texts: Why's it nonsense that a contractual variation is enforceable if the other side’s obligations are altered trivially, but not otherwise?

texts:
What exactly does  otherwise mean? What are the other wises? wise means manner/extent.

O'Sullivan & Hilliard's The Law of Contract (2018 8 ed). p 106.

  5.55 Furthermore, there are several more general problems with the decision in [Roffey]:

  • Fear of duress might not be the only reason for the rule in Stilk v Myrick: it may
  also operate to encourage parties to price their contracts properly in advance.
  As O’Sullivan (1996) points out: ‘Why should any contractor bother to estimate
  his price accurately or supervise his staff, now that the law is willing to treat his

p 107.

  difficulties in performing his contractual obligations as a sufficient “reason” for
  enforcing a subsequent promise to pay him more than the contract price?’

  • Those who criticise a consideration requirement in this context point out that many
  contracts, rather than embodying a one-off transaction, are in fact long-term relational
  arrangements, which must be allowed to develop with the parties’ relationship
  over time. In such cases, the requirement of consideration for each variation
  is unrealistic and, it is said, should be modified to meet commercial reality. One
  response is to say that, if properly drafted, such relational contracts can contain
  their own mechanism for alteration over time (like a rent review clause in a long
  commercial lease). But more fundamentally, of course, the point is that Roffey was
  not such a contract anyway—it was a one-off job for a price.

  • Commercial parties need certainty. Supporters of the Roffey approach say that it is
  nonsense that a contractual variation is enforceable if the other side’s obligations
  are altered in a trivial way, but not otherwise. But that is at least a fairly straightforward
  way of making the variation work, allowing for clear legal advice at the
  time and thus avoiding litigation later.

  • Finally, it should be noted that those who advocate the abolition of consideration
  for contractual variation do not necessarily agree with the approach in Roffey that
  practical benefit suffices for consideration. For example, the New Zealand Court
  of Appeal has since gone further and decided that contractual variations, once
  relied on, do not need consideration at all (see Antons Trawling Co Ltd v Smith
  (2003), noted by Coote (2004)).


texts: How do laws affect photography of non-humans in public when people may be in the frame?

texts:
Given that this is taking place in a public area where one would not have an expectation of privacy, what legal restrictions exist on photography of people where they are not the subject of the photograph?

For instance, say that I am taking a photograph of a popular statue, and people happen to be in the frame? Assume this is in Australia; New south Wales, specifically, but I am interested in answers for other states also.


texts: Can I sue a company in another country in small claims court?

texts: I live in NY State. I bought a skype type language course on line. The salesman who sold me the course said I could pay monthly and stop anytime I liked, even thought the course had a one year duration. After 3 months I tried to stop and they billed my credit card for the full fee, an additional $666.  My credit card company has been no help.  The credit card company say the agreement with the course vendor says I must pay for the full year. The verbal statement of the salesman is not controlling.  I am quite unhappy with the credit card company, but my question is: can I sue the vendor of the language course in small claims court in NY?


texts: Is there any way of having sex without risking jail in the United States?

texts:
I recently read a story about a 19 years old boy sentenced to jail and to be registered as a sex offender for 25 years for having sex with a 14 year old girl who lied about her age. The girl and her mother testified on behalf of the accused, saying that the sex was consensual and that she told him she was 17. Unfortunately, that didn't matter.

I read that if she showed him a fake ID so well done it's impossible to discern from a real ID, that wouldn't have mattered either. I also read that even with notarised written statements you will still be found guilty. (Curiously enough the reverse, ie propositioning sex to a person who is over the age of consent but lies saying they're younger, is also illegal)

Radiocarbon dating for samples less than 100 years old is so unreliable it's basically useless. Even if the person looks very old, there are certain diseases that cause rapid ageing so they potentially are underage.

With all that in mind, is there any way to have sex on US soil without running the risk of being labeled a sex offender?


texts: Retaining maximum free/open-source freedoms in a software license except for source redistribution

texts:
There are several free/open-source licenses (e.g. GPLv3, Apache 2.0, MIT) that allow several freedoms to the user of a software.
Generally if you grant access to an individual to use software under one of these licenses, you essentially grant the entire world access to that software under that license, because these licenses permit re-distribution of the software under the same terms by the licensee.
I wanted to know if there also exist standard software licenses which retain most freedoms of such software licenses (freedom to use the software for commercial purpose, patent grants, freedom to modify the code (and in some cases freedom to distribute modified code under a different license)), but with the re-distribution restricted.
The purpose of such a license would be to give the copyright owner the exclusive power of allowing/disallowing use of the software to a licensee. Or are licenses not the correct legal tool for enforcing this?


texts: If an employer overpays salary, how long do they have to take action to be rectify the mistake?

texts:
The BBC reported that army helicopter pilots were over paid, and that the Ministry of Defence is aiming to recoup the over payments.

What surprised me is the length of time between over payment and action from the Ministry of Defence:

  A freedom of information request showed £829,000 in overpayments had been made to 210 pilots between 2007 and 2013, because of the administrative mistake.

In cases where over payment has happened, how long does an employer have to recoup the payment before that money becomes the employees?

Source: Army helicopter pilots quit in overpayment row


texts: Can I use the sound files, generated by the Google Cloud Text-to-Speech freely?

texts:
Google sells access to their TTS service at https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/. They advertise that you can use it for free, if you use less than 4 million letters (1 million for WaveNet voices).

I couldn't find any information regarding the license terms of the generated audio files. So, what may I do with the generated sound files? I mean often you need the same sounds again and again. May I cache the sound files?  May I play them to the public? Redistribute them with my app? Offer them as a download? Sell them?

To use the TTS service you have to accept the Google Cloud Platform Terms of Service (https://console.cloud.google.com/tos?id=cloud). I think the most relevant part is the following section:

  5.1 Intellectual Property Rights. Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, this Agreement does not grant either party any rights,
  implied or otherwise, to the other’s content or any of the other’s
  intellectual property. As between the parties, Customer owns all
  Intellectual Property Rights in Customer Data and the Application or
  Project (if applicable), and Google owns all Intellectual Property
  Rights in the Services and Software.


texts: Failing to mention when questioned something you later rely on in court

texts:
If you are arrested in the UK, you'll hear that your rights include a rider inserted by the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, after "you do not have to say anything":

  But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.

In common with, I think, many British laymen, I have never understood the justification for this change, and have only ever seen it as vaguely threatening and a non-specific erosion of civil liberties. At the same time, I'm not really sure what specific sort of abuse I have to fear from it.

Can anyone provide me with understandable, concrete examples of

Why (if at all) I should be thankful that this clause exists? i.e., What kind of criminal act might a criminal get away with if this rider weren't there?
What I have to fear? i.e., (a) What's the worst that might happen to a distrusting but innocent person who is wrongfully arrested and decides to say nothing? (b) How might the negative consequences have been avoided by saying something? (c) What additional risks are entailed in opening one's mouth in this situation, and how can they be minimized?

EDIT: having read Nate's interpretation and Dawn's comments, I can re-frame the question more specifically.  Either A: there was a simultaneous change in the way a suspect's silence could be used or interpreted in an English/Welsh court (away from the US model in which prosecutors cannot even draw attention to it), and the change in wording reflects this erosion of civil liberties;  or B: both before and after the Criminal Justice Act, silence could always harm your defense, and the change in wording is an entirely benevolent attempt to warn people of this fact. Can anyone tell me which is the case?


texts: Do the designs of cakes fall under intellectual property law (e.g. copyright) in the USA?

texts:
Following on from the question Was Trump's Inauguration Cake plagiarized?:

Do the designs of cakes (incorporating factors such size, shape, colour and decoration) fall under intellectual property law (e.g. copyright) in the USA?


texts: Can a company read another company's software tool configuration files?

texts:
We are a small software consultancy. Several of our existing clients are unhappy with one of companies they have licensed software from (CompanyX) because that company started abusing their majority market position by increasing the prices significantly across the customer base.
Our customers are asking us if we would be able to help migrate their existing assets from the tool they currently use from CompanyX to a new tool either opensource or another commercial offering.
They are happy to share the CompanyX tool configuration files with us for the product they currently use, they hope we can analyse them and automatically migrate to a format compatible with other commercial or open source tools.
The CompanyX tool they use stores its configuration in a number of JSON files that are ZIP-ed up into one master-configuration file. Those JSON files contain instructions for the CompanyX software tool to perform certain tasks. The JSON files contain instruction and variable names that are abbreviations of the functions they represent. It is not a documented format, CompanyX does not disclose the schema of those JSON files. So we only would have samples provided by our clients.

Is it OK to extract those CompanyX ZIP configuration files and analyse the JSON files with a script to help our clients understand the scope of the migration project they are looking at?
Is it OK to create an automated migrator script that unzips those CompanyX ZIP files, inspects the JSON configuration files and translates them to a format that is readable by opensource tools and/or other commercial tools?
What are the risks we face when embarking on this journey?

We are a company based in the UK. Our clients are in different countries in Europe and US. CompanyX is based in the US.


texts: If Grandma were to get hit by a magical flying reindeer within the 50 US states, where could Grandpa file a civil suit?

texts: Suppose "Santa" enjoys no special immunity from civil prosecution on any level. One Christmas Eve, he lands in the wrong spot and injures Grandma. Of course, Santa later flees the scene to continue his journey. After the county, state and federal courts reconvene, Grandpa (or his lawyer) gets to work on collecting evidence and filing paperwork for a lawsuit against Santa. On what level(s) will jurisdiction over the case lie?


texts: Can it be judicial misconduct to not rebut arguments of losing party?

texts:
Bob sues Rob in a civil court (adversarial system).

Bob contends:

  I am right and Rob is wrong because of A.

Rob defends:

  No, A does not apply because of X.

Bob replies:

  No way. X does not stand because of B. Therefore, A still applies.

The judge says:

  I accept Rob's contention that A does not apply because of X. Bob has no case.

That said, the judge does not rebut or even talk about Bob's B (which negates Rob's X in Bob's view). It is known that Bob's reply was admitted and the judge definitely has seen it — it is not the case that it was dismissed for procedural reasons like late filing or whatever.

Where rights of appeal are not available for whatever reason (procedure-specific statutory prohibition, or the court already being the top court), are there any other remedies for Bob e.g. a claim of judicial misconduct?


texts: Can a mayor or a Common Council issue a temporary no trespassing order at an unsafe location?

texts:
Related question: How is an area deemed unsafe and needing to be cordoned off?

An individual property owner can set up No Trespassing signs at the required intervals, and then law enforcement can prosecute people for ignoring those signs.  But what about a municipality?  In this case, it's a city in the state of New York.  Can the mayor decide that a particular area is unsafe, and order that No Trespassing signs be put up?  Can the legislative body (in this case, a Common Council) issue such an order?

I realize that the Common Council can alter the City Code but that takes time -- there needs to be a public hearing, etc.  I'm talking about a short-term solution.

I spoke with the head of the local station of the state police, and he said that if the City put up such signs, and notified the state police with a jurat (i.e. in writing, with the required legal language), then they would do the enforcement.


texts: Are new editions of public domain works with minor edits copyrighted?

texts:
Let's say I want to copy/use a book published 200 years ago. It's definitely in the public domain. Someone publishes a new version of the book (the original copyright holder, if that matters). The new edition is exactly the same but with some grammatical corrections. Can I use a copy of this new edition - or do the grammatical changes and updates make it a new copyrighted work?

I know if I could obtain a copy of the old version it would be in the public domain.


texts: Proving the contents of an item delivered via post

texts:
I have recently sold an item online of a moderate value (~$5k USD) that now must be delivered to the buyer. Short of personally delivering the item or using a neutral third party, I must rely on a parcel carrier.

Let's assume that the method of payment is one that carries a money-back guarantee for the buyer to ensure that the item is delivered. An unscrupulous buyer could easily invoke this guarantee and receive a refund while keeping the item. Perhaps they would claim that a box was delivered which contained nothing but junk weighing the same as the real product.

I've spent a while trying to decide how best to protect myself as a seller from this kind of situation. While I ultimately decided that it's a pointless exercise and there will be some measure of risk involved, I'm still curious as to what lengths someone would need to go to in order to prove that they mailed a specific item instead of a bag of rocks. Would we need a continuous video of the item being packaged inside of a shipping facility? Is it impossible to guarantee something like this short of a special lockbox with a one-time use code which is set by the buyer?

My question is similar to [this one]How to prove a party received a specific letter? but that question deals with a case where the letter is incidental to the case at hand. My question places the contents of a package as the core argument between two parties.


texts: Are there surveys on the share of class action settlement that actually goes to the plaintiffs?

texts: I am interested in links to scholarly papers with actual comprehensive and preferably up-to-date statistics. I have done some search on Google Scholar but failed to find wide-ranging surveys (the ones I found were either very old (1980) or narrow, dealing with security class action suits (from 2002)).


texts: Do I have to pay for a drink if a vendor cannot accept payment?

texts:
Recently I was served a drink at the pub where I intended to pay by debit card and had no alternative payment method available (e.g. cash).

The card reader was faulty and I consumed my drink whilst the barman was attempting to fix the reader. Consumption of the drink before payment was with the barman's consent.

In the end, the card reader was fixed, but if the vendor cannot accept payment for a non-returnable product and the consumer intended to pay, then is the payment waived and the product free?


texts: Would it be illegal to upload the source code of a computer virus I developed?

texts: If I upload source code of a virus I have developed so that the larger software community could benefit from developing solutions to tackle the virus, and if somebody else uses my source code to harm other people, am I liable?


texts: Bail conditions - check in with a probation officer?

texts: If a person is out on bail, is a possible bail condition for them to check in with a probation officer? Or what is the title of the official individual who makes sure bail conditions are continuing to be met?


texts: Who is rightful owner of Gmail personal email account?

texts:
I had created a Gmail account for office use by providing my credentials (first owner). After quitting job, still I am using this account for my use. My ex boss demanded me to handover said account to company immediately. He called me a hacker.

Does my former employer have any right to this Gmail account?


texts: Official dictionary of the U.S. judiciary system?

texts: Someone recently mentioned the "plain meaning" rule in one of my questions about statutory interpretation. Is there an official dictionary - like Merriam-Webster - that judges are supposed to rely on? Or do we assume that any of the leading publishers of dictionaries have essentially identical definitions?


texts: Can a franchise owner avoid paying overtime by splitting employees between locations?

texts:
(Based on this question from workplace.SE)

Can a fast food franchise owner avoid paying overtime by splitting employees between two nearby locations, say 20 hours at location A, and 25 hours at location B?

Would it matter if the locations were different restaurants? Or if one location was an entirely different kind of business (a dry cleaner)?

Would it depend on how exactly the franchises were incorporated or something?


texts: Is there a legal reason why Erica Johnson-Seck wasn't criminally prosecuted for fraud or forgery?

texts:
David Dayen writes in the New Republic:

  OneWest accomplished these foreclosures through fraud. Erica Johnson-Seck, a vice president of foreclosure and bankruptcy for OneWest, explained in a July 2009 deposition that she “robo-signed” 6,000 foreclosure-related documents per week, spending just 30 seconds on each sworn affidavit that attested to the veracity of all relevant information in the case. Johnson-Seck admitted to not reading the documents before signing them, to not knowing how the records were generated, and to not signing in the presence of a notary, all of which made the affidavits she signed false evidence in court.

As a layperson it seems to me like there are laws against giving false sworn evidence at court. Those laws that call for criminal punishment when a person breaks it. Is there a legal reason why Erica Johnson-Seck and similar bank officials who engage in those practices haven't faced criminal prosecutions?


texts:
Why there is no chapter 8 bankruptcy?
I am a novice in law with no background in legal studies, but in business news, companies file for chapter 7 or chapter 11 bankruptcy. I am wondering what are these chapters and what is chapter 8, why only chapter 7 and 11 deals with business bankruptcy?


texts: Will the Iran nuclear agreement become a treaty if passed?

texts:
United States.

Question

  Will the agreement between the United States and Iran regarding their nuclear program become a U.S. treaty if passed by a simple majority of Congress?

My understanding is that a treaty requires a 2/3 approval by the Senate. But has the "Corker bill" (or anything else) changed that to make the Iran agreement have the effect of a treaty if it's passed by a simple majority?

If so, how was that accomplished given the constitutional requirement for a treaty and the constitutional requirement for amendments to the constitution?


texts: Under what rule do bills etc. die (US Congress)?

texts:
It is generally accepted that when a bill (for example) is introduced in one house of Congress, it must be approved by both houses before that Congress adjourns. A bill approved by one house cannot be carried over for approval by the other house across congressional terms. The Constitution does not overtly mandate this (unless the mandate is very subtle).

Is there an "official" mechanism encoding this result? For example a statute passed into law at some point; rules of the House and Senate that declare this; or some SCOTUS ruling that mandates this as a result of the common law? Or is this just one of those "it's how we've always done it" things?


texts: Can "positive news coverage" be considered a "thing of value" in a bribery case? Has it ever been prosecuted in the US before?

texts:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing several corruption charges. It's a complex, multi-faceted case, but at the heart of the indictment, is a bribery charge involving "positive news coverage" in exchange for lucrative regulatory concessions.

The indictment purports that Netanyahu offered Shaul Elovitch, a wealthy Israeli businessman, regulatory concessions for his telecom company worth 500 million dollars in exchange for "positive news coverage" from Elovitch's other media companies.

However, members of Netanyahu's government blasted Israel's Attorney General for bringing forth bribery charges that they call "impossible" and "unprecedented in the history of western democracy." They claim that "positive news coverage" can't be considered a "thing of value" and has never been brought forth as such in the US or other similar legal systems. Is that an accurate assessment? If the Israeli prosecution can show that said "positive news coverage" was systemic, far-reaching, and out of character for the media companies involved, can that constitute "a thing of value" even though no money was actually exchanged? The prosecution will claim as part of their case that Netanyahu is obsessed with his image in the media and that in 2020, "positive media coverage" can and does amount to a "thing of value."

Has such a case ever been prosecuted in the U.S. or any other western democracy?


texts: Can a governing body be held accountable for defamatory statements?

texts:
San Francisco just passed a resolution declaring the NRA to be a domestic terrorist organization. Agree or disagree with the NRA, it can hardly be defined as a domestic terrorist organization, at least not as defined under federal law:

  (5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—

  (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the
  criminal laws of the United States or of any State;

  (B) appear to be intended—

  (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

  (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or
  coercion; or

  (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction,
  assassination, or kidnapping; and

  (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United
  States;

1) Can a resolution passed by a governing body be defamatory?

2) If it can be defamatory, is there legal recourse for the organization or its members?


texts: In the Allied movie, was the order to the officer to kill spying wife a legal fact or fiction?

texts:
In the World War II era film Allied (Paramount Pictures, 2016), Canadian RAF airman Max Vatan (played by Brad Pitt) is informed by his superiors that the British military code requires him to quickly execute his wife Marianne Beausejour (played by Marion Cotillard) if it is confirmed she is spying for the Germans, or face execution himself.

Is this twist in the film based on actual legal fact in the British military code (at least at the time) or is it just cinematic fiction?


texts:
This question is the counterpart to Tax law and freelancing as a side-job in Germany.

What are the laws concerning hiring a freelancer for a short project (for example an international freelancer through an Internet platform like UpWork) in Germany? What kind of contract should be formed and what kind of taxes are involved (on the part of the "buyer"?


texts: Do the HIPAA regulations in the United States prevent medical providers from disclosing relevant health information on patient A to patient B?

texts:
If a medical provider is aware of some health information on patient A that can affect patient B, do the HIPAA regulations still prevent the medical provider from conveying that information to patient B?

For example, if patient A is patient B's father, and patient A has some genetic disorder that may impact patient B and that is known to the medical provider, do the HIPAA regulations prevent the medical provider from disclosing that information to patient B?

This issue has recently been raised in the United Kingdom:  Legal action over non-disclosure of father’s Huntington’s disease could lead to huge changes in patient confidentiality (mirror)


texts:
I am quite confused as to the protection that a provisional patent offers in Australia. Does a provisional patent offer the same protection as a complete patent? Is it necessary to have a patent attorney submit a provisional patent or can this be done by someone with little knowledge of patent law (the innovator)?
I ask because I would like to spend money sparingly and not hire an attorney just yet, but feel like my interpretation of a provisional patent might be too good to be true.


texts: Nashville Protest Felony Legislation Can't Possibly be Legal, Right?

texts: Tennessee passed some legislation yesterday in what appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to come down hard on protestors in the capitol. The most notable is that it is now a felony (with severe penalties) to erect a tent on state property between the hours of 10PM and 7AM. Is there any mechanism to prevent the legislation of arbitrarily severe punishments for crimes like this or is there precedent for overturning something like this in the court system?


texts:
We were in an apartment in Canada for two years. Unfortunately, due to my visa status, I had to leave the apartment in a very short notice (1 month).
The landlord agreed to use my caution deposit to clean the apartment and give me the remaining. Hence, after leaving Canada I requested him to give the bill and the remaining amount. This is when I received a threatening mail from his partner, that they were disgusted by the state of our apartment. He is threatening to sue us... He claims that we have destroyed the apartment... but the only problem we are aware of is that we left some of clothes in the apartment (our intention was to donate them and was hoping to request our landlord to do it on our behalf), as we couldn't trash them in the last minute (the garbage bins they gave was full and it is not possible for us to put them in a public bin). Other than that the only issue we were aware of is that handle in the refrigerator with a worn out thread. It was a recurring issue, which was "fixed" once by the landlord.

Honestly, if have had a few more days, we would have tried to leave the apartment in a better state. Cleaning was especially difficult with a crawler on tow and the landlords visiting our place as often as possible to show it to other potential clients.

Now we have left Canada and he is threatening us. Has anyone been in such a position? Could anyone advise me?


texts: Is a mall considered a "public place" for copyright purposes?

texts:
I understand that if I want to take a picture of an area for commercial use, I am beholden to copyright laws.
As per 17 US 120,

The copyright in an architectural work that has been constructed does not include the right to prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the work, if the building in which the work is embodied is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place.

The inside of a mall is an open space, but it is privately owned. Is it considered a "public place" by this definition?


texts: Landlord responsibility to replace locks after possible break-in

texts:
I just received word from my flatmate about a possible break-in. The building is secured by an outermost door, behind which lie doors to our flat and one other. These doors are also kept locked, but today my flatmate returned home to find our flat's door open without sign of forced entry.

We have only started to move in very recently and are still moving things between properties. The property in question is managed by an estate agent.

Do we have any legal grounding for demanding that the locks be replaced and room keys provided? (We were not supplied with individual room keys despite the doors coming with locks).

EDIT: Following confirmation from someone living in the other flat, my flatmate is certain that the door was shut and locked before his leaving. Also, there doesn't appear to be anything missing, though that doesn't rule out a break-in.


texts: Mom passes away 2015, Sister living in her house rent free

texts:
My mom passed 2015.
My nieces and nephew [from 2nd sister] lived there and then they moved out in 2016
My older sister started living in my mom's house 2016. She sold her house in 7 days and moved into my mom's with the plan to fix it up to sell it.
I live on the east coast and my other sister lives locally to my sister.
We all agreed to this arrangement.
Even as of Aug 2018 and she's still "fixing" the house. She's big into these home shows and she's doing quite a bit of renovation.
We just wanted to fix major stuff i.e Foundation,  roof, exterior, carpet and the bathroom.
However She's putting in back splashes, barn yard sliding doors etc. She's put about $15,000 so far into it.
It's becoming a lot because we want the house sold and over and done with.
I asked her to buy me out and we got into a huge fight. Currently we are not on talking terms.
She's living there rent/mortgage free. She pays all the property taxes, insurance and utils.

My question:

How will this split of money happen if she continues to live in this
house?
How will the split be when she decides to put it on market?

Will she take her share as well as whatever she's paid over the last 2-3 yrs?

If So it will leave not much for me and my other sister.
I want to know what the options are?
Does she have the right to take out property tax, insurance and real estate costs out of the sale? Plus the $15,000 for renovations?

The house will probably sell for around $100,000.

PS:
I have no clue if the deed is in her name or my mom's. She took over my mom's care when my mom got sick and she handled a lot of that details mainly because I've lived out of state for over 20 yrs and my other sister is basically a flake. So no one trusted her to deal with finances.

I know its is terrible when a parent dies and leaves no Will in place and I hate fighting with my siblings. However I also want things to move along and if she wants to live in the house; I am OK with it but I'd prefer she buy us out and just tell us that.


texts: In reading a few laws recently, I've seen a lot of non specific words like "reasonably", "expeditiously", and "sufficient".  I'm wondering how judges decide what is "reasonable" when the way the law is written is so subjective .


texts: Is defending someone being physically attacked self-defence or assault?

texts:
Suppose one day a vicious attacker (let's call him Thug) assaults Emily in the street. A bystander (let's call him Paul) rushes to Emily's aid, attacking Thug in her defense. After a few minutes, Thug is incapacitated and thoroughly bloodied, and Emily and Paul are safe.

Is Paul guilty of assault and battery for attacking Thug, or would self-defense or some other standard defense apply?


texts: Is it legal for landlord to prohibit subleasing, under Texas law?

texts:
It's quite common that plans change, and a residential lease must be broken.
Of course, since one has agreed to pay the full price of the lease, they're on the hook for it, unless they can find someone else to help them mitigate the damages.
However, the sublessee might only be interested in taking over a certain part of the lease (e.g., say, month 5, 6, 7 and 8 of a 12-month lease), and would not be interested in taking over the whole lease, thus having to find another lessee for months 9 to 12.
Does the landlord have the right to refuse to mitigate tenant's damages to accommodate such an arrangement?  In my experience, the corporate landlords always simply say "we don't do subleasing, you can only take over the whole lease [and then deal with re-leasing]".  But doesn't this violate the provision about damage mitigation?
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm

Sec. 91.006. LANDLORD'S DUTY TO MITIGATE DAMAGES. (a) A landlord has a duty to mitigate damages if a tenant abandons the leased premises in violation of the lease.
(b) A provision of a lease that purports to waive a right or to exempt a landlord from a liability or duty under this section is void.

I was reading on UniformLaws.org that in certain situations and/or states, landlord's failure to mitigate damages is automatically grounds for contract termination (thus no rent or damages are further due), does it at all apply here?

IV. What Are the Consequences of Landlord’s Failure to Mitigate?
Jurisdictions have taken one of two approaches in handling
the landlord’s failure to
comply with the duty
to mitigate. The
current version of the URLTA provides that if the
landlord fails to use reasonable efforts to mitigate, “the rental agreement is deemed to be terminated by the landlord as of the date
the landlord has notice of the abandonment.”
In effect, this provision precludes the landlord from recovering any damages past the date of the abandonment. About half of the jurisdictions that have URLTA-based statutes (AK, AZ, CT, IA,
KS, KY, MT, OK, OR, RI, SC) have retained this provision in their statutes,
while the other
half (AL, FL, HI, MI, MS, NE, MN, TN, VA, WA) have omitted it. Nevada has a similar provision in its non-URLTA statute.

If you're the original tenant, what recourse can you take?
If you're a prospective sublessee, is the landlord at all obligated to put you in contact with the original tenant for you to potentially inform the original tenant of their rights, and, potentially, see if they're interested for a sublease instead?  Anything else that can be done if you're already in contact with the original tenant?


texts: Is it possible to request the court to appoint a public defender in a civil infraction case?

texts:
Related: In a civil infraction case, does the defendant have to turn over evidence to the prosecution beforehand?

Simple parking ticket dispute. The defendant has been put through an unreasonable amount of trouble. (Appealed through online system and confirmed in email, but the court lost the record. Had to make repeated requests in person for the case to be put in the system. Repeated requests for an interpreter, also confirmed by the court. However, when the defendant showed up, there was no interpreter and the judge reset the court date, multiple times. The prosecutors insisted on talking to the defendant prior to the trial and attacked the defendant with insults.)

Having done my homework, I am not sure: all I have found is that representation by a public defender is a possibility in criminal cases but not civil infraction. But in view of all this, because the defendant doesn't have the means to hire an attorney, is it possible for the defendant to ask the judge for a public defender so that they will not be harassed by the prosecution any more and that unnecessary clerical errors will hopefully reduce?


texts: Can I be forced out of my tenants-in-common home?

texts:
My grandpa paid 72000 cash for my house. We are listed as tenants in common on title. He owns and lives in another house. The jurisdiction is Indiana.

I've paid him 800/month for 1 year which he said he would deduct when I'm able to get a mortgage. I've been trying, but need my credit score up from 560 to 580 or 600.

He has a new girlfriend who wants the house. They have been trying to get me to sign a quit claim deed, but I won't. I just saw in the paper tonight that he has filed a civil suit against me - I'm assuming to take possession.

This is where my daughter and I live. Is he able to force me out? I pay all bills, taxes, insurance and upkeep.


texts: Can a private school refuse admission despite the student having the requisite cut-off?

texts:
My brother is being refused admission to a school that I attended for 9 years. This is because when I was in school, the teachers traumatised me and we complained about it in a feedback form. The principal of the school called me to her office and gave me a earful for "not being grateful" to the school for all the opportunities they gave me.

This year, my brother applied to the school (because they have good facilities and provide the subjects that he wants). But the principal refused to give him a place in the school because of how "disrespectful" I was even though he has the marks to get in. Is this legal and if not what can I do against it?


texts: Using celebrity recording without permission

texts: In the US, if one legally records a conversation with a celebrity, is one then allowed to use snippets of the recording (say, too short and generic for words spoken to be copyrighted) to produce a song without the celebrity's permission? Auto-tune songs are often examples of these kinds of songs. If it is legal, is one allowed to credit the song partially to the celebrity?


texts:
The other day while on a vacation I drove past a property and saw a sign that read

Trespassers Will Be Shot On Sight

I've never seen a sign such as that, I was a little taken back. After some research, it turns out that this type of warning sign is total legal (the best answer I found on this. Also, onsite answer).

This got me thinking when does a warning become a threat and what consideration is used to determine one from the other?


texts: Breach of contract dismissed with prejudice, no burden of proof

texts:
This is a breach of contract case. I had all of the material fact, evidence, and memos in support totaling over 500 pages. The defendant clearly stated during depositions that he bought the business. The case started in 2015 and ended in 2018. A motion of Limine was put on me, but afterwards the case was dismissed with prejudice. My new attorney was able to get a new trial due to more evidence found. The judge dismissed the case and said that he had seen this evidence already; the contract, city license, State documents of LLC, affidavits and tax returns. I was hospitalized a day after the dismissal with a heart attack from this.

It has been almost two years now and I am wanting to sue for fraud. Is there another way to sue and get to a higher court? My initial motion for a new trial was not granted. I did not appeal due to my heart attack.

I owned the business for 30 years and the judge just gave it away. I'm in a jam and broke down and had to file chapter 7 bankruptcy, all because of this breach of contract. What can I do?


texts: In the USA can a child legally authorize a search of a residence he lives in?

texts:
Let's say the police want to search a location they don't have a warrant to search and don't believe the owner of the property would consent to a search.  So they wait until the owner has left and ask the owner's child to enter the property to search it.  In my home state a child as young as 8 can be left alone, but it's unlikely a child that young would have any idea he could refuse a search from police if they showed up and demanded to do so.
Could such a search authorized by a child be upheld by the courts?  Is there some cutoff for age before a child is old enough to be able to authorize a search of a home he resides in?


texts: How to move out of a contract with my scamming landlord

texts:
I have a scamming property management where I'm renting a studio apartment with.
 I'm in Illinois, US. I have many issues with them.

For instance, when I was renting with them, as soon as they got my signature, they give me a utility bill left from previous tenants, asking me to pay. I resisted saying like utilities, bills should be charged to whoever using them. But they said we bill to the apartment, not people.

They also had workers changing electricity switch boxes in my apartment, make my lockers and others unusable for more than a month. Cockroaches and insects everywhere in the kitchen. I noticed they made an unauthorized payment on my account for more than a monthly payment! No one except them has the portal's account. Fortunately I realized this quickly and canceled the transaction.

But the one I can not tolerate anymore is that I purchased my own rental insurance at the time of moving, and simply asked them to waive their own insurance fee. They did it a month later, but I noticed surprisingly my gas fee suddenly became 4x higher, so the total sum is remaining the same! One day I got a utility bill from a neighbor with a 2BR of 2x sq ft, and noticed while many of my charges are half (due to half sq ft), some others like gas fee are more than half! In fact, the sum of difference is that insurance fee which was supposed to be waived!!

Due to these obvious reasons, I definitely want to move out of the place. But how should I handle the contract which is still up for 4 months? That contract needs to be stopped.


texts: I have a mobile app that applies filters to user photos. Suppose that i want to add a filter (or a set of filters) named "Gotham" or "Daredevil" or "X-Men". Suppose this filter (or set of filters) are available only after the user purchases it (that is, they are in app purchases). Does this use of trademarked words constitues a trademark infringement? My guess is that this should not be a trademark infringement, since there is no possible confusion of the source of good.


texts: Can someone invalidate my patent because others manufactured my product too?

texts: If I designed a new product and began selling it without a patent in the United States, then other suppliers copied the design and began producing the design commercially before I filed for a patent, then I filed for a patent and was awarded the patent, can someone later say that I should not have been awarded the patent because my product was commercially available in the public market and therefore prior art? I'm wondering if someone might try to invalidate my patent.


texts: Where can I validate my music compositions?

texts:
After somebody creates his/her own new song, where does (s)he need to register/verify to be sure it's not a plagiarism?

I'm curious how these things work–who has the power to say a song is a plagiarism of another song or not? Is there any tool to verify this?


texts: Volunteering Breach of Warranty When Returning Goods

texts:
Here is the hypothetical situation that my following question will refer to:

Person A purchases goods online.
Person A modifies goods in a way that would likely void warranty but the item still works.
At a later date, the goods develop a fault.
Person A contacts the seller and describes this new fault and is not asked about but does not volunteer the fact that modifications were made.
The seller accepts a return based on the fact that this fault has developed.

My questions are thus:

Would person A be legally required to volunteer information on modifications made when attempting to return the goods if not explicitly asked?
Would an offense have taken place if this information was not volunteered?


texts: End of lease - carpet cleaning almost 3x the 'minimum' amount in my lease

texts:
We recently moved out of a home that we were leasing for 12 months. When moving out, we called to ask how much carpet cleaning would be so we could determine if we wanted to hire our own company or not. The woman from the leasing company said it would be 'around $160'. This was slightly cheaper than the other quotes we'd gotten, so we told them they could go ahead and handle the carpet cleaning, and just take it out of our security deposit.

We got our move-out documentation today, and it has a carpet cleaning fee of over $450. Our lease doesn't mention a specific amount, just 'a minimum of $163'. A couple of points that are concerning to me..

We were told they used a 'special service' because we had pets. We do have pets, but they're house trained, and don't shed.
On top of our security deposit, we paid an additional non-refundable $500 pet deposit. My understanding is that this is to cover additional cleaning needed due to pets. If this were for repairs, it says clearly that we would be held responsible for the full price of the repair or replacement. So if it's not being used for cleaning, are we just giving the leasing company $500 for nothing?
I've talked to 3 other carpet companies, all of which are at least $150 cheaper, even when considering pets in the home.

I'm concerned that the cost of carpet cleaning is almost 3x the 'minimum' amount listed in our lease; not to mention the amount we were specifically told over the phone when calling before moving out.

Do we have any options here?


texts: Keeping converted music files after the expiration of Apple Music membership

texts:
Assume someone used Boilsoft Apple Music Converter (which they purchased) to remove DRM protection from music stored in their Apple Music Library, converted that music to the mp3 format and stored it on their hard disk.

Could they legally continue to keep this music and listen to it after their membership expires?


texts: All Writs Act (Apple case) vs the 13th amendment?

texts:
I'm just curious if there's ever been any case law on the kind of writs a court can write in reference to the 13th amendment?

As a layperson,  it sure seems to me that ordering a company to develop a new piece of code (As opposed to merely handing over existing data),  seems to fit my understanding of the term "involuntary servitude".


texts: Doctor sending private information over whatsup for consultation

texts: If a doctor sends screen grabs, taken by his smartphone, of different patients' confidential health files to other doctors for quick consultation, does that potentially violate any law?  Could that be considered professional misconduct (and thus imperil his license to practice medicine)?


texts: Do economic sanctions prevent repaying debts?

texts: Suppose that I lend money to a business or individual associated with the government in Russia, Venezuela, or some other country.  Suppose that by the time the debt is due, my country of citizenship or residence business or individual has declared sanctions on my debtors and prohibit me from doing business with them.  Would the sanctions prevent me from legally getting my money back?


texts: UK House Purchase - Is it legal to make changes to documentation after it has been signed?

texts:
I live in the UK, and am currently in the process of buying my first house.
After viewing the house, I initially made an offer that was a bit lower than the asking price. The sellers declined the offer, and I ended up going back to them and offering the asking price, with the condition that they leave some of the fixtures and furnishings- they accepted this verbal offer.
I am currently getting all of the documentation signed & witnessed to send back to my solicitor to proceed with the purchase. However, when going through the documentation, I noticed that there was one specific item on the list of fixtures and furnishings that had been ticked as 'excluded', despite this being one of the items I had specifically requested, and the sellers verbally agreed to (the sellers had also offered to include some things I hadn't specified, as they are down-sizing).
I emailed my solicitor to request an updated list of fixtures and furnishings which would include this specific item, and they got back to me to say that "the fixtures list is attached, the sellers haven't proposed to send a new one to reflect the missing item". I emailed my solicitor back to ask them to specifically request an updated list, including this item, and they got back to me asking me to send the signed documentation through, and said that they would update it on their end then, with everyone's agreement...
I am a bit skeptical of this... although it is not a deal-breaker, the particular item would be a few hundred pounds for me to purchase myself, and I'm a bit miffed that it appears that the sellers are now trying to back-track on what they had agreed to verbally.
I was also surprised that my solicitor asked me to send the signed documents, and said that they would subsequently alter one of the documents (even if they did specify "with everyone's agreement")... My (very limited) understanding of the law, is that once a contract (and any associated documents) have been signed, dated & witnessed, they become legally binding- or in the case of a house purchase, is this just at the point of exchange of contracts?
Even if it is only at the point of exchange of contracts, the fact that my solicitor expressly stated that they would alter a signed document (even if they did say "with everyone's agreement"), immediately rang alarm bells for me- surely you would need a new document to replace the original one, if there were changes to be made, and this new document would need to be signed by all parties?
While the list of fixtures and furnishings is hardly the most important thing in a house purchase, if they can make changes to that signed document, what's to stop them making changes to the purchase contract (for example, the price at which I have agreed to purchase the property), without my knowledge or consent?
My solicitor is now waiting for me to send all of the signed documentation to them, including the list of fixtures & furnishings with the excluded item.
How should I handle this?
To be clear, I am not asking for advice on whether or not to proceed, or anything like that- simply what the legal implications are of altering a document after it has been signed.


texts: Is a step by step route considered as personal data?

texts:
I would like to know whether a route between two physical places A and B, with its different step by step streets, can be considered as a personal data and should be processed as it. We don't know whether the user is going to type a direction with number or just the street name, for example, and the intermediary streets we will provide are just composed by street name and city. We are not able to know whether the user is typing its home or workplace.

Thanks.


texts: Insurance-Provided Rental Car After No-Fault Accident

texts:
My 2014 Ford Taurus was backed into in a parking lot while it was parked and nobody was inside— the person who caused the accident wasn't injured either. They came into the building we were in, found us, and we exchanged insurance and contact information.

I called my insurance, which ultimately had me call their insurance to file this claim. Apparently, when I called their insurance, they were already notified and had a claim started. As we walked through the steps to get the damage taken care of, we got onto the subject of rental vehicles since they were going to provide one as I was entirely not at fault.

They stated that they'd only cover a mid-size four-door sedan unless there were accommodations that needed to be met. My immediate confusion/concern was that they damaged my full-size sedan, which is expected to be out for 3-4 days, but that they were essentially downgrading my daily transportation to save on costs.

Question:

Would I have any ground to push back and request a full-size sedan since that's the type of car they damaged?

The only major thing that comes to my mind is an accommodation for my height. I'm 6'5" (198cm~), so I'd expect that the vehicle should have a comfortable amount of room for me to sit up; and, even more important, not be so compact that my legs cannot drive comfortably. Even my car is already on the edge of my legs being comfortable on driving, so a smaller vehicle seems like a potential risk/downside.

Edit (Outcome):
I did end up getting the rental upgraded to a full-size sedan. The adjuster mentioned it was "approved to accommodate physical needs". He did also mention that if I hauled/towed things for work, or had a large family, that they would have approved it for those reasons too.


texts: What is the correct way of communicating with the Family Court in the UK?

texts:
I have ongoing proceedings at https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/croydon-magistrates-court-and-family-court
I had a hearing on 20th Nov 2017.
Next hearing is scheduled for February.
I'd like to include additional information.

Mr Stefanow understands there will be a chance to speak to the Cafcass and the Court in January and February 2018.
Before these dates there is an opportunity for a few “back and forth” iterations, so that by the time we see each other in person, we will obtain more information - therefore have more productive hearing.

Back in a day (form C100) I had to send 4 copies to the court.
Option A:
Send 4 copies to the Court, suggest they should pass the copies to other parties.
Option B:
Send a copy to each party involved. (not sure if I have the latest postal address)
Tell the Court copies have been sent.
(I don't think that is allowed, I believe all communication should be routed via the Court)
Option C:
Do something else.
Option D:
Do nothing.
Communication with Court, despite best intentions, is not recommended, not advisable.

Surely there is an established standard.
Just don’t tell me me “consult your lawyer”, the situation is pretty simple here.


texts: Is it illegal to ask a company for money in exchange for information on a bug in their software?

texts:
Let's assume that I have a found a bug in a company's website/software which – if exploited – bypasses their paywall and allows me to use their website/software without any payments.

I then inform the company about what this bug is capable of (when exploited), and ask them for money in exchange for the information on where the bug is and how I could exploit it. Can the company take legal action against me?


texts: When must a document be kept confidential?

texts:
I applied for a job and received an offer. The offer letter and employee contract state

  Please note that the details of your compensation are to remain
  strictly confidential.

and

  Employee represents
  and agrees that he has received a copy of this Agreement to keep for
  his own records. Employee further agrees to maintain the
  confidentiality of and not disclose the terms and conditions contained
  in this Agreement, except as otherwise provided herein.

Since I would be moving to the US for the work, I would like to consult with friends and family. Does this mean it's illegal for me to show them the offer letter and terms of employment I received? I never agreed to keep these confidential.

Are such terms legally binding, even if you didn't sign anything? Does showing this to close friends or relatives constitute a breach?


texts: Is it illegal for public figures to knowingly state a falsehood?

texts:
Here is an excerpt from this article in the New York Times:

The Supreme Court established the First Amendment principles that govern the country’s libel laws in 1964, with its unanimous decision in New York Times v. Sullivan. In that ruling, the court said that public officials had to prove that false statements were made with “actual malice,” meaning news organizations had to have knowingly published a falsehood or published it with “reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
The standard, later extended to include public figures, set a high bar for libel and meant that people like Mr. Trump — both a public figure and soon-to-be public official — would have a very, very difficult time winning a libel lawsuit.

Is it correct that the Supreme Court decided that it is illegal for public figures to knowingly state a falsehood? Are there any other laws/cases that shed light on this?


texts: Which information is it illegal to keep when a user wants to delete his/her account?

texts:
I am creating a company that offers a certain service to private individuals and professionals. I know that if someone wants to delete his/her account, we have the obligation to grant the user this request. My question is: which information must be deleted? Which one can be kept? Which one must be kept?

Let's say that our service allows someone to make an order. The order is then charged to the user. Wouldn't we (at the company) be obligated to know which person made which orders, and which person paid for the orders? I think that these information must be kept even if the user wants to delete his/her account.

My question is: how do I know which information am I obligated to delete if the user does such a request? The company is based in France.


texts: Is the thin blue line on the stars and stripes considered desecration of the flag?

texts:
Police officers all over the country are flying a flag or wearing patches of the following flag.

Isn't this considered desecration of the flag under 18 U.S. Code § 700?


texts: Do I have to be an adult to register a business

texts: I just want to know if there is any way I could register my business as an LLC without being an adult.


texts: If hit with a spamming/phishing scam, how should a company warn its customers?

texts: Should a company consider writing up a waiver of liability before warning the recipients of a spam/phishing attack executed with one of its employees' credentials? What legal ramifications are there and what is the best course of action when something like this has been discovered? Should it respond any differently to government as opposed to corporate clients?


texts: Must a minor be given access to his parents if requested when detained by police or a school?

texts:
I was surprised to learn that police can question a minor without the presence, permission, or even notification of the minor's legal guardian. (Even when investigating a matter unrelated to the guardian.)  Apparently children can even be Mirandized!  Which means that in theory they can demand a lawyer if questioned.  Do they also have a right to demand their guardian?

Since schools are pseudo guardians are there any restraints on school authorities detaining and questioning a minor, if that minor demands they stop and summon his legal guardian?

Or, to put it more flavorfully: Does a minor saying, "I want my mommy" have the same legal effect as an adult saying, "I want my lawyer"?  (Or can a school respond, "From 8AM to 3PM we are your Mommy!)


texts: Jurisdictions having no common point over a certain issue

texts:
Let's say there's an adult man from a western country having no extraterritorial jurisdiction and does an act in an African country that would be abhorrent and obviously illegal accordint to the laws of his country but it's legal in the country he's doing the act in.
According to my logic he wouldn't meet chargen in none of the two countries because, as mentioned;

-the country he's from doesn't have extraterritorial jurisdiction

-the country he does the act in  doesn't mandate penalty or prosecution for the former act

so, as far as my layman international law knowledge is concerned (yup, it's pretty little), there's no common intersection between the two countries' laws for which the man can be charged and prosecuted, hence he could even show a video of him doing the thing in front of a police station, if the video shows clearly that the thing is done in that country.

Am I wrong here? Obviously, the question is hypothetical in nature and don't tell me "it depends upon the 2 countries", because I stated the conditions that leave no ambiguity or genericness in the situation above.


texts: Am I experiencing an anti-trust violation?

texts:
Google, Apple et al were fined $430 million dollars recently for, among other things, agreeing not to poach each other's employees. One illegal thing that happened: an internal recruiter was fired for poaching. Agreements against poaching limit employee mobility in the market - recruiters don't reach out to qualified candidates because of who they work for, harming their negotiating position.

I work for a ~200k person firm which uses internal and external recruiters. I've talked to the three recruiting agencies I had standing relationships with. All three recruiters have declined to interview me for jobs I am qualified for because of my employer - one of them even asked for a "note from [my] manager" saying it was okay to hire me. Given that this is policy, every company that works with these recruiters is entering into an implicit agreement that limits job mobility. Rather than acting as information broker to improve functioning of the labor market, the recruiter functions as cartel of sorts, where employers band together to limit the ability of their employees to switch jobs to other employers in the cartel, thus damaging negotiating power and driving down wages.

This seems to have de facto the same effect as Google et al's behavior. The difference is the recruiters are external and not internal, and the collusion is a "courtesy" that the recruiters pay to their client.

Is this an anti-trust violation? Why or why not? Asking from the USA.


texts: Can ecommerce merchants contractually disallow credit card chargebacks?

texts: If an eCommerce merchant disallows charge-backs for non-fraud related cases in their terms of service, can they sue (and win against) a customer for initiating a chargeback in violation of such terms?


texts:
Gitolite says:

  NOTE: GIT is a trademark of Software Freedom Conservancy and my use of
  "Gitolite" is under license.

What does under license mean here? Does it mean Software Freedom Conservancy gives permission to use Git phrase inside Gitolite?


texts: Is it legal to distribute e-books in a company (NL)?

texts:
If a company owns copies of several e-books that have commercial licenses, can it distribute these e-books to employees? For instance with software like Koha.

If not, is there a common other way to achieve this?

And just to clarify, the company wouldn't have rights to reproduce the e-books. Also, a distribution where only one employee at a time would have access to one book is sufficient.

Thanks!


texts: Can a contract waive negligence in Ontario, Canada?

texts:
Can a customer of mine waive negligence caused by me when doing any business activity on assets/property? What if the property belongs to someone else, but I state that they take all responsibility as well? Provided that I am specific and the waiver is clearly written, is it enforceable? Can this replace the need for general liability insurance?

For an example, I pressure wash property for a living. While washing, I scratch a vehicle, however, the customer has signed a waiver that protects me from being sued/pay for damages. What if the car is leased, however, I state that they are responsible to pay X for all damages caused by my negligence?

All activities are based in Ontario, Canada.


texts: Does the subject of subpoena have to give a reason when refusing to testify?

texts:
If a person receives a subpoena and does not want to testify, do they have to give a reason? For example, let's imagine a person who was driving a car when it was involved in an accident that resulted in a fatality is subpoened to give testimony at an inquest. The person refuses to testify without giving a reason.

Can the judge then fine or imprison the person?

If the answer is "yes," then what is the recourse of the person? Can they appeal the ruling to an appellate court of some time and submit a brief that more or less that being forced to testify could incriminate the witness.

In other words, the fundamental question here is: Is it the judge's duty to recognize when testimony could be incriminating and excuse a witness, or does the witness have a legal onus to justify the refusal to testify, even when it is obvious that the possibility of self-incrimination exists?


texts:
Here's the question:

Frank owned two adjacent parcels, Blackacre
and Whiteacre. Blackacre fronts on a poor
unpaved public road, while Whiteacre fronts
on Route 20, a paved major highway. Fifteen
years ago, Frank conveyed to his son, Sam,
Blackacre “together with a right-of-way 25
feet wide over the east side of Whiteacre
to Route 20.” At that time, Blackacre was
improved with a ten-unit motel.
Ten years ago, Frank died. His will devised
Whiteacre “to my son, Sam, for life, remainder
to my daughter, Doris.” Five years ago, Sam
executed an instrument in the proper form
of a deed, purporting to convey Blackacre
and Whiteacre to Joe in fee simple. Joe then
enlarged the motel to 12 units. Six months
ago, Sam died and Doris took possession of
Whiteacre. She brought an appropriate action
to enjoin Joe from using the right-of-way.
In this action, who should prevail?
(A)
Doris, because merger extinguished the
easement.
(B)
Doris, because Joe has overburdened the
easement.
(C)
Joe, because he has an easement by
necessity.
(D)
Joe, because he has the easement granted
by Frank to Sam

My assumption was that the answer would be 'A' because the merger extinguishes the easement when Frank devised Whiteacre to Sam. But the answer is apparently 'D'. Is there some condition that I'm missing here?

Thank you!


texts: Would Trump's defence work in other courts?

texts:
Donald Trump's defence against incitement is essentially the ambiguity of his language: he never explicitly told the crowd to violently attack Congress, but he did use ambiguous words such as "fight", which many in the crowd understood as an instruction to do just that.
This seems to me to be akin to a mafia don's method of ordering a hit: he uses ambiguous language such as "peacefully deal with the problem". Even if this is secretly recorded, in court his defence against a charge of soliciting murder is that he never actually gave any such order, and some overzealous underling misunderstood.
In general, does such a thing work? How does the prosecution in such a case get over the hurdle of proving that an order was given when the language used is always couched in euphemistic codes?
Edit in response to various comments and answers:
I do not want answers that argue about the precise semantics of words like "fight". I'm interested in the legal principles used to resolve such ambiguities, not the particular ambiguities used by Trump in the lead-up to 6th January.


texts: Does the Swedish constitution limit the government’s powers to impose lockdown, more than constitutions of other comparable countries?

texts:
As is widely known, Sweden’s coronavirus response has been an outlier in several ways. One point, in particular, is that many measures are just issued as recommendations to the public, rather than legally imposed and enforced as in many other countries.
I’ve heard it claimed, quite widely, that this is (in part) because the Swedish government doesn’t have the constitutional power to impose lockdown-type restrictions.  I find this claim difficult to assess in context.  As I understand it, many countries’ lockdowns are beyond what their governments would be constitutionally empowered to impose under normal circumstances — but governments have suspended/overridden this in various ways, e.g. declaring states of emergency (in a process provided by their constitution for suspending normal limits), or passing other kinds of emergency legislation that expand powers while remaining constitutional, or simply ignoring constitutional issues and imposing strict measures anyway.  So it’s not clear to me whether the Swedish limits could have been similarly suspended/overridden if the government had chosen to, or whether something in the Swedish constitution or legal system makes their limitations genuinely harder than elsewhere.
In summary, my question is: Is the Swedish government more constitutionally limited in its powers to impose lockdown-type measures than the governments of other comparable countries?
I would be most interested in answers comparing Sweden with closely comparable countries — e.g. other Northern/Western European countries, and especially those that have imposed stricter lockdowns.
(Note: I am trying to stay on-topic and as non-controversial as possible given the topic. I’m not asking anything broader about the Swedish response in general, and I hope commenters will refrain from discussing that; I’m just asking about a constitutional-legal point often mentioned as part of the explanation for the response.)


texts:
I frequently see photos of public officials, celebrities or people who are in the news on media websites with a credit that looks something like this:

FACEBOOK/JOHN BROWN

The irony is that the image is taken from John Brown's Facebook page.

Isn't that illegal, or am I missing something?

I understand that it's legal to display pictures of people who are in the public eye - as long as YOU take the picture, you get permission from the person (including John Brown) who did take the picture, or the picture is in the public domain.

So I guess my question can best be worded like this:

Is it legal for the media to take photos of a person in the public eye from that person's social media site and display it without permission?


texts: Who is liable if software causes intentional errors when used in a pirated/unlicensed fashion?

texts:
In this Academia question comments reads :

  cracked software has hard-to-detect anti-features bug (example cracked version of a engineering software may use in computations slight less material resistance, so that buildings created with it have a greater cost, or just more material resistance so that buildings you create with it just implodes because computations are wrong

My question is: If a building collapses and the root cause is an intentional math error by unlicensed software can the software maker be charged with something?

I'm also interested if the builder could use this as a defense.


texts: Hostile Work Environement (Enabled By Video Chat)

texts:
I have a work day that typically consists of face to face interactions with customers. However, my company wants to start facilitating these daily interactions via video chat that is easily available to anyone across the globe. Needless to say, it's only a matter of time until a naked individual pops up on my computer at work. When this happens, do I have a hostile work environment lawsuit on my hands?

Obviously, I don't think anybody could sue a company if a customer walked in and stripped off all their clothes.  However, in this case, the company is creating an environment where this situation could easily occur with a high degree of anonymity. In a brick and mortar store, I can remove myself from the situation and have security to deal with it, but I am afforded none of these options in the new situation.

It's basically Chat Roulette.


texts:
I am reading a law reference book and finding this line somewhat ambiguous.

If the Grantor timely objects to any disbursement, or the reasonableness thereof, or the necessity therefore, no such disbursement or similar disbursement shall be made in the future, except on notice to the Grantor. (source)

To me "the necessity therefore" is a source of confusion. Shouldn't it be "the necessity thereof" since it refers to the necessity of the disbursement? Or am I misreading this line?


texts: Ex-employer has not released my 401K fund

texts:
I left my ex-employer about two years ago. My ex-employer/plan administrator denied signing my distribution/withdrawal papers. There was a police report filed against me a month after I left the company; probably an embezzlement case.

Can the ex-employer/plan admin hold my 401K for this reason or any other reason?


texts: USA - Can business deny service to individuals who have views on a protected class?

texts:
This question is probably a bit broad, but on what basis is an individual's views taken into consideration whether they should be provided service from both brick and mortar/websites?

For instance, if you had the following people:

Person A - who believes that abortions should be reserved only for emergency/medical cases, and talked about it regularly.
Person B - who believes that transgender people should be allowed to service in the US military and campaigns for such.
Person C - who believes that religious organizations that take political positions should not be given exemptions from taxation and laws.

I've tried to pick fairly non-controversial examples, but I'd also like to include the more extreme versions (e.g. someone who dislikes Muslims and others who dislikes White/Caucasian individuals).

Can an organization (secular, private), choose to deny service to those individuals based on their views on that topic? And what would that look like online vs in a physical store?


texts: How can Wikipedia Creative Commons images be attributed in video?

texts:
I have wondered this for a while but have not been able to find sufficient information about it.

Most media on Wikipedia is listed under the Creative Commons license. This means that it's free but must be given attribution when used (credited).

Here is a good example of that: Reykjavík_Old_Harbor

Now, it is very easy to include attribution on a website, on print, etc, as a text credit can be placed above, below, alongside the image, etc.

But what about video? If you create a video for a corporate presentation, a tradeshow, a commercial, etc, how can you attribute this? Do you need to place a watermark throughout the video when the image is displayed, for example?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.


texts: What are the difference in obfuscated contract laws between Indonesia and USA, Australia, Europe, and Singapore?

texts:
In general, people can write any contract they want. In practice, many people agree to a contract without even reading. Even those that read carefully may miss important terms if the writers of the contract obfuscate the terms deliberately. Some scammy sellers often obfuscate some part of the contracts to make really bad deals look good.
Some samples:

https://www.tnp.sg/news/sim-lim-squares-phone-scam-makes-headlines-internationally Here a seller in Sim Lim writes $1000 fee as $36 x 24. Many buyers end up paying $2k for an iPhone that usually worth $1k
In United States, people sell Acai Berry. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38958053 Basically, people sign up for a cheap free trial not realizing that they end up subscribing to hundreds of dollars cost of products that are not working
In Indonesia, mixing insurance and investment can be very dangerous. That's because the fee can be 100 times bigger than normal. The fee is obfuscated even more than the Sim Lim scam. No normal person can know such fee without being told. The companies have agents that supposedly "explain" the fee. However, it seems that most agents do not tell about the fees and instead lie or mislead customers by claiming that all money are invested. https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kaskus.co.id%2Fthread%2F5c715f134601cf268b08e4b1%2Fbeli-asuransi-di-avrist-biaya-100-kali-lipat-sampai-sekarang-masalah-belum-jelas%2F

If we follow strict standard contract policy, the customer is at fault for not reading the contract carefully.
However, I noticed that in US and Singapore such scammy contracts are punished. FTC screw acai berry scams. Sim Lim scammers are jailed.
Yet in Indonesia, large corporations keep selling their ridiculously overpriced products counting on customers not knowing about their hidden fees.
So how come Indonesia is different? Are scamming by obfuscating contracts common too in US and Singapore?
What are the difference in the laws, between Indonesia, Singapore, and US, that may explain why such scams happen in Indonesia and done by large companies?
Some of the thing that may be the case are

In Indonesia, truth is not a defense against defamation. Also defamation can be a criminal case instead of just civil.
Prosecuting anyone for fraud is extremely difficult in Indonesia
Maybe there isn't really any differences. Similar scams exist in other countries too.
I've heard in US there are rules that 80% of money must be used for reimbursement. Is this true?

So what are the differences?


texts: What constitutes "doing business in a jurisdiction?"

texts:
In order to be sued in a particular jurisdiction, say New York, a company must have a minimal business presence in the jurisdiction. What constitutes such a presence?

Suppose the company engaged a New York-based Plaintiff, and its representatives signed the contract with the Plaintiff in New York City. Does this satisfy the minimum presence rule?

Suppose, instead, the plaintiff and contract signing were in New Jersey, but the company hired a law firm with offices in New York City. Does this qualify?


texts: USA apartment rent application: is it legal to require employment?

texts: When applying to rent an apartment in any state of the USA, is there any federal regulation that prevents the landlord from requiring the applicant to provide a proof of past/present employment, while rejecting any other proof of income, e.g. proving sufficient savings by providing recent bank statements?


texts: Is hacking and stealing punished more harshly than solely hacking?

texts:
Which of the following crimes generally has a more severe punishment:

Unauthorized bank account access (e.g. hacking in to view information), or
Unauthorized account access and taking money from that account


texts: What is a difference between a license and a copyright contract? It seems that they achieve the same thing. So what are the use cases for both?


texts: Hired for something else been pushed to anything but doing that

texts:
I work in New Jersey. This company hired me to be a tool & Die apprentice. I am the only female tool and die maker. it is supposed to be an apprenticeship where I spent a little bit of time in the each area of the company. I have been machining since February 2016, it is now February 2020.

I have been at this new company now four months.

I was told the training would be 2 to 4 weeks in one area, I started out in quality control. I asked about what was going on and nobody knew what was going on no one will give me a definite answer. At three months I sent a letter to HR asking what is going on. Wanted to a meeting and was told by the head of the company that at 3 months is the time. I'm going to be staying in an area. And that I am awaiting an evaluation to move on to the next area. I've been waiting this evaluation for a month now and nobody is getting back to me.

I feel as if I'm being put on the back burner and not doing what I was hired on to do. Which was to be a tool and die maker, I have not stepped back into any kind of training in the tool & Die room since stepping into this company.

I feel that this is me being hired under false pretenses and that I am being pushed on the back burner.

and I don't want to say that it's because I'm female but I'm also the only female tool and die maker this company has ever hired.

If I decide to quit will I be able to collect unemployment for any of this?


texts: Does asking money to not press a criminal charge also constitute extortion?

texts:
Let's say that someone scams me, yet I manage to find this person and tell that if I'm not paid some money I will press charges as theft by deception. Does this also qualify as extortion? Generally, is asking money to not inform authorities or to not witness for someone a crime of any kind?

EDIT: While there is already a similar question with an answer that just says yes, I wish I could know the details (law, case, reference...).


texts: Criminal Liability for judges under 42 USC 290-dd2(f) and 42 CFR 2.63 [Confidentiality of Substance Abuse Patient Records]

texts:
42 USC 290-dd2 establishes heightened confidentiality requirements for certain (really most) substance abuse treatment records. The statute grants authority to HHS to interpret the law and create regulatory provisions related to how these records are disclosed. This is codified in 42 CFR Part II. The statute itself establishes a penalty for violations:

42 USC 290-dd2(f)  Penalties:

Any person who violates any provision of this section or any regulation issued pursuant to this section shall be fined in accordance with title 18.

It is reiterated in the regulations, furthermore being labeled as "criminal"

42 CFR 2.63: Criminal Penalty for Violations

Under 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2(f), any person who violates any provision of this section or any regulation issued pursuant to this section shall be fined in accordance with Title 18 of the U.S. Code. [See also 2.62(b)(3) -- because penalty is criminal the regulations should be strictly construed in favor of defendant]

Here is my question. Much of the regulatory provisions place mandatory obligations on the judiciary. For instance, a judge is required to issue a protective order, even w/o request from the party in question. Is there any reason why the statute should be construed as to exclude the possibility that a judge could be fined for not following the regulatory procedures that are set in place?

Here is a good example: 42 CFR 2.64(c)

Any oral argument, review of evidence, or hearing on the application [for an order to disclose protected records] must be held in the judge's chambers or in some manner which ensures that patient identifying information is not disclosed to anyone other than a party to the proceeding, the patient, or the person holding the record, unless the patient requests an open hearing in a manner which meets the written consent requirements of the regulations in this part. The proceeding may include an examination by the judge of the patient records referred to in the application.

If a judge held a hearing to discuss issuing an order for disclosure and did so in an extremely public fashion and in a manner that didn't conform to the above regulation would they be criminally liable under the above statute?


texts: Is it legal to crawl news from any website, maintaining a link to their news?

texts: I want to know if it's legal to crawl some websites, let's say cnn.com and bbc.com, and display the  title, descripton, the image, as well the link to redirect to the actual link for the news?


texts: Twitter has no "delete account" button - no mention of data deletion after 30 days of account deactivation - GDPR and European law enforcement

texts:
I want to delete my Twitter account. I believe Article 17(1)(a) of GDPR compels Twitter to give me the option to do that.
But Twitter has no "delete account" button. There is only a "deactivate account" button:

Is Twitter compelled to provide me a "delete account" button?

If not, how can I enforce my right under Art. 17 of GDPR to have all my personal data removed from their databases?

I am an italian citizen. What is the law enforcement agency to which I can complain? I have found ICO but it seems a UK agency. Is there an European agency or an Italian one to which I can complain?

EDIT: Please note the Twitter notice about account deactivation:

You deactivated your account more than 30 days ago
Users have 30 days to log in to reactivate a previously deactivated
account. If it has been more than 30 days since you deactivated, you
will not be able to reactivate your account. Sign up for a new
account.

There is no mention to the data being deleted after 30 days.
EDIT 2: Twitter has replied to me that:

Permanent deletion occurs 30 days from the date of account deactivation

Although this is nowhere written in their guides, as far as I can tell.


texts: Can a religious employer prohibit public advocacy?

texts:
I work for the Roman Catholic church in the USA. I am an administrative assistant with only very rare dealings with the public. When I was hired I was told by a Human Resources representative that if I was seen "holding signs" (direct quote) advocating for any of three political issues my employment "will end." The issues were LGBT marriage, reproductive rights, and euthanasia.

The implication was that it did not matter whether I was on or off the job, or whether I was representing my workplace; if I held signs advocating for any of those things even on my own time and with no direct ties to the organization or church, my employment would or could be terminated.

Is this legal?

I can understand forbidding it when "on the clock" or if I was wearing a shirt that says "I work for the Catholic Church," but controlling my own personal freedom of speech seems very illegal or at least strong grounds for wrongful termination.

Any help would be great. Thank you.

Related: Can an employer require employees be Christian? From this I know that religious employers are exempt from discrimination laws, but I'm not sure how it applies to my situation.


texts: multiple non compete, which one is binding?

texts:
I currently work for a company that enforced a non-compete agreement at the start of employment and now would like to revise the duration of the non-compete. Otherwise the language of the non compete is exactly the same.

In such case, is there ambiguity which agreement is binding ? Is it always the last signed agreement?


texts: (BC, Canada) Is a contract still enforceable with relation to a new foreign buyer's tax?

texts:
I live near Toronto, Canada, and the foreign buyer's 15% tax passed last week in British Columbia (only applicable to Vancouver) is generating very heated debate. Its effectiveness aside, I believe that there are some elements of the new tax law that are not compatible with contract law, correct me if anyone can link to the relevant acts.

See here, a CBC report describes an American who signed a contract to buy property in Vancouver before the law even existed, and now, he is stuck between a rock and a hard place: he can either abandon the deal and lose his deposit (which, at a minimum, is $25, 000--could be a lot more). But, if he buys, he will be subject to the tax (even though the contract was signed before the law took effect, it's just that the house was not closed before August 2). So, can he appeal this tax to the Court of Appeals, arguing that the contract was signed before the law took effect, and therefore the government had changed his side of the contract by imposing a previously non-existent tax?


texts: Is it ok to prevent users from exporting their data

texts:
Am I allowed to encrypt customers data residing on their servers, preventing them   from exporting the data to a competition without my help. I need it to make sure the customer doesn't change services before paying off the bill.

I'm providing them with the software to access data, the user is creating the data using my software, which saves it on the customers servers.

Question is if I'm allowed to save the data in a way only my software should be able to read it, with no option to export. the data is saved in a sql server database which gives the option to encrypt the data with a secret key, customer has no way of exporting that data without the key.

I guess the customer owns the data, and I'm not looking to take it away from them, Just need to block them from changing providers without contacting me first... once the customer is already hooked up with another similar software its very difficult for me to get the money out, even with the contract. On the other hand, if they need my help changing provider, I could get the money easily.

Customers don't sign long contracts when purchasing the software.. so there's no real agreement between us about the data etc.


texts: What code determines how much noise is dangerous to people?

texts:
This question pertains to NYC, but answers about how other jurisdictions define noise pollution could aid precedent or tracking down the appropriate office in New York.

Noise pollution in the city is defined by a certain decibel occurring after 6pm and before 7am.  Variances are given sometimes.

Which office controls the issuance of these variances?  How do they determine how many variances can be issued for a given street / neighborhood?  What code or other guide is used to decide whether issuing a variance is appropriate?


texts: Is my understanding of the purpose of a License correct?

texts:
A license, as it applies to a professional license, drivers license, marriage license, software license is similar to the concept of a certificate, in that the purpose of such a thing is to have a great value placed on a legal concept by the licensee (the person receiving the license) so that the party issuing the license can have some control over the licensee, in that they may revoke the license and in so doing damage the reputation of the licensee in a clean and drama free manor.

This appears to be similar to the concept of a certificate in an internet blocking proxy, though that is more of a concrete means of doing so, in that if the Certificate Authority revokes the certificate of a given client, it will no longer receive internet access.

It seems to me licenses come into play in areas where the party issuing the license may have no other means for having power over an individual licensee, and especially in places where it really matters to have power over a licensee, for instance a doctor may lose their medical license if it is determined that some foul play was involved in the treatment of a now deceased or otherwise disabled patient.

The deterrent here to the licensee is that they worked so hard, or paid so much money to get the license in the first place, and if the license is taken away they will no longer reap its benefits, to practice medicine, to  drive a car, to be married, to receive security updates to software, and thus be vulnerable to something...the law, or the inability to receive security updates, should the issuing party revoke their certificate.


texts: Communal vs separate property, California divorce

texts: I have opened a bank account shortly after getting married, solely in my name, and we never mixed our funds. I funded it initially with money I earned prior to marriage. My husband did the same with his separate bank accounts. My paycheck was partially deposited into the individual account. But, we funded another, joint bank account for common expenses, bills, kids’ daycares, etc. Is my separate bank account still considered “communal”? What would need to be done to perform tracing and prove that it is partially mine?


texts: How can an illegal migrant legally exit a state?

texts: What are the legal exit options for a person who enters a country illegally (by say crossing a land border) and wants to exit that country with a valid passport?


texts: Are the Q&A posted on Stack Exchange websites valuable consideration?

texts:
In order to form a legally binding contract it is necessary that both parties provide valuable consideration.

Is the provision by a user on this (or other Stack Exchange sites) of a question, answer or comment "valuable consideration" sufficient to form a contract?


texts: Right of way: U-turn vs right turn (California)

texts:
I see this all the time, and it's often a topic of debate among friends. I'm curious to know what the answer is. I can see it going either way.

Car at red light making right turn and another car coming from the right making a u-turn. This car has a green light.

The car at red light should yield, as it has a red light.
But how does the car at red light know that the intersection allows for u-turns? There are no signs for the car in 1 to see the intersection allow for u-turns, and there is no signal on the vehicle coming from the right to indicate it's making a u-turn. If you see the signal for left, wait until you know it's not making a u-turn?
It's California, and none of the laws here make sense ;0


texts: Does a process exist to legally drive a homemade car?

texts:
Let's say that I have a very old car, install scrapped, recicled, off-the-shelf and/or handcrafted components, and effectively create a brand new car, completely different fron the original one, both in terms of specifications, equipment and possibily even aesthetics.

Given that all security, quality, environmental and legal requirements required by the country's legislation are met, does a process to legally register and drive this car on the public road exist? (so obtain a license plate and such)

Clearly car manufacturers have this process, but my guess is that it involves thousands of hours of testing and millons of euros spent, so that makes me raise some doubts on the feasibility for an individual.

I live in Europe, but I'm also interested in the situation in other parts of the world, where I assum there is more "freedom" in this sense.


texts: Familial exemption for investment advisor

texts:
My parents have asked me to trade for them and they offered  me  a fraction of any profit. My plan is to set up a limited trade agreement and then manage the account's trades.

Before doing so, I want  make sure that I will not be in violation of any regulations. Based on my research, I would not need a series 7 license. Because this is for immediate family, would I also be exempt from registering as an IAR?


texts: Is using a search engine to search part of a NDA-protected project a breach of NDA?

texts:
Let's say that I sign a NDA with a company to work with them.

While working, I think about using a search engine to search more information about some tools they use (to learn more about them for example, or to see if any information has leaked online).

Since search engines are sometimes known for collecting data people type in them, could the simple fact of entering certain words or sentences in a search engine create a NDA breach?

This scenario would happen in the USA.


texts: Does 4th Amendment to the US Constitution apply to city inspections of private residence?

texts:
My city is conducting its once-every-5-years housing inspection. Inspections are outside-only, but they encompass quite a lot- roof, walls, yard, electrical, foundation, door locks & hinges- a full page of items in tiny 9 point font. Most of what they are inspecting can probably be done from the curb, but they do mention they will "come to your door prior to the inspection."

I've no objection to them inspecting from the curb, and they can probably accomplish most of their goals from that alone. But I would not be surprised to find them roaming my yard. (This is the kind of city that measures your lawn with a ruler to enforce the landscaping code.) It feels very invasive and kind of pushy.

My question is: does a city have any legal basis for entering a property for housing code inspections? Does the 4th Amendment apply here? I imagine that it would be considered trespassing if I told them to leave, and they refused. I also understand that this will likely cause me more headaches than if I simply let them do their thing. But it feels wrong.


texts: Startups: 'directly competitive' what does that mean?

texts:
In a founders agreement. It states:

  The Founders must refer to the Company, in writing, all opportunities
  to participate in a business or activity that is directly competitive
  with the Project

What is the legal definition of 'directly competitive'?

Say the above founders agreement was for company A. the 'Project' as stated in the founder agreement was a technology that consisted of: an off the shelf depth sensor, an off the shelf server, and an off the shelf computer chip. The core IP of the project was software which could detect certain characteristics which a hospital would be interested in. The project was not fully complete, and did not at any point, get any funding or sales. It was basically a half prototype. The project has also been terminated by company A in June 2018, and no one in the company has worked on that project since then. The company is now working on a completely different project.

Now company B is a company which creates depth sensors(similar to one of the off the shelf items used in the 'Project'). It contains algorithms for identifying visual characteristics that the sensor gets. It could potentially be purchased and used for the 'Project' and if a direct competitor has similar technical requirements to company A, it theoretically could also be bought by them too. Company B has not been involved in this yet.

If a founder from Company A, decides to work part time for Company B today, as part of a team that builds the algorithms for detecting objects in its sensors, must this founder 'refer to the Company, in writing' about the part time work? I understand that it is ethical to do so, but is it legally required?

This founding agreement was made in early 2018, and has not been updated. The information in the founding agreement (such as equity arrangements) is also not updated. The founding agreement includes a vesting agreement for 4 years since early 2018.


texts:
Say an occupational licensing board in a US state denies an applicant, and then he follows their appeal process and had a hearing before a hearing officer who is not a member of the board. The hearing officer produces a detailed report with findings of fact and conclusions of law, and recommends that the applicant be accepted for licensure. The board receives the hearing officer's report and denies the applicant again, without giving any reason.
Assuming all of the above is permitted by statute, does anybody see a due process problem? Can anyone point to any specific case law? To me it looks awfully close to a sham hearing.