating their terms is, frankly, not the other person's problem. If they didn't get what they paid for, you owe them their money back.

This is what happens when you knowingly violate policy hoping to get away with it. Sometimes, you lose more than you bargained for.Answer #2: I'm sure you already know, but American Airlines terms and conditions largely forbid you from selling miles.

The broker paid for something that you did not provide to them, so they may have some recourse in "asking" you for the money back.

If you give the money back, then you'd be put back into the position you were before: you're out no money, and you simply lose all your miles for breaching the agreement you had concerning your miles with American Airlines.


Title: LL signed new lease with new tenant which overlaps my lease and didn't tell me [OH]

Question:
I rented a 1 bedroom apartment for a year long lease, which ends in august. I ended up moving far, far out of state last month. Cleaned the apartment, gave LL the key, and meanwhile I've been looking for someone to sublet the apartment for the remainder of my lease.

My landlord is hard to get ahold of. He doesn't respond to my messages for sometimes weeks at a time and a potential renter that I found told me he was not responsive to her inquiries, which put her off renting the apartment (which landlord denies).

Last week he tells me he didn't receive march's rent from me. I pay my rent on time every month by online bill pay (my bank sends a check to his home address). He's misplaced my rent check before so I suggested he look for it. I received no response so I messaged him a few times during the week to see if he had my rent check, again with no response.

Today he messages me to tell me he hasn't gotten back to me because his "family's been sick for the last while". But oh, hey, he went ahead and had someone view the apartment AND sign a lease which overlaps my lease by 2 months.

Most if this is just bullshit that's probably not relevant. Straight up I think my landlord is just a dingus so I don't know if this even belongs here. But I want to know- can my landlord just sign on a new tenant to lease the apartment during my lease term without asking me first? Or just giving me a heads up? I'm miffed because I was hoping to have it rented this summer and I don't want to keep shelling out to rent an empty space. I know he can choose who rents but I feel like he's intent on keeping me out of the loop for whatever reason, I don't know.

Answer: Given that you surrendered the key, the landlord is probably within his rights to re-rent the apartment. But you won't owe rent for the two months that the new tenant's lease overlaps yours.


Title: EX Employer Is Threatening Police Action Saying I Didn't Give Them Money From a Medical Marijuana Sale | CA

Question:
I used to work for a medical marijuana grow operation. When I was hired I was told it was a legal op, but I'm not completely sure it it was. They paid us all under the table and the place seemed a bit sketchy at times.

Anyway, one of my bosses told me to sell 5 pounds for him. I gave him the product back a little while later and let him know I was quitting afterward. I just didn't feel comfortable working there anymore as I had reported sexual harassment and nothing was done about it.

They are now threatening me with the police saying that I didn't give the product back to them and I don't know what to do. Can they really try to get the police involved? I'm on camera at the facility taking the pounds in my car, but when I gave them the pounds back it was at their own personal residence and not on camera. These guys have my address and social security number. I genuinely don't have their product and there's no way I can pay them the $10k they're claiming I owe. I'm just a college kid and I don't have rich parents. I don't know why they're doing this to me but I heard they were trying to do the same thing to another ex employee. I don't know if they're desperate for money or what. Can they legally do anything? Will the police really get involved? I'm just really scared and I don't want this ruining my future. Thanks in advanced.

Answer:
 Hello, police? Someone stole my illegal drugs. Oh yes, from my illegal drug farm.

Yeah, that's not happening.


Title: I was attacked and don't know what to do (PA)

Question:
Hi. I was attacked earlier today by a man I met through Craigslist. I placed a post on casual encounters and was contacted by a guy who wanted to 'party'. After getting drugs I fell asleep. When I woke up I realized he robbed me... He was still there and wanted more. I didn't immediately accuse him, because I was trying to process everything.

He wanted more and I said I'd get it. He went to get money, and when he returned I told him I know what he did and wouldn't give him any of it when it came. When it came I did give him a little. He kept asking for more, even trying to get me to leave the room so he could take it. When that didn't work he said he was just going to leave.

After leaving the room, he said he left his phone and rushed back before me to try and grab the drugs. However, I got there first and he rushed me to get it out my hands. I wouldn't give it to him and tried my best to get him off me (we were on my bed with him on top of me).

I ran down the stairs, screaming for help, and and I reached the door he said, "ok I'm leaving", ran to his car and took off.

After calling a friend who stayed for a little bit then left I ended up calling the police because the fear when alone was overwhelming me.

My question is, am I going to jail because of the drug involvement in the situation as well as the fact that my ad dealt with me asking for money? He paid me, however nothing sexual occurred just the drug getting and using.

Sorry for the length I'm just really scared all around. Thanks for reading.

TL;Dr Was attacked by a man met through Craigslist. Illegal activity, will I go to jail?

Answer: I am so confused. Are you a craigslist hooker and you were robbed by a client?


Title: Physically and verbally abusive LL who I am filing a restraining order against is "requiring" a forwarding address for me to get my security deposit back. What are the proper steps here?

Question:
I've already gave him an electronic method and offered to pick up the check in person but Landlord has declined both methods.

This is in California

Answer: Hint you can use a PO box


Title: Non Compete for Dog Walker

Question:
2-3 days a week I have someone come and walk my dog while I'm on the road for work.  This person comes from an actual pet care company, but I've had the same person for roughly the last 2 years - could not possibly be happier with her.  Last week she calls and said she is leaving the company.  Just had too many scheduling conflicts  that could not get resolved with the owner and decided to part ways.

The owner did not contact me.  If my walker had not told me, I would have never known she was leaving and that a new stranger would be getting access to my home while I'm gone.  They send an email each day after the walk and this would have been my only indication she was no longer around.  This made me EXTREMELY upset.  Letting someone new into my home without my knowledge or consent is a big no no for me.

I want to keep this person around and they said they would  be willing, but had to sign a non compete.  This makes them extremely nervous even though they want to keep working for me.  The non compete is for 1yr.

This person is not starting their own business or going to work for another, they would literally just continue to walk my dog a couple days/week.  I am trying to determine if this non compete will be an issue.  The owner isn't local, they live across the country.  Also I only spend about $50/week, nothing significant.  I imagine the court  and lawyer fees if they ever wanted to pursue would greatly outweigh any "damages".

Also wondering if I could hire them in some other capacity, say house keeper or nanny.  Dog walking would  be just 1 of their duties.  Our neighbor has a nanny and she walks the dog as part of her job, but she isn't a "dog walker".  Any info would be great.

Answer:
 Non-competes are extremely hard to enforce.

"Dog walking" is not going to be a specialized enough skill to enforce a non-compete. Answer #2: It sounds like they're trying to keep her on a tight leash.

Non-competes have to be very specific, and they're intended to prevent people from working for direct competitors such as to not divulge proprietary information or secrets that would give the new company an unfair advantage. Dog walking most likely does not qualify for an enforceable non-compete agreement.


Title: curious as to the legal actions that could be taken if any

Question:
I work at wendy's and my boss is a real bitch. I know you've all had bad bosses but she is constantly giving me shit and taking cheap shots at me and I'm done with it. I have concocted a plan. I get 4 friends and myself, pile into my little sedan and hotbox it until you can't see your hand in front of your face and then pull through the drive through and right when my boss leans out the window to hand us our food (she is the one that hands out the food because she is too dumb/slow to do anything else) I open the window and give her a nice face full of smoke and a big ol' fuck you I quit . So my question is could they take legal action against me? I live in Mass where it is decriminalized but not fully legal and obviously DUI is Illegal but could they do anything to me?

TL;DR: can I open a car full of smoke right in my managers face and drive away without facing legal repercussions?

Answer:
 Or, you could just act like you aren't 12 and go in and quit your job like a normal human being.

If you do this and she calls the police, you could find yourself charged with DUI and maybe even assault.   It's an idiotic thing to do.


Title: Friend of mine got served even though she kept saying she's not the person they were asking for (she's not)... what should she do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If your friend is not "so and so" then your friend was not served with anything and neither was "so and so".  Your friend might want to warn "so and so" that they are being sued and that the plaintiff thinks they got good service on them, but other than that, your friend shouldn't be worried about anything.Answer #2: In Texas that can be good service if a court has authorized leaving the papers with someone else at the address. (the plaintiff has to claim they've tried and failed to serve the defendant directly) Your friend should seek legal counsel to see if they can locate and respond to the summons unless they want to risk a possible default judgment. Answer #3: If she can find those papers, she should look at them closely.

If they are eviction papers, they may say, "So-and-So *and All Unknown Occupants*", in which case, she has been served- "Unknown Occupants" means her.Answer #4: Give those papers to the person they are for.Answer #5: The intended defendant needs to be told about the lawsuit. If the case is in Dallas County, cases [can be searched](http://www.dallascounty.org/applications/english/record-search/rec-search_intro.php). If the landlord is lucky, this is a matter that can be turned over to an insurance carrier. The landlord also needs to know that some plaintiff believes that the landlord was successfully served with a lawsuit.


Title: Asked to work part of PTO day, does this count (MA)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Check your company's written policies on the use of PTO. The time you were actually working most likely should not count against your PTO (in MA, paid vacation time is considered wages and withholding vacation pay is illegal), but if your company's policy permits you to take PTO in smaller increments (e.g. half a day or on a per-hour basis), you may only be entitled to claim back PTO for the hours you were actually working, not the entire day.


Title: [CA] Found a nice studio to move into, but it has no windows; is this legal?

Question:
I'm helping a friend of mine find a place to live in the SoCal area (I'm not sure if the laws change by city, so if needed, I will add in the city), and she found a nice looking studio with all appliances (running water, gas, electricity, a fridge, etc). The thing she was worried about is if the place is legal since there are no windows at all. The door has glass panes on it, but they can't be propped open or anything. Also, there is no AC either.

I do know there are general laws set for bedrooms, but I'm not sure if that would apply to studios. The place is listed as a separate place (apart from the main house), so it is not a room-for-rent, if that makes any difference. I've called a few numbers, but I haven't been able to get a "yes, it's legal" or a "no, it's illegal" answer, so I'm hoping someone here can help me out.
If receiving a yes or no answer is actually out of the question (assuming there may be circumstantial situations), would the bottom line be that we should just check at the city hall if the studio has a permit? (If it has a permit it means the landlord went through the appropriate procedures and room inspection, right? So the city is aware the studio has no windows?)

Sorry for any silly questions, my friend and I are very new to all of this.

Answer:
 From what I know of building codes, that would **not** be a legal rental - aside from the lack of ventilation, having only one point of egress is typically a no-no. If a fire got started that blocked the doorway, she'd be hosed.

However, I'm not sure why the immediate question of legality matters here. Illegal units get rented out all the time, and even if the city ever discovered the situation it's not clear that they'd care enough to take action.

If I were your friend, I would make the decision based on whether she'd be comfortable in that kind of unit.


Title: Buying rights to old games and putting them on Steam?

Question: Cleveland, Ohio: I was just wondering, is it possible to buy the rights to a kinda (12 year) old game and put it on Steam? It currently is not avaliable anywhere else on the Internet in digital form, and the only place you can get it is Ebay. Could I buy the distribution rights and put it on Steam? The origianal publisher is EA and is it even possible to negotiate with them? If I were to start to buy the distribution rights, where would I start? Thanks.

Answer:
 Given it's EA, if they want to republish it, they'd put it on Origin themselves. They have plenty of older games up there like Sims 2 and C&C Red Alert.

Your business idea isn't bad; it's basically the basis for [GoG](http://www.gog.com) (Good Old Games) - fixing old games to work on modern hardware, and providing a marketplace.

You might have more luck tracking down games belonging to defunct or bankrupted studios/publishers, and seeing if you can acquire the rights to those cheaply. You could then sell those on to GoG, or as you suggest, publish them yourself on Steam.


Title: My mom's boyfriend gifted me a SUP board 4 years ago. He decided he doesn't like me anymore so he took it back. Do I have a case for small claims? New York

Question:
Hello, so I was given a SUP (stand up paddle) board for my birthday in 2013 by my mother's boyfriend. I loved that thing: it was my entire summer life for a long time. However my mom's boyfriend decided recently that he no longer likes me, so he took the SUP board away in late July. I had to leave to go back to school anyway, so I wasn't planning on suing to get it back. I figured he would stop throwing a tantrum and do the right thing, but I was wrong. My mom kept swearing up and down that it would be returned to me, but now it seems he plans on keeping it.

I have no way of replacing this board. I'm fresh out of school and the specific model I owned retails for $1,100. There's no way my mom can afford to get me a replacement either.

My mom is breaking up with him apparently, so I figured the time was right to try and get it back.

Keep in mind this board has been stored on my property the entire time. I took care of it, and was one of the only 2 people to use it regularly.

My mom wants to hold his kayaks (which were NOT gifts) hostage until he returns the board. I told her this is a great way to get the cops called on us by him. Even though the kayaks have been here for 4 years as well, they were never given to us as "presents", but the SUP board was.

How do I proceed from here? Do I even have a case for small claims court? Thank you very much in advance

Answer:
 > My mom wants to hold his kayaks (which were NOT gifts) hostage until he returns the board

That's a terrible idea.  That would be theft.

> How do I proceed from here? Do I even have a case for small claims court?

You likely do not.  You appear to have no evidence that the board was a gift, versus a loan.  You didn't protest at the time, and now you're protesting six months later, conveniently when your mother is breaking up with him.


Title: UPDATE! {(NY) Neighbor wants to sue because of a cat.}

Question:
http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2uv4ag/ny_neighbor_wants_to_sue_because_of_a_cat/

Apparently, according  to my other neighbor, the cat lady couldn't find a lawyer to take her case.

Fish & Wildlife and Animal Control did go poking around the woods but only found the cats collar.

Walking home from my inlaws a had a pair of coyotes stalk me, that was fun..

Answer:
 Thank you for the update! I'm sorry it was an aggravation for you, but I loved your crazy cat lady story.

I am dying to know how many attorneys she called with this "case." If a CCL called my office, I would laugh for weeks. Answer #2: >the cat lady couldn't find a lawyer to take her case.

Just a warning you may still get sued but through small claims court. Answer #3: Coyotes stalking you?  /r/ar15Answer #4: Worry even less about the coyotes than crazy cat lady. There's only been one instance ever that coyotes brought down a human. We're way too big for them.


Title: [Denver, CO] 26 and afraid to apply for apartments because I've been rejected in the past due to my juvenile criminal record.

Question:
When I was 17 I was dumb and cops caught me smoking pot with friends. I went to court, paid fines, etc., and ended up with a drug paraphernalia charge. This all happened in Colorado.

When I turned 18 I started renting. I moved to a new apartment every year and never had any problems whatsoever. Then when I was 24 I once again had to move. I found a good apartment and filled out the application fully expecting to be accepted. They eventually contacted me and told me I had been rejected due to a past history of drug related charges. I went in and tried to talk to them about the situation but they said I would have to talk to the company that did the background checks. I wasn't sure what to do at this point and for whatever reason ended up calling the Colorado Bureau of Investigations. They told me my juvenile record should be sealed and not publicly accessible. Despite this, when I contacted the company that did the background check they told me I would have to get a court order for them to remove it from the background check. Around this point I ended up getting approved by a different apartment and decided to cut my losses and forget about it.

Now, two years later, I need to move again (from Broomfield area closer to Denver), but I'm terrified that if I apply for apartments I'll be rejected. I guess my questions are (1) is my juvenile record really publicly available and (2) can a Colorado apartment legitimately reject me because of my juvenile record. And if the answer is yes, then is there anything I can do other than keep applying to apartments until one accepts me?

Answer:
 Your juvenile record should be sealed and inaccessible. If it's coming up on background checks and you're concerned about it, it's worth getting a lawyer to take care of it for you. At the very least a consultation with one.

And yes, apartments can refuse to rent to you on the basis of a criminal record.


Title: My sister 20f) has a roommate (18f) in college off campus in PA. Her roommate has recently started threatening and acting very hostile towards her. Now my sister is terrified to be home alone with her. The landlord says she should call the cops. Is there anything that can be done?

Question:
They go to the same school. Her roommate has hid all of the smoke detectors, locked her cat in the attic and has sent threatening texts saying things like "or else" if she doesnt get the wifi password. (My sister is the one who pays for the internet and its in her name.) it all began when my sister informed her that she needs to clean up after herself. They share a bathroom and my sister would walk in to her absolutely horrifying mess she would leave behind. One day my sister sent her a picture of it asking if she could clean up. Her roommate denies it but its only the two of them in the house. Thats when it all began. Passive aggressiveness. Loud knocking and door slamming at all hours. The threats. The hiding smoke detectors. Sending her threatening texts. Screaming at her in the house randomly. My sister is terrified. She cant sleep and cries on the phone that shes scared. She informed her landlord of everything, the landlord said she should call the cops.

Is that the right step to take? I'm just trying to figure out how to guide her from here. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Answer: When you're threatened, you call the police, not your landlord.


Title: Dallas Buyers Club LLC (Settled)

Question:
Thought I should post this here as an FYI to anyone out there receiving a letter from their ISP that Dallas Buyers Club LLC is suing them.

I live in Colorado and about two weeks ago my house received a letter from Comcast informing us that Dallas Buyers Club, LLC is requesting the name of whoever owns our IP address.  I live with roommates and our internet is in our landlord's name.  After reading multiple posts about similar letters,  we as a house decided to seek legal advice in order to help protect our landlord.  We called a lawyer who specializes in these cases, who we found on the internet while searching other posts.  He had an up front fee for his services, as he had handled this exact case before and knew what to expect.  His charge was $750 up front plus whatever he got the settlement down to.  He said Dallas Buyers Club LLC would send a letter asking for $5000 dollars.  Once we received this settlement offer, he argued it down to $750.  Our overall cost out of pocket was $1500 altogether.  If you have money to spend, I would fight it as these types of legal cases feel eerily similar to extortion.  It would have cost us much more to fight this case than to pay the settlement, so unfortunately that is the route we had to take.  It is no guarantee that you will get your settlement down to $750, our lawyer told us this was the lowest he had ever gotten it for this case.

Good luck to anyone out there getting sued by Dallas Buyers Club LLC, hope this helps put things in perspective a little.

Answer:
 Glad to hear you got it settled. Now stop downloading shit you don't have the rights to. Go forth and spread the word to the other freeloaders as well. :)Answer #2: Thank you for telling your story! Good to hear that you were able to avoid going into court with these folks and settle for far less than what they wanted. That would have sucked like hell if you ended up like that poor kid slapped with a lawsuit for over 100k because he downloaded some music.

This is why torrenting movies & porn (especially **porn**) is a bad idea. If you are going to torrent, always invest in a nice VPN that does not share or store your IP address. But the best way would be to just avoid the whole fiasco and just get the stuff legit.Answer #3: True story: After reading your prior post, I actually **paid** to rent a digital movie the next Friday night. It was $4 and I didn't even get to keep the file, which sucks, but it's a lot less expensive than settling a lawsuit.

Before /u/FishPhilA I would have just bopped over to [redacted] and let my fingers to the walking...but you scared me straight. I just hope I don't get sued over [huge list redacted].

Does anyone know the statute of limitations on this in VA?


Title: My ex just kidnapped my daughter. - Nebraska/USA

Question: looking for advice from anybody willing to provide it. About 6 months ago i did receive full legal and physical custody of my 4 year old child due to her moms instability. She has 2 weeks vacation time every year in the summer for visitation. she told me a month ago that she will take this time starting April 21st to take her to Arizona to see the "beach". I told her she can not take my daughter out of state. she asked me one other time if she could and I still said she can't take her that far out of state. she then told me that she took the trip to AZ earlier this month instead. She even showed me some pics of things she bought at the flea market she went to there. tonight she was suppose to drop her off. texted her asking where she was and she said she is having her vacation time. i told her ok. but she needs to give me her address (as i have asked many times and after 6 months i still didn't know where she lived. its also in the decree that she has to provide that before she moves.) i also asked if she is out of state. she finally gave me her home address and said she did take her out of state. i called the police and they said they could not do anything. they told me to get a protection order but it wouldn't do any good because i don't know where she is staying and they cant serve the order to her. an offer tried to call her from my phone at one point but she did not pick up. she texted me back asking why i called. i told her somebody here wanted to speak to her. i also asked her for the addresses she would be staying at. she refused to give me the addresses because "it's not in the decree." and asked why she needed to give them. i told her because if she doesn't she is withholding my child's whereabouts from me. her excuse was that i never gave her my parents address when i visited them. but she has actually drove to their house before and stayed with them. so she knows their address already. also i have not been to their house since before the decree was filed. anyway after asking for the addresses two times she said she feels harassed and threatened and that she has already went to court and talked with her attorney and I should be visited by the sheriff in the next couple of days. what am i to expect? i was going to go to court tomorrow and see what could be done. I feel she has kidnapped my child. I have a bigger concern that she could run away to mexico because she is close to 9 months pregnant has been off her bipolar and schizophrenia meds for that long and her boyfriend and his family are dual citizens. she also has another daughter, I spoke to her dad today and he said she had just stopped picking her 13 year old daughter up for her visitation time 3 weeks ago. I always thought i had more rights as the legal and custodial parent. but from what it sounds like i have nothing and i could never see my daughter again. please provide any advice i am here to listen. that's all i can do until the courthouse opens tomorrow.

Answer: Jesus Christ, don't screw around with incompetent police.  Demand to speak to a sergeant or any other higher level officer until you get resolution here.  Send e-mails to the chief and CC the mayor and your local elected official.  Escalate as aggressively as possible.  Why you would allow a 9 month pregnant person with untreated bipolar disorder *and* schizophrenia alone with your *child* is so far beyond me that I can't even address that.  What's done is done.  Call the cops again and tell them she has no legal rights to your kids and she kidnapped them.  If you have 100% legal and physical custody and she has no visitation that she's exercising, that's exactly what's going on.  Notify local airports that this is going on and ask them to block her from boarding planes with your kids.  File a report to the local TSA department, airport police department, etc.  Answer #2: at the very least you want to enroll in the Passport Issuance Alert System. The US Department of State has a bunch of info and emergency procedures. https://travel.state.gov/content/childabduction/en/preventing.html


Title: Unable to cancel recurring memberships due to unclear/uncommunicated "policy'

Question:
Hi everyone,

I have a recurring gym membership that I have the option to cancel/suspend for a month anytime. Because I was going out of town I decided to suspend my membership for a month. I called the gym 2 days before my billing date and was told that the membership was suspended for the month.

When I checked my credit card and saw that I was charged for my "suspended" month. I called the gym several times and was finally told to email them. During my email correspondence the employee told me that I was not eligible for a refund because my written cancellation request came after my billing date. They claimed that cancellation via writing is their policy and my phone call does not count. Note when I called to cancel I was not made aware of this "policy".

I have a receipt from them that states that to cancel I only have to talk to a front desk member before 24 hours of my billing date. The receipt does say that a written cancellation is recommend ( note: it says recommended but not required). I think this indicates that me calling and cancelling 2 days before is a valid way to cancel. I have call logs to show a call with them ( just the time and number but the contents of the call)

The gym still refuses to refund me claiming they cannot verify this conversation of me calling to cancel. What are my options here to get my money back? Is this a reasonable scenario to perform a charge back? Are there any drawbacks to this?

Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 Personally I would threaten to cancel membership unless they refund. Tell them there are other gyms willing to accept my monthly fee.

Gyms can be sleazy. Most require you to cancel in person. It is a deterrent if you stop going to gym. You’ll think “I’ll just stop by next month, it’s only $XX”. Six months later you still haven’t cancelled. I know gym owner and they make good money off people that stop going and are too lazy to cancel in person.Answer #2: If you have a signed contract that does not state that written notification is required, you can take them to small claims court for the month you were charged


Title: Border Trouble

Question:
[CANADA-US border]

My dad works as a truck driver, and he uses a FAST card to get through the border faster and without passport. It is required for his job. Recently, however, as he went to the US, there was an issue. Either he misunderstood, which he claims he didn’t, or the officer lied about telling him to go to the x-ray/secondary. The officer told him “Have a good day” and let him go with all his papers. He was later denied of using the FAST card anymore. We live on the border, so the NEXUS program is also terminated for him. They said that they will keep the card with them for a week and he has to pay a $5000USD fine, which is a lot for our family. Is there any way he can get his cards back and not have to pay the fine?
Topic:
Treaties and International Law

Answer: I think we're out of "reddit help" territory here, and into "IRL lawyer" territory.


Title: [MI] What form of civil action (lawsuit) or criminal action can I pursue against a jail/prison collect call telephone company that charged extortion based fees to inmates to connect with family?

Question:
For the first time in my life, I was sent to jail upon arrest had no other way of getting in touch with my family. The collect call phones provided cost $15 to start. All my family lived 100+ miles away and didn't have a lot of money. My immediate family had no money to spare and I rarely talked with them. My other supporting family sent money for me to eat so that I wouldn't starve on the survival portion meals provided. My actions warranted so such psychological abuse that I would have to be locked up for months at a time (8 to be exact). I couldn't afford bail (it was a fucking richy uppity town) and was given no leniency. Partly this was due to the fact that I wasn't defending myself with the public defender I was pushed into representing me (what other choice did I have if my family couldn't afford one?). I wanted to talk with my mother more often to work up explaining what really happened (being granted consent to merely touch somebody's clothes), but felt terrible that I had to cost her $15 that she didn't have to talk with her. Thus, at the latter stages when she did hire somebody to represent me, I couldn't call her to find out my grandmother paid in full for representation because I knew the amount to call was too expensive.

After I was released, a month later I was incarcerated in another jail on probation violation (due to this) for a first offense, but was able to speak to my mom more often because the rate was cheaper ($2.25 then $0.25 per minute). I could call for a few minutes and it's only $4-5 not $15.

This violated my rights to a defense especially since I have a mental limitation (Autistic) and needed to confer with my family about what happened, but was shunned and punished further when the company extorted money from my family to speak to their deprived son.
It is completely ignorant, unethical, and truly criminal to charge accused innocent persons an extortion amount of money for a telephone call when the most violent of criminals in prison serving life or on death row can call their own family's for pennys to a dollar.

I demand reform and want to take the first steps in equating this injustice.
Because of this extortion, I was not able to find out that my family hired this attorney in full and that he wasn't just working on a consulting basis. It was on my limited knowledge that I ended up taking a bad deal incorrectly figuring they aren't even paid to represent me.

I'm looking for the right form in Michigan for a lawsuit against them or to take addition measure.

Answer: You can lobby your state legislature to pass a law restricting what can be charged to use telephones while incarcerated.


Title: MS - Hotel lost necklace, who should be held accountable?

Question:
My wife accidently left behind a necklace given to her by her grandmother who recently passed away. We called the hotel and they said they didn't see a necklace. After I called and told them that there was a reward, the hotel manager called a few days later that they found it. The hotel is 3 hours away, so I sent them a package with a paid return package to send the necklace back. Now she calls me and said the lost it and doesn't know where it is. Is the hotel legally responsible?

Please note that we have a recorded voicemail from the hotel manager stating that the necklace was found.

Answer: normally they have no responsibility for lost/abandoned items, but once they ackowledged possession and offered to hold it for you (if they did) than they had a responsibility not to lose it.


Title: Can a court officer or judge force you to remove your hat in a courtroom?

Answer: Yes, they can. They can hold you in contempt of court if you fail to do so.


Title: [Washington State, US] For 3 consecutive years i've made my full monthly mortgage payment to Bank Of America. I've never carried over a previous month's payment. Was 3 days late on the last payment, paid the late fee, and got a warning letter about foreclosure.

Question:
I was late one other time this year, by 2 days, and payed the late fee. All of this i can validate on my online banking. I even called BOA when I paid the late fee and asked if the late payment affected my account. The representative said everything  was showing as up-to-date on it. I've never received a letter like this before. It states:

"IMPORTANT RIGHTS FOR HOMEOWNERS
NOTICE OF PRE-FORECLOSURE OPTIONS

You must respond within 30 days of the date of this letter to take advantage of your rights.

IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND within 30 days, a notice of default may be issued and you may lose your home in foreclosure.

IF YOU DO RESPOND within 30 days of the date of this letter, you will have an additional 60 days to meet with your lender before a notice of default may be issued.

YOU SHOULD CONTACT A HOUSING COUNSELOR OR ATTORNEY as soon as possible. Failure to contact a housing counselor or attorney may result in your losing certain opportunities, such as meeting with your lender or participating in mediation in front of a neutral third party. A housing counselor or attorney can help you work with your lender to avoid foreclosure."

I'm suspecting it's a scare tactic.  If so, it's working because they also sent a signature confirmation letter that I'm picking up at the post office tomorrow. I'm also going to call Home Loan servicing when they open in the morning.

Can anyone advise?

Answer:
 You should refinance and give your business to a bank that doesn't treat its borrowers like shit, especially since rates are still near all time lows.

Bank of America is a despicable company.


Title: (IL) Ticketed for doing the same speed as a police officer

Question:
I was traveling behind a police officer on the highway. He was passing semi-trucks so I following a safe distance behind him wouldn't be a big deal. I was behind the cop for about 10 minutes and our speeds varied between 80-88ish. The officer pulled to the shoulder, pulled back on behind me, and pulled me over. He told me that we were both doing 88, fair enough. He returned to my car with a ticket for doing 80 in a 70. Being a smartass, I asked him if he was getting a ticket too. He told me no because he is exempt  and he only does 75 on the highway. Not sure how he could have been doing 75 if I was apparently doing 80 behind him.

Do you think I'd have a shot fighting this in court? I mean, I was speeding but this cop's story isn't straight.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 "Pacing" is a valid form of tracking speed. You admitted you were speeding so to answer your question, no, I don't think you have a very good chance in court.

If you are concerned about the officer speeding needlessly you will need to call the station and report that to admin. He may have been enroute to a report call or something that didn't require him to drive with lights and sirens. Depending on department policy he may be in violation, maybe not.

Source: I'm a cop Answer #2: You were speeding, you got a ticket for speeding, you don't have a defense.Answer #3: The only thing relevant is what speed you were going.  The officer will testify you were going more than 80.  Unless you want to perjure yourself -- which is a bad, bad idea -- you don't really have much to counter that.

He cut you a break by not ticketing you for a higher speed.Answer #4: "Safe distance" behind a cop starts at 1 or 2 mph slower than he's going, so that he's pulling away from you the whole time.


Title: Is unemployment proof of income? If it’s not accepted is that discrimination?

Question:
I’m in Ohio.

My lease is up at my current apartment.

I am trying to move in another apartment who refuses to accept me because I am receiving unemployment benefits due to COVID-19. She claims they changed their policy and anyone receiving unemployment cannot use that as prof of income. She said if I receive a letter from my job stating my re-start date they will allow me to move in. I make enough money (actually more on unemployment), my credit is great, and my leasing history is great (new apartment confirmed it all checked out)

I’m furloughed without a re-start date. My company still is unsure of when we will open.
I showed them my W2 and they wouldn’t accept it because it only showed 4 months of my employment at my current job. When I tried to show my previous job W2 (I left that job to take a promotion at my newest job) which would give an overview of my years worth of income she said she can’t accept that because I don’t work there anymore. She said she can now only accept the last 2 paystubs and they have to be from my employer. My last 2 paystubs are from Ohio unemployment.

I am wondering if it’s legal for this leasing office to use the fact I’m furloughed due to a pandemic against me? Also the whole W2 thing? I get it but it also doesn’t seem right.

Answer: Don’t they want proof of employment? Unemployment is proof of not being employed??


Title: Friend browsed pornography and masturbated at school - CA, US.

Question:
My friend who is 17 years old got caught in his computer science classroom - he was looking at pornographic videos on his account and fiddling around with his member in his shorts. The school had been noticing a pattern of pornographic activity on his account, so his CS teacher had been told to take special notice of him.

Important to note: Boy in question usually went to the empty computer lab during his lunch hour when no one was in the room. One afternoon, IT pinged the assistant principal (AP), telling her that the student was in the CS room right now, looking at pornhub. The student was able to exit out of the porn before the AP revealed herself and did not explicitly catch the student watching porn; however, the AP noted that the boys hands were in his shorts. Further, the CS teacher, who is allowed to monitor computers, has taken screenshots of the student watching sexy videos on youtube of women gyrating and grinding up against dudes at the club (she had never caught the student all-out watching the pornos).

The student has been sentenced to 30 hours of additional community service (there are school requirements to do service), and suspension from school for 8 days. Currently, he is serving his third day of suspension. Is there anything we can do about this legally? The teachers are not always quick about him getting his make-up work and he is missing out on valuable information. The student in question is a top student at his high school and missing this much time has really put a dent into his soul. Is there any way we can get the administration to provide more evidence of his wrongdoing? As far as I am concerned, the student had only been caught watching a few sexy non-nude videos on youtube and the school records merely indicate that he had somehow accessed pornhub, xvideos, youporn - sites which are often spawned by spyware and the like. My friend believes that the spyware may have popped up these porn videos and would like to argue the case but the administration will not have it.

Anything legal we can do? Or is my friend just stuck between a rock and a hard piece?

Answer:
 >The teachers are not always quick about him getting his make-up work and he is missing out on valuable information. The student in question is a top student at his high school and missing this much time has really put a dent into his soul.

He's a top student, but 8 days suspension is ruining his education (or denting his soul)? He should use this time to practice independent learning, since he'll presumably be in college in a year or two.

As for the suspension, he earned it. Sorry, but the admin doesn't need to provide anymore proof than they already have. He should learn that school property is an inappropriate place to wack off. Answer #2: >The student was able to exit out of the porn

But he was looking at porn, right?

>the student watching sexy videos on youtube of women gyrating and grinding up against dudes at the club

This would get you sacked from many jobs.

>school records merely indicate that he had somehow accessed pornhub, xvideos, youporn

Good grief.


Title: [TX] My teacher is ignoring the fire marshal

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Sounds like you may have a vendetta. I had plenty against my share of science teachers in high school as well (and others). If you use flammable chemicals while wearing a flammable apron it doesn’t matter where you keep them. Keeping them by the door (exit) might not be great, but it’s a relatively small thing. IANAL but I highly doubt she can get in any real trouble for this, just be told to move them back by your administration.


Title: [CA] Lady's dog attacks my dog, doesn't want to pay for anything.

Question:
I'm not sure what I can do at this point, I was standing at a corner outside of my apartment with my dog (15lb Dachshund) when a woman walks past with her dog (~60lb German Shepard) who immediately bites my dog's neck and lifts him chew toy-style.  I eventually got the other dog to let go but not before he was able to tear up my dog's ear. Now, $500 in vet-bills later the woman isn't responding to my texts or phone calls.

Is there anything I could do? Or am I just out of luck.

I could post my text conversation with her if it matters, although it's pretty much just me sending her a photo of the bill and asking her to get in touch with me

Edit: She finally replied

http://i.imgur.com/CGXtKGD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rd5cfta.jpg

Answer: You can sue her in small claims. Send a strongly worded demand letter, certified mail, first. With a copy of the bill.


Title: My girlfriend just answered the phone and it was a "Can you hear me" scam. She didn't know of the scam and said "Yeah" now what?

Answer:
 Uhm? Hang up? Answer #2: When I was a telemarketer for AT&T (back when you got your phone service by plugging a phone into the way and waiting for someone to call it) "Can you here me ok?" was the first line in the script. Not to illicit a "yes" for illegal charges but to start off the pitch "with the customer already agreeing" or so we were told.  If you say "do you have a min?" or "would you like to talk about xyz" you get a no and a hang up. If you say "I'm Steve from AT&T Can you hear me ok?" You get a yes and they listen as you give the pitch.

I say all this to say could've just been a telemarketer.


Title: Is my friends mother lying to me that she cannot get DSS/Section 8 and welfare (In New York).

Question:
I live in New York.

My parents moved out of my childhood home to another home. They decided to rent this 4 bedroom house out to me, my best friend (knew her since i was 6) and her boyfriend. Right before moving in (July 1). My best friend asked if her mother and half-brother (who is 8 years old) could move in temporarily until September. I said yes because I have known this woman since i was 6 and I cant let her go homeless if they truly have no where to go, especially with an 8 year old kid.

I do NOT want them staying here much longer. In fact I didn't even want them here to begin with but I couldnt just let her have no where to live. She does not have a job, nor a car. While she is older (50-52 years old) she is still capable of working. I was told she would get a job and they would move out. No I didnt get any of this in writing, this is my best friend child hood and i didnt want to be awkward asking for signatures or anything written out.  So, September is in a week and I was informed she still has no job, no where to go. She hasnt enrolled this child into school yet ... (deadline was 2 weeks ago I was told). She has no proof she lives at my house yet so im not sure how she plans on enrolling this kid in school ???

Heres where I need help with legal advice. She is not legally divorced to my friends father, and had the 8 year old child with another man. This other man does not have a job, cannot hold a job for some reason. She is on food stamp benefits but has told me she cannot get welfare or housing assistance (DSS/ section 8) because they would first go after the childs father and the husband she is not yet legally divorced to. She said the childs father will go to jail because he cant afford child support. She does not want him to go to jail and they will get her -legal husband- as well. How true is this? Why can she get food stamp benefits but not housing assistance or welfare assistance?

I fully believe she needs welfare because even if she got a job i am not sure how she can support herself and the child since even myself struggle at times and i have lowered rent and i dont have a child.

Answer: So, instead of asking for support from the people responsible, she's expecting you to support her. It's not that she's ineligible (she may be, if she's unwilling to work and still married), but that she's trying to protect these two deadbeats. She's right that they will go after the father for support, as they should.


Title: [Austin Texas] Wife's employer eliminated commission pay without notifying anyone

Question: This question is about my wife's job in Austin, Texas. She works at a florist company as an hourly employee. She gets paid hourly plus a commission based on dollar amount of floral arrangements made. A new employee asked the boss when she would be eligible for receiving the commission, and the boss informed her that they no longer do the commission. Not only for the new girl, but no one will be getting it any longer. They have not notified anybody of this change, and my wife has been working very hard with the understanding that the harder she works the more she would be rewarded with commission. Is this legal for the employer to change (i.e. eliminate) the commission structure without notifying anyone?

Answer: Compensation changes cannot generally take effect without notice. She should file a wage claim for her outstanding commission. It's _possible_ the conversation she had constitutes notice and that she should not expect commission on future sales, though.


Title: Update: Parents are now withholding money that belongs to me

Question:
This is in Ohio. I had posted yesterday about a car that is in my parents name, and my parents having money in a safe that belongs to me. The money is a collection of Christmas/birthday/other gifts from family members.

Now, they are refusing to give that money back to me. They finally told me that there is $2,700 in the safe that is mine. They are saying that I owe them $500 and I owe my grandparents $2,200. I called my grandparents, and they said that I don't owe them any money. My parents claim that I owe them money because when I moved into my new apartment, they purchased a lot of supplies for me. I had asked at the check out when we first bought the stuff if I needed to pay for any of it. My father said that they would just put it all on his credit card. When we got back to the apartment, I asked my father again if I needed to pay them back for anything. He said that he and my mother would discuss it and let me know. I asked my mother if I needed to pay them back, and she said no. A month and a half has passed since then, and we had never discussed it again until now. If I had known beforehand that I was going to have to pay for all of this stuff, I would have returned some of it or bought cheaper versions of certain items. My parents actually argued with me when we were shopping to buy more expensive items. I wanted to get a $10 lamp, they demanded that I get a $40 lamp instead, for example.

Also, I told my parents I wanted to get my birth certificate or other legal documents when I drop their car off on Friday. They told me that I can go get new ones, and they would just destroy the ones that they have. Can they legally do this? Also, a friend told me that I can call the non-emergency police number and ask that an officer accompanies me to get legal documents like that. Is that really an option?

Do I actually owe them this money? Can they come back and claim that I owe them the amount that they paid in insurance or phone bills since I've turned 18? I'm about 19 and a half now, if that helps. My parents are also in the process of cutting me off financially, which they told me about yesterday. They have never told me that I need to pay them back for any insurance/phone/car payments either.

I don't know who to call or what to do. I'd appreciate any advice you have, and there is really no way to "reason" with my parents. They are doing this stuff because they want to try and get me to move back in with them instead of living on my own. They're trying to make it as difficult as possible for me to survive without them.

Answer:
 If your parents say you owe $2200 to your grandparents, and your grandparents say you don't, and your parents have the $2200 in their possession, why not simply have your grandparents collect what they're "owed" and then give it to you?Answer #2: a friend told me that I can call the non-emergency police number and ask that an officer accompanies me to get legal documents like that. Is that really an option?

Yes, although it may not work.Answer #3: NAL but I can tell you what I did when my folks did this to me - I let it go.  Sucks to give up any $ when you need it, but get out from under their thumb in every way you can.  There's no way they can come after you for phone bills etc other than to cut you off, and they're already doing that - so let them.

Maybe ask your grandparents to reason with your folks if they're willing, but otherwise - go live your life and let your crazy parents be crazy on their lonesome.Answer #4: Apologies if someone else said this and I missed it.

If you haven't already, please close your joint account with your parents and open a new account with a different bank or credit union.  Even if you 'removed' them from the accout, better safe than sorry.


Title: What is circumstantial evidence?

Question: I don't really understand what it is. I looked it up, and it says evidence that requires an inference. But doesn't all evidence require evidence? Even saying the sun will rise tomorrow requires inference (induction). Hell, even saying the cup in front of me exists requires inference (that the real world can be perceived by the senses). So what is circumstantial evidence and where is the line? Thanks

Answer:
 **Direct Evidence** - There's a video showing you shooting the victim dead.

**Circumstantial evidence** - Your credit card receipts show you made a purchase in the area of the shooting at or around the time that it happened.  The bullet from the victim matches the caliber of a gun registered to you.  That gun is coincidentally missing from your residence.  Also, neighbors overheard an argument between you and the victim recently where you shouted "Next time I see you, you're a dead man!"


Title: Got hit with a stick in the neck by an old man while I was on my bike.

Question:
Just as the title says I got his with the stick by an old man while I was on my bike.

This is on a route which I regularly take. The day before the incident I remember him walking in the middle of the path towards me. I moved my bike off the path and gave about 60cm of space between the handle bars of my bake at him.  He just kept walking straight and I just went around him.

On the day of the incident same story. I move off the path onto the grass a bit to go around him and he's walking in the middle of the path carrying a stick in his hand. I don't think anything of it, however as I was riding past he swung it at me. I think the stick rebounded off the side my helmet and then hit me in the neck but I'm not sure.  As I went past him I thought in my head did that really just happen, and looked back at him. He had his head turned yelling something at me. I just kept riding because I did not have very much time during the incident.

Both times I rode past him I was doing about 20km an hour, and sure I guess the distance I gave could be too close for some people,  but he had space and time to move more to the side of the path if he did not like how close I was approaching.

So what should I do from here?

Answer: you could file a police report for assualt, but if you don't know any information about this man, it would be hard for that to go anywhere. if it happened in a residential area, it's possible the man lives there and if you give police a description they may investigate


Title: Neighbor consistently parks in the communal driveway

Question: (Pennsylvania) A neighbor of mine parks his big suv off to the side of a communal driveway, blocking off half of the already narrow driveway. This leaves a space of maybe a foot or two clearance for cars to get past him. I have nearly run into his car dozens of times and once i lightly grazed his turned tire. Is there anything I can do to force him to stop doing this? I have asked him to stop only to be told that “this is how i’ve been parking for 15 years” as an excuse.

Answer:
 We need pictures or a drawing ( preferably done with mspaint )Answer #2: How is the driveway owned?  Do you both own it(HOA type ownership)?  Is it an easement?  Is it just run down the dead middle of the property line?

If it's an easement, then you can have a lawyer send a cease and desist that his use of the driveway is impairing your reasonable use of it.

If it's just straddling the property line, then, provided he parks 100% on his side then there isn't much you can do.  You can put a fence down the middle, but that would effectively remove the driveway from both of you.


Title: My parents are trying to sue a family after death, I need to know what I can talk about (more in description)

Question:
My parents are trying to sue after a kid drove my brother to kill himself. They are going for a few charges that i forget.

My parents asked my help in trying to prove that the kid is a bully and want me to talk around and get people to testify that he is a bully I guess.

The problem is, I don't know what I am able to say about how the situation with people that wouldn't be considered public slander or giving out too much info on an ongoing thing.

I'm only a teenager, so I have no idea of the boundaries for these kinds of things.

My question, I hiess, is what can I say about this to people, and what is crossing the line? (In PA)

Answer: For something like this your family needs a lawyer.  Part of the lawyers job will be talking to potential witnesses, figuring out which ones have valuable information and would be willing to testify in court.  That isn't anything that a teenager should be doing.  Answer #2: Your parents are having a difficult time dealing with your brothers death. It is far easier for them to spend time energy and money on pursuing who they perceive to be the villain in this rather than dealing with their own grief and they and your brothers role in his death. I cannot fathom their grief. But they have another child to take care of and they are not doing that. Tell them you want no involvement in this and never want to talk about it. If they insist, ask if they will go to family counseling with you. Please don't let yourself get pulled into this. It's a dark path that leads only to more sorrow. The chance of successfully suing a "bully" and having them held for someone's suicide is extremely small. If they won't worry about your mental health you have to. Save yourself. Say no. Good luck kid.


Title: Bank mishandled money and now I'm broke/owe them over $300

Question:
Hi, I am from Greensboro, North Carolina. I bank with Wells Fargo. On 7/20, I received an email that a check for $541.74 had been bounced after being deposited into my checking account. I had no clue where this money had come from, and was very confused. In the process of the check bouncing, it had taken all of the money out of the account, since it was less than the amount that had tried to be deposited. The next morning, I called the bank and explained the situation, they told me they would file a claim since I was not the recipient of the check and was not at all at fault in this scenario. Despite telling me I would hear back from the claims office that day, four days later, I have heard nothing. The day after filing the claim, I called the bank again to try and get any info I could on the check that had falsely been deposited into my account. I figured out the check belonged to a man with the same name as me in Voorhees, New Jersey, who I assume also banks with Wells Fargo. I called the bank yet a third time and told them all of the information I had gathered, and yet still nothing has been done to remedy this situation. I am at my wit's end here. I'm a poor college student and cannot afford the $300 in overdraft fees the bank has falsely charged me with. The bank is entirely at fault here and they have done nothing for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

tl;dr - bank fucked up, deposited a check that didn't belong to me in my account, check bounced, taking all my money and then some.

Edit: the $541.74 was never deposited into my account, I was mistaken. However, I was withdrawn that amount, leading to the overdraft fees. I could not have spent any of the money, and I would appreciate any accusations that I did spend that money stay elsewhere.

Answer:
 It sounds like this happened:  /u/Hk_MaRth has an account. There's also a !Hk_MaRth out there. !Hk_MaRth deposits a check. Check gets presented to writer's bank. Check bounces. Wells Fargo has to remove the $500+ from !Hk_MaRth's account. /u/Hk_MaRth's account gets pulled up instead, the $500+ gets withdrawn from the wrong account, and /u/Hk_MaRth gets dinged with fees.

The bank SHOULD have a copy of the bounced check. They should compare that to OP's account, paying attention to the account number rather than the name.

This **should** be an easy fix.Answer #2: Keep working with them. Go in person to a local branch.

Edit: wait a sec. Was the check initially deposited into your account? And if so, did you spend it?Answer #3: Lawyer in NC here.  If the Bank doesn't fix this first thing Monday morning, call the NC Banking Commission and report this.  http://www.nccob.gov/Public/AboutUs/AboutContact.aspx


Title: DIP with serious record... Am I going back to jail?

Question: Several years ago in CA I recieved a conviction of two counts of attempted armed robbery for the same incident, and also recieved two violent strikes. I did my time and completed my probation without any issues. Last week I recieved a DIP in front of a bar after a verbal dispute with another customer. I was held in a cell overnight, then released with a call to go back to court in 5 weeks. Anyone have an idea of how seriously this may be taken with my record having the two strikes? I am afraid of having to do time again for something so stupid and losing my jobs and place of residence. Any advice is greatly appriated. And no, I definitely cannot afford a lawyer at this point... Thank you

Answer: I believe the California 3 strikes law only applies to felonies, which a Drunk In Public charge shouldn't be.   That said, a judge is more likely to give you the higher-end of allowable penalties for a DIP given your prior record. So, for instance, if DIP provides for a fine or short period of jail time, you're more likely to get jail time than a first time offender with a clean record.


Title: I was hospitalized for 6 days for a major depressive episode. My company fired me after and refuses to give me a reason why. Is this legal?

Question:
I was placed on a medical leave of absence during my stay in the hospital. After spending 6 days there, I was released. My boss told me that he would like to extend my LOA for another week, which I agreed to.

The day before I was supposed to return to work, he called me and notified me that I was being let go. I asked for a reason and he would not give one.

To me this seems illegal since it appears I am being fired for a disability.  My job performance was satisfactory at the least and I never once even received a talking to about my performance.

EDIT: Location: Colorado, USA

Answer: How long had you worked there?  How big is the employer--as in how many employees?


Title: Scammed by seemingly legit online store

Question:
Minnesota, USA.

I ordered a hoodie from an online shop called themeowshop. I was pretty excited about it, it has a pocket that cradles your cat.

Anyway, AFTER processing credit card information, the website informs you delivery time is 2-4 weeks. It was a birthday gift and I didn't have that much time to wait, so I emailed their "contact us" address and asked for the charges to be reversed/order cancelled (as there was no given protocol for cancelling orders within their actual site).

It's now been well over two months and the charges were never reversed, the product was never sent, and none of my five emails were responded to. Do I have any recourse in this? Or is it completely legal to just take money from people online?

Answer: Do a charge back on your credit card


Title: [CA] How can I control what is done in case of my death?

Question:
If I happen to die before my parents I want to be able to have a say in what happens with my body and the proceedings. I am not interested in my possessions since I don't really have anything of value. I want to be able to state that I want to be cremated and want no visitations or whatever it is called, I don't want any official religious ceremony taking place or any of that. Is there a way I can control this?
I am only asking because a family member died recently and they had a very typical Catholic funeral/visitation/etc and I realized I want nothing to do with that.

Answer: You can't stop people from holding a funeral or any type of gathering. People can gather for any reason they want to. They may not be able to get your remains but you can't stop them from having a service however they want to have one. Answer #2: If you're dead, you probably won't care


Title: [FL][URGENT]Money being stolen from bank account.

Question:
This is a follow up from a [later post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4lb6q4/gave_out_my_social_to_a_fake_email_what_do_i_do/) I cannot find. I fell for a fraud paypal email and gave my social, credit card, address, name, and probably more. I put a freeze on my accounts and a fraud alert with the 3 biggies. Now I checked and on my mobile bank app, money is being taken from my bank account. I cancelled the credit card. Not sure how to proceed. Would appreciate advice.

Also, I have no idea how they are getting access. I only gave a credit card number. Any ideas?

Update: Cancelled my debit.

Answer: Does your bank have a 24/7 fraud line? Check on the back of your card. Answer #2: Have you contacted the police and reported the fraud?


Title: Panama Papers Megathread

Question:
All legal questions and discussion about the Mossack Fonseca leak should be concentrated in this thread. All other posts on the topic will be removed.

For those unaware:

[Explanation from the Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-panama-papers)

[ICIJ Link](https://panamapapers.icij.org/)

[Explanation from /r/explainlikeimfive](https://np.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4d8rta/eli5_the_panama_papers/d1owxn5)

Answer:
 It's worth mentioning that there are plenty of legitimate reasons for companies and individuals to set up and maintain entities like these and it's likely that the vast majority of them were not violating any laws.

It's also worth noting that 99% of the discussion elsewhere on Reddit about this is a bunch of bullshit people screaming about scammers and 1%ers and other buzzwords without really understanding what the hell they are talking about. Answer #2: I had an itch for a mega thread. My pharmacist gave me something, but this is better. You are the best, Beer.


Title: Paid Deposit on Apartment

Question:
Hey guys, so this all took place in MA, where I know  renters rights are pretty robust. Here’s the timeline:

1.Find apartment listing on Zillow
2. Contact the agent and set up time to see in person
3. Visit the apartment and decide it’s suitable
4. My girlfriend and I each fill out an application (important to note that this was a very basic application and nowhere on the piece of paper did I say anything about fees)
5. Agent gets back to us a day later and says we are approved
6. Agent requests deposit to take the apartment off the market
7. Day before we are supposed to move in, gf and I decided we aren’t ready to sign on the dotted line (disregard this part it’s our own personal issues)
8. Request our deposit back, which was one whole months rent
9. Agent says he can’t return the deposit until he has found another tenant and will deduct money for damages to the owner for having to put it back on the market

Now bear in mind, the agent never delivered a lease for us to sign, as he was going to bring it to the apartment at the time of move in and would hand off keys as well. It just seems weird to me that this guy can hold onto our money when there was never anything in writing that specified the terms. Also, this all happened over the course of 3 days, so it moved pretty quickly and it mostly just seems scummy for this person to keep our money when he literally did nothing.

Answer:
 That's standard deposit procedure. In fact, that's the point of the deposit.

Perfectly normal how they are handing it. Be glad that you even have a chance to get it back, most of the time deposits are nonrefundable.


Title: How do I got about talking to my potential new employer about ADA accommodations?

Question: I’m considering starting a new job, but i’m bipolar and have PTSD so I need some accommodations (mostly time off to see my psychiatrist). I live in a right to work state, so I am concerned that if I tell my new employer I need the accommodations they’ll just refuse to hire me. How do I go about letting my potential new employer know that I need the accommodations?

Answer: Bring a letter from your doctor stating you have a disability, (it does not to say what kind of disability) and the accommodation that you need.  How much time off are you asking for?


Title: Teacher wouldn't let the whole class sit until project was finished.

Question:
Walked into class today and my teacher had all the chairs stacked and against the wall. She said we would get our sitting privileges back when we finished our projects (they are due the end of today). Apparently the last class was misbehaving so she decided to do this to us? Anyways could I report this somewhere or is she allowed to do this? It just felt really wrong.
(Nevada)
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: You can complain to the administration. This isn't a legal issue, it's a school and class policy issue.


Title: What constitutes a "unit" as it relates to the Chicago RLTO? [Chicago, IL]

Question:
The Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance has specific exemptions for

>Dwelling units in owner-occupied building containing six **units** or less (emphasis added)

I have a complaint to bring that would be open-and-shut in small claims if the RLTO applies, but I'm unsure of how to find out if it does. The building in question has three distinct floors, but each of them is occupied by multiple tenants (for a total of 8 tenancies).

* each tenant has an individual lease
* each lease is specifically for a bedroom and ensuite bathroom, which a clause allowing for usage of the "common areas" of kitchen and laundry
* tenants moved in at different times, moved out at different times, and found the rental independent of one another (in fact, they did not know each other before the rental)
* each tenant paid their own security deposits

On the other hand:

* the bedroom + ensuite doors only had those flimsy "locks" that you might have on a bedroom in your house, not those you would expect for a door intended to be an individual unit
* tenants used the same address on mail as one another, not breaking out units beyond floors
* similar buildings and floorplans in the neighborhood sell the entire floors as single units, not breaking them up into suites

My main question: is a bedroom + ensuite bathroom itself considered a "unit" for the purposes of the RLTO, and/or where can I read some cases about this previously?

I'm hoping there's some clear case law here, otherwise I'm going to be for a fun time proving the unit is *not* owner-occupied and might just try to settle instead.

Answer: This arrangement is called a "single room occupancy" if I am understanding you right. I don't know how Chicago is going to treat them, but that's the key phrase. A quick perusal of old HUD docs suggests that each individually occupied room would be a "unit."