texts: Does cashing a check prevent the ability to pursue a company for a related contractual amount?

texts:
Backstory:

06/05/2017: Here is the relevant post for some additional clarity on the matter: Arbitration Clause Account Credits vs Money Stipulation.

I went through arbitration with a company after some issues with a promotional credit obligation not being fulfilled appropriately. Everything with that case has seemingly been complete and they've sent the check for the amount that the arbitrator awarded.

However, their Customer Service Agreement has a clause that may result in them paying an increased amount (about 5x the awarded amount). There's definitely back-and-forth between us on whether they need to pay that or not. The arbitration service is CC'd on all the emails, but they're passive since the clause doesn't seem to involve them changing the reward amount.

I've had the check for about a week now and I'm considering cashing it to cover some financial obligations coming up in the next week or so. I'm here to try and understand what limitations may pop up if I do decide to cash the check.

Questions:

If I cash the check, will I ruin my opportunity to keep pursuing them for the increased amount?
Is there any merit to me sending them an email stating that I'll be cashing the check due to financial needs, but that the act of me doing that is not settling for the amount they paid (if that even has any legal ground)?


texts: Does Double Jeopardy apply to civil cases?

texts:
Once upon a time I was issued TWO citations for the same instance of illegally parking my car. One citation came from the property owner (it was a private pay-to-park lot), and the other came from the city.  Both citations were issued on the same day within 5 minutes of each other. I paid to park in the private lot but it was a 2-hour limit (I was gone for 3).  So I really am at fault here, but the city says it was a metered spot and I just didn't pay at all.

For brevity's sake I'm going to make a long story short. The owner of the lot filed for a summary judgement against me in municipal court. I contested it and the judge tossed the case because the facts were in dispute (whose property was I actually on?) and the property owner never responded.  I thought I was done with the situation.  The state has now moved to suspend my driver's license for failure to pay the fine.

Is this a Double Jeopardy situation?  This case has already been in court and a judge has already ruled on it.  Note that the license suspension specifically says it's for a civil traffic infraction, so this is not a criminal case.

I feel I kind of lucked out the first time around with not having to pay a fine I legitimately owed, but I may not be so lucky for round two. I should also say here that I live about 4 hours away from the city where this happened (I was just visiting at the time), so It's going to be very difficult for me to have to go back to appear in court again to re-litigate this thing.


texts: What makes an organization a criminal organization?

texts:
What exactly makes an organization worthy of the title “criminal organization”?

For instance, say, at some particular bank, it is discovered that several high-ranking officials were involved in an embezzlement scheme. Over the course of three years, these individuals pocketed money intended for company use.

Does this make the bank a criminal organization? If not, then what would?

Also this scenario is happening in America.


texts: I signed a second work contracts in Germany, without checking my first contract

texts:
I am working in a full-time job and I signed another part-time job for 10 hours per week with a university in Berlin.

After I signed the part-time contract I found in my first contract that I have to inform the company in case of having taking a second job and after I asked them they rejected my request to take on a second job.

What should I do now?

I signed another contract without the permission of my first company.


texts: Service Agreement + Temporary License Agreement?

texts:
If two companies (Customer & Supplier) enter into a Master Service Agreement (complemented with a separate Statement of Work for each Individual Project), but the MSA does not contain any provision granting any license to Supplier test and develop SW based on existing source code, how can this be tackled?

Let's say (to make things more complicated a bit) that Customer is not the owner of that source code but rather a subsidiary entity of the owner of IP.

Does it make sense to prepare a separate Temporary License Agreement for test and development purposes between IP owner and Supplier?


texts: Is it legally required for districts to be contiguous?

texts:
I was reading about Shaw v. Reno, a case about a congressional district that was altered on the basis of the race of its voters.

Is there a law (precedent or statutory) which requires congressional districts to be contiguous? I was thinking that you could gerrymander much more effectively if you could make up a district from multiple unconnected parts.

The oddly shaped district in question:


texts: How can spouse transfer title to car in Oklahoma?

texts:
Husband is in Jail and wife has possession of the car. It is in his name. How can title be transferred from him to her in Oklahoma?

However, we don't have the title. Do I have to buy the vehicle from him?


texts:
John Smith is over 18 but under 26. He lives with his parents in California. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with possible comorbid psychological disorders.

John has been hospitalized several times for psychotic episodes but more recently has been reasonably stable on medication. He receives health insurance under his parents' plan, but his parents refuse to pay for his co-pays, hospital bills, and other out-of-pocket costs. He currently receives disability money which allows him to pay for his co-pays.

John is only marginally able to take responsibility for his own healthcare. He often does not schedule psychiatrist appointments until he has run out of medication (due to the nature of his medications, he must see the psychiatrist before every refill). He frequently misses scheduled appointments and spends more money on missed-appointment fees than on co-pays. He will discontinue new medications in as little as a week, without consulting with a doctor, if he believes he is experiencing any negative side effects. He refuses to take his medications at consistent times every day, and forgets to take his morning or evening meds at least once a week.

John's parents do not take responsibility for his healthcare. They do nothing to make sure that he keeps his medications filled or takes his medications on time, nor make any effort to help him schedule or attend appointments.

If John is unable to take care of his own medical needs, and his parents do not assist him in managing his medical needs, is it possible for a third party (e.g. a friend or parent of a friend) to assume responsibility for his medical care (e.g. scheduling appointments, picking up medications, administering medications)? Would this be termed Healthcare Power of Attorney (which is commonly associated with the elderly) or something else?
If a non-family-member assumes responsibility for John's medical care, does the law still require that he (as an adult under the age of 26) be covered under his parents' healthcare plan?


texts: Do I need to register as a Money Service Business for a cryptocurrency trading platform?

texts:
According to the U.S. Department of Treasury FinCen: Money Service Business Definition. The term "money services business" includes;

  any person doing business, whether or not on a regular basis or as an
  organized business concern, in one or more of the following
  capacities:

  Currency dealer or exchanger.
  Check casher.
  Issuer of traveler's checks, money orders or stored value.
  Seller or redeemer of traveler's checks, money orders or stored value.
  Money transmitter.
  U.S. Postal Service.

According to the IRS's Virtual Currency Guidance, and in more detail,

  For federal tax purposes, virtual currency is treated as property.
  General tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to
  transactions using virtual currency.

The way I understand this is, You don't fall under any capacities as a "Money Service Business" if;

Cryptocurrency is to be treated as property, NOT CURRENCY OR MONEY.
Don't allow exchanging from cryptocurrency to fiat.
Don't allow exchanging from fiat to cryptocurrency.
Only allow Cryptocurrency-to-Cryptocurrency exchanges.

Is this correct?

If not, please explain why using the previously mentioned guidelines/documents or any other document or statement issued in an official capacity by a U.S. agency stating why this is incorrect.


texts: Are Wix.com and WordPress.com GDPR compliant?

texts:
When signing up to Wix.com or WordPress.com there is a bundled consent practice which seems to violate Art.7(4).

Note than even no Privacy Policy mentioned in WP.com

https://automattic.com/privacy/
https://www.wix.com/about/privacy
In privacy policies of both companies it is mentioned that they use personal data for marketing purposes in some vague terms. However no opt-out possibility is provided during the signup (bundled consent)

Neither Wix.com nor WordPress.com seems to provide a complete list of data processors according to Art.15(1c).

Is there something I miss here? Can't believe they are not GDPR compliant.


texts: Is the Acting Attorney General in the Presidential Line of Succession?

texts:
The Attorney-General is seventh in the line of succession to the Presidency of the United States.

Does an Acting Attorney-General replace the former Attorney-General in the line of succession?


texts: What prevents laws from being interpreted pedantically?

texts:
In some discussion on another StackExchange, 18 US Code §1464 came up, which states:

  Whoever utters any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Interpreted literally, this is quite absurd: it would mean one can't curse on a cell phone, or view (otherwise legal) pornography with WiFi, both of which I'm pretty sure are legal activities within the US.

I'm not so much worried this particular issue, but I am curious about the general case: there must be thousands of things like this which can be interpreted literally to make a subjectively absurd argument. What is the general principle that keeps application of law sane, and not devolve into chaos and pedantry?


texts: Is it possible to end up in prison due to failure to appear in court for a civil matter?

texts:
This is a question about the law in USA, and is regarding civil cases.

This question is only regarding cases where a civilian, or a non-governmental organization, has sued another civilian. With this question I am not interested of cases related to traffic tickets or fines given by a police department (some law blog I was reading included these in an article about civil cases).

The questions I wanted to ask are:

Is it possible for the defendant to end up in prison if they fail to
appear in the court for this kind of matter?
If failure to appear does not always lead to prison, what are the
kind of situations in which it would lead to that?


texts: Are LoB apps for internal users required to comply with GDPR for work email addresses used in login?

texts:
In Europe, developing Android and iOS Apps, server backend hosted in Azure, on behalf of a customer. The Apps are line-of-business for internal users only, accepting sign-up/login as the work email address of the user.
Does GDPR require that these apps fulfill GDPR requirements for use of the users' personal data (which in this case is exclusively the email address , potentially the user location)?

Extensive research on the topic does not seem to yield any definitive answers.

To be clear, does having a simple login form to a work-only app which requires only the work email address mean that the app must fulfill GDPR active consent to login, use the email, display ToC/Privacy etc?


texts: What is the legality of a business announcing the use of upcoming profits for political advocacy?

texts: I've seen a few businesses, all small, announcing something like "vote against X, and we'll give you Y" or "For the next X days, Y% of profits will be used [in some way] against Z". I'm not asking about using it towards issues, like raising funds for disability aide or similar; rather, specifically against a candidate or active president or congressman. Is this legal? And if not, which law is being violated?


texts: Is it legal to include another company name in your name? Example: Is OrbitzMoving.com (not related to Orbitz.com) legal?

texts:
I used to work for Orbitz.com the travel site and remembered wondering how OrbitzMoving.com could get away with using the Orbitz name in their website url.  OrbitzMoving.com was not related to Orbitz.com in any way, they just hijacked the name to confuse consumers into trusting them.

Is this legal?   Could you start a site called GoogleMoving.com?  I have to think it's not, but OrbitzMoving.com lasted ~10 years.  Would love to hear the right answer.


texts: As an employer, can I compel my employees to vote?

texts:
Obviously an employer absolutely can't require employees to vote for any particular candidate (or even to vote for any candidate rather than spoiling their ballot), but if it was included as a clause in employees' contracts that they must (in company time) attend the appropriate polling station and "participate" in some defined set of elections (eg "all local and national governmental elections and referenda"), and that failing to do so was a disciplinary offence, would such a clause be enforceable?  Would an employer legitimately be able to fire someone for failing to comply?

Looking for answers in relation to the UK.


texts: What is the jurisdiction of the Khashoggi murder case?

texts:
Today, I read that Turkish president Erdogan wants the Saudi hit squad that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi to face justice in Turkey for their role in the murder.

There seems little doubt that a murder occurred; there seems little doubt that the murder occurred inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey.  If that is the case, then the murder occurred on Saudi soil, and thus the perpetrators should be facing Saudi justice - not Turkish.

I'm not at all interested in the politics of the case, only the legal jurisdiction of a case like this.  Since the case is ongoing and facts may change, for purposes of this question, assume that it is the case that a murder occurred in the Saudi consulate, and the perpetrators were Saudi nationals.

Is it true that consuls are territories of the countries they represent, and not of the area they take up?  Where do crimes get adjudicated in cases like this?  Are there different protocols to handle certain kinds of crimes?  Does it depend on a treaty between two countries, or is this standard international law?


texts: I just read this story about a lawsuit. Does it make any sense?

texts:
I read a fictional story about this assault/lawsuit, and I'm really stuck on some of the details. I'm trying to figure out if it was actually written correctly or not...

So this guy assaulted another guy, pretty much. It was a pretty messy assault, though, and they both wound up with injuries although the victim didn't get the chance to fight back before the attacker stopped. Nobody witnessed the assault, but the police showed up after the fact and arrested the attacker, but not the victim.

A while later, the victim is subpoenaed to court. The attacker has a lawyer. He didn't hire the lawyer, though, one was provided for him. The attacker is being charged with attempted murder. When the victim is called to the stand, he says it wasn't attempted murder. The thing is that the attacker and the victim were actually friends, they just got into a heated argument, and the one guy just took it too far and attacked the other guy. On the stand, the victim says that the attacker wasn't trying to kill him, he was just trying to beat him up a little to scare him off, pretty much.

The judge concludes that it wasn't attempted murder, but aggravated assault, and the attacker is sentenced to six months in prison. The attacker is sent to a holding cell, requests to speak with the victim, and the victim shows up. The attacker is then sent to prison, gets out six months later, and life returns to normal.

Did any of that make even the slightest bit of sense? Some questions in specific...

Why did they only arrest the attacker and not the victim?

Can the victim be subpoenaed to court? Could they have actually done anything without the victim present?

Is the victim's testimony enough to actually reduce the sentence down to aggravated assault? Is six months too short of a time?

Would the attacker have been put in a holding cell? Could he have requested to see the victim? This seems like the "one phone call" thing to me, but is that possible here?

Would the attacker just go back to normal after his release? Would there be any further punishments or restrictions?

Could the victim change his testimony afterward and reopen the case? Or would that be unreliable?

How many years would the attacker have been facing for the original attempted murder? Why did it take so long for the case to start?

I think there are some details I'm forgetting, so I'll edit this if I remember more. Thanks in advance.


texts:
I put some money in Bitforex and some say that they do wash trading. This is where they inflate the volume of trade in their sites.

Is it legal? Also, what's the jurisdiction of Bitforex?


texts:
My company just announced that they will no longer award paid time off, effective 15 days before the announcement. I’m concerned that such a change may not be legal.

I am paid monthly. My job is at-will. My offer specified a certain wage and certain benefits, including X paid days off per month which may accumulate to a certain limit and Y paid sick days per month which may accumulate without limit. Upon separation, my unused paid time off is paid out to me and sick leave is forfeited. The retroactive application date is the start of the current pay period.

I haven’t used the time off that is being retroactively removed. (I couldn’t without special permission, in the same way that I couldn’t spend the pay period’s wages until they are paid into my bank account.)
I understand that no law requires granting paid time off (with a few exceptions).

Intuitively, it seems like it would be illegal for a company to say they decided to pay only 50% of the promised wages for time already worked. But I’m not sure whether the same intuition applies to paid time off awards.

Is it legal for a company to retroactively reduce or eliminate non-wage compensation for time already worked?


texts: Is it possible to take someone to small claims court while living and working abroad?

texts:
My father passed away two years ago. My brother was issued executor of my father's assets. My father left a will stating I have equal rights to the assets he left when he passed away.

I live and work abroad. Will I be able to take my brother to small claims court for not issuing my share of my father's estate?


texts: What laws protect minority share holders from having their share rights changed by special resolution?

texts: A special resolution done by majority share holders can simply change the rights of certain shares and make them useless. They can reduce the share's voting rights or reduce dividend payment.


texts: Would it be libel if published information was "leaked" by third parties?

texts:
Suppose your company is doing a competitive analysis on a competitor, and compiles a set of unflattering data. This is for "internal" (company) use, not for publication. But a hacker breaks into your system, steals the info, and publishes it. Some of it happens to be "untrue." The reason is because this data is being constantly collected and verified, but because of the hacker, some false data was "released" before the company could do its checks.

Under currently existing legal theories, would the liability be limited to the hacker who actually published the data? Or is there an established theory of liability against your company for compiling it? For the above, assume that we are in the U.S.

Let's move to the UK, where libel law is much more in favor of the plaintiffs. There, not only publishers but distributors of "libel" can be sued. Would it be much easier to sue your company in the UK on the theory that you were part of the food chain?


texts: Can I create and sell a literature study guide for a copyright protected fiction book? I quote fewer than 300 words from the fiction book, but I could easily omit the quotes altogether. The guide teaches literature conventions and critical thinking through questions inspired by the story, games, projects, art activities, and other activities inspired by the story.


texts:
I am currently doing my graduation project. I am an undergraduate student in a UK university, and invented a new diagnostic device for clinical use.
I finished my prototype and it's nearly the end of the project. However, I need to write a long report about it for graduation and I haven't yet filed for a patent. The deadline for the report is in two days.

What kind of declaration in the report could protect my rights for patent registration? I built the device entirely at my own expense. Also, there is a chance that the college will select my report and post it online, for the public to see.


texts: Holding harmless to the extent it infringes on others

texts:
I was reading example contracts and found this phrase I don't fully understand:

  Client expressly agrees that it will hold the Designer harmless for
  all liability caused by the Client’s use of the Designer’s product to
  the extent such use infringes on the rights of others.

In plain English, what does it mean? In particular I find confusing the last part "to the extent such use infringes on the rights of others". Does it mean:

If the client infringed on the rights of others, he will hold harmless the designer for this.
The client will always hold harmless the designer, to the maximum extent just before he infringes on others rights by doing so.
Something different.
Both 1. and 2., it is ambiguous.

This seems to be a very broad statement.


texts: Can someone be compelled to prove they are complying with a contract? (If contract doesn't stipulate such proving)

texts:
I serve on an HOA board, and a fellow board-member believes we can compel someone to prove they're not violating a rule, and punish them if they are violating it OR IF THEY REFUSE TO PROVE they aren't.

The rule in this example is "no inoperable vehicle in the driveway".  We haven't seen the car move.  But we don't have 24x7 surveillance on that driveway either.  Even if it's not moving, that doesn't mean it's not capable of moving (inoperABLE).

Fellow board-member believes it's inoperable and wants to give 7 days to move it.

Our bylaws never stated a 7 days limit, nor do they have any language requiring homeowners to testify against themselves or provide evidence to their defense.

Fellow board-member's argument is that it's inherent to any contract that both parties have to prove they're in compliance.  I don't know where she got that, and she refuses to cite any sources.  The state is Kansas, USA if that is relevant.

I'm not looking for advice on the car.  I'm asking about the broader legal argument of having to defend one's self.  Is not the burden of proving the violation on the accuser?

I feel it is at the very least reckless to go accusing someone if we don't have any evidence of an actual violation.

I'd very much appreciate citation of sources in the answer that I can present at next board meeting to have a better informed discussion.


texts: Can a company bind an "affiliated" company in a contract if the term is used 1) improperly and 2) properly?

texts:
Normally, an affiliate is a company in which another company or entity has a minority interest. (This is different from a subsidiary, in which a company has more than 50% control.) Under those circumstances, I don't see how the company can bind its affiliate in a contract.
But Company B signed a contract with Company C, binding itself to sell all of its widget production, and that of its "affiliate" A, at a fixed price to C. In the relevant contract, Company B defined "affiliate" (perhaps improperly) as a company it controls. In point of fact, the "control" percentage was 80%.
Can Company B so bind A with 80% control? How about 40% ownership?


texts: Has anyone ever been fined for not wearing a mask in California?

texts: California has a statewide mask order. I wonder if anyone has ever been fined for violating it?


texts:
It makes sense to reject a sham marriage (marriage of convenience) arranged solely for the purpose of admitting foreigners to EU on false claims of "anknytningsperson" (loosely speaking "connected person").

It is not legal to pay a person to become an "anknytningsperson" and the Swedish authorities have been very clear that it is not legal.

I've tried to report a so-called sham marriage that was approved solely for the purpose of admitting foreigners to Sweden. I spoke with the police, the immigration office and the immigration court, the tax authorities and they say that the case is not unique but that they don't have experience.

The background is that some of my acquaintances started to fabricate and sell false documents which they have registered at the tax authorities and at the immigration offices.

In one case, the lady got paid SEK 100 000 (what kind of money is that?) and the couple didn't live together but the lady registered at the foreigner's address for some time and they registered an intention of getting married with the Swedish tax authories to fake that they had a relation. Now in fact the couple was already married by convenience in Iran to begin with. They had not met before the marriage.

There are several court cases where these cases are called crimes against the law of foreigners ("brott mot utlänningslagen").

The law is clear that it is not legal, and the immigration authorities even answered that if it is a marriage of convenience then the application for immigration is not legal, so the case seems clear but still the falsification has been approved which is not legal.

Is there any advice what to do to complain?

The Swedish criminal law is available in English here.

The prosecutor agreed that one relevant jurisdiction is:

  A person who gives untrue information about his identity or about
  other than his own affairs in a certificate or other document, or for
  the sake of appearances prepares a document concerning a legal
  document shall, if the act jeopardises proof, be sentenced for false
  certification to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months. If the
  crime is considered gross because it involves misuse of official
  position or for other reasons, imprisonment for at most two years
  shall be imposed. A person who invokes or otherwise uses a false
  document referred to in the first paragraph, shall, if the act
  jeopardises proof, be sentenced, as there provided, for using a false
  document.

Recent news about sham marriages is clear that it is not legal and the penalty is 3 years in prison in the UK.

There was also a BBC article about sham marriages recently.


texts: Police and failure to enter home of suicidal person

texts: An individual with a known mental health/substance abuse history was held in protective custody on a given night due to heavy drinking and unsafe behavior.  That individual was released from custody in the morning.  That afternoon police were called due to a videochat in which the individual had a noose hanging in the background.  The police department made no attempt to enter the house although all doors were open and did not attempt to call the concerned caller (parent) for additional information?  Is there any potential liability for the municipality or police department which told the parent that they would send police and an ambulance -- and nothing was done to intervene.


texts: Can an email to a 3rd party be admitted as an evidence in the court? (Family Law UK)

texts:
I am the applicant. Yesterday in the position statement of the respondent there was the following statement:

  “There is now produced and shown to me marked JS1 a true copy of his email to my friend dated 8th October 2018”

I do not know which email the position statement is referring to (it wasn’t presented to  me).

Can such thing (I will not call it evidence) be admitted in the court?

I have certain views about privacy and confidentiality, as well as family law system in the UK that operates as secret courts. I treat all my communication as public (don’t trust my device, don’t trust internet provider, don’t trust my browser) and yet I cannot understand why a 3rd party communication should matter to the court in any way?

The main question remain valid - is it legally valid to include a correspondence to a 3rd party in the position statement?


texts: GDPR: What data am I allowed to keep after a user requests deletion?

texts:
I struggle to find an insightful article on what, specifically, I have to delete and what I don't have to delete when a user requests deletion of their data.
Some things are obvious to me: personal information like name, email and any text/images/content they added etc.
What's less obvious to me:

Do I have to delete our internal user ID (never shown to anyone on the platform, except possibly to the user themselves)?
Do I have to delete statistics about how this - after deletion anonymous - user used the platform, e.g. which pages they visited? They're on our own server.


texts: Viewing pornography that is taken illegally

texts:
Is it legal to view pornography that is taken and uploaded illegally?

For example is it illegal to view voyeur videos that have been uploaded to a site?


texts: House burned down and insurance company is trying not to honor recently updated policy?

texts:
Back in November my home burned down in the Camp Fire in Norther California.  A few days before the house burned down I updated my policy to have a lower deductible and more coverage.  Now that it is time to pay out for the loss, my insurance company is saying that since "the event had already begun" when I made the changes they will not honor the terms of the newer policy.

I have a declaration page that clearly states that my coverage is in effect a day or two before my home burned down.  I had already paid for the improved coverage and was told during my phone call that the changes would take effect immediately.

Can they legally do this?

Also - they are now requesting that I have a "recorded phone call" with them to discuss which policy will be in effect.  I would like to be as prepared as possible for this phone call and would obviously like an outcome in my favor.  Are there things that I should avoid saying or things that I should do to prepare for this phone call?

Thanks for any help


texts: How it is with a right to solicitor after arrest and in custody?

texts: I would like to find out how it is with a right to solicitor after arrest and in custody? I demanded a lawyer but I was not allowed to meet him personally and actions were continued and I was forced to take part in proceedings without the presence of a lawyer. During a short phone conversation the lawyer said that he could not talk to me because the conversation was recorded and he was waiting for information when he could meet me in private.


texts: Can I get in trouble for making a malware?

texts: I'm making a malware software in my final thesis at the university. I won't use it ever, and it was made by educational and scientific purposes only. But my university will publish it, giving the opportunity for everyone to use it. If someone commit a crime with my software, can I get in trouble?


texts: Would an online employment directory for graduates of Christian Colleges be discriminatory?

texts:
I recently read an article describing an employer who was trying to recruit Christian workers because he felt they were more honest. The article claims this behavior is breaking Federal Anti-discrimination Laws.
My question: Would the following job marketplace break these laws:

Christian college grads setup a profile
Employers sign up with positions they're looking to fill
Employers get sent a list of grads that could be a fit for the position

My thought is that the marketplace itself would not break these laws. The employers would be responsible to not use this as the sole source of new hires.


texts: Is intentional anti-gentrification a tort?

texts:
Suppose I hire some homeless people to stand in a specific neighborhood. Housing prices drop. I then buy a house cheaply. What can I be sued for?
The best idea I had is that if I had them target a specific house being sold, and one of them committed a misdemeanor, then a plaintiff could argue that they should be found to be my employees and that they were furthering a business purpose in committing the misdemeanor, and I be found under vicarious liability.
Even with that idea, still sounds like a good way to buy some cheap housing.
There are many variants:

What if I had no business motive; I just wanted to de-gentrify the neighborhood at no personal gain?
What if I give them a broader direction, e.g.: giving them a bunch of food and a bus ticket to Denver, and no further instructions.


texts: Can pest service provider cancel contract without reason and keep payment in excess of $1000?

texts:
The issue is two fold, I overpaid this pest control company by mistake (4 years worth), the first phone call, they said it shouldn't be a problem but no one called back. I called 7 times before someone called back stating the owner refused to refund the money. I offered to pay for the rest of the year and get the rest back, they refused. When I finally got the owner, he told me he was cancelling my contract, can he do that without providing a reason? and is he able to not provide me with a refund for services not rendered? Business is in South Carolina but I reside in Georgia.

The clause in question for him keeping my money states: "The obligation of company hereunder is conditioned upon payment in full of the initial charge and all regular service charges and failure to pay such charges shall cancel this plant in its entirety and discharge company of any liability, and any amount paid shall become the property of the company. This agreement is for an initial period of one year and shall continue thereafter until suspended by either part"

Cancellations clause says it has to be done in person at their office but doesn't provide any or via certified mail but doesnt describe if he gets to cancel the contract or how I would know.

There is also a clause for mandatory arbitration.


texts: What is the penalty for not respecting GDPR outside EU?

texts:
What happens when a newspaper website in USA or in Australia or in Japan does not comply with GDPR?
Can EU punish them in any way?


texts: Do I have to let Buyer in after disclosing new defects?

texts:
I disclosed new defects to the buyer along with a inspector's estimate after he removed the inspection contingency. He wants to bring in his inspectors to inspect these defects. The new defects occurred after the inspection period. What's the general rule in this case, do I have to let them in?
Specifically, the contract states "Buyer has the right to conduct Buyer investigations of the property and, as specified in paragraph 14B, based upon information discovered in those investigations:" cancel or ask for repairs.
14B states "Buyer has 17 days after acceptance, unless otherwise agreed in writing, to (i) complete all buyer investigations...(2) requests any repairs...(3) Buyer shall send removal of contingency...(4) Buyer retains right to remove all contingencies or cancel agreement".
But it also states that (also Part of 14B) "(5) Access to Property: Buyer shall have access to the Property to conduct inspections and investigations for 17 days (expired) after acceptance, whether or not any part of the Buyer's Investigation contingency has been waived or removed".
Overall, do I need to let the inspectors in?
Country:USA
State: CA
Residential property
Side Note: The buyer has 3 or 5 days, starting with the delivery of the new disclosures, to cancel but the agent (dual) says that the buyer is asking for an inspection 7 days later which is essentially waiving those 3 or 5 days, right?
Edit: Only thing I find regarding adding additional disclosures and what it means for seller and buyer if it helps. "If any disclosure or notice specified in paragraph 10A or subsequent or amended disclosure or notice is delivered to the Buyer after the offer is signed, Buyer shall have the right to cancel this Agreement within 3 days after delivery in person or 5 days after delivery by deposit in the mail...by giving written notice of cancellation to seller or seller's agent." Paragraph 10A just talks about the disclosures at the beginning of the sale like lead-based paint, natural hazards etc.
Edit 2: This is an old example contract I found online that is 99% similar to mine. Only difference is the numbering/order.
https://mrdaymude.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/CA-Standard-Form-Purchase-Agreement.pdf


texts: What are the 5th Amendment Rights of Minor Students with respect to School Resource Officers?

texts:
I am wondering how to teach my children what Professor James Duane of Regent University advises: Don't Talk to the Police.

Then I considered that in reaction to school shootings, my local school system has embedded School Resource Officers (SRO) aka cops in each school.

My kids are much more vulnerable than I am.  These SROs will look like authority figures (aka teachers) that students are socialized to interact with.  When the teacher asks you a question, you are expected to answer.

Do minor students even have the right to refuse to talk to an SRO?


texts:
My wife has been employed at a Fortune 50 company for 10 years and was laid off in March 2017.  When we asked about the 401K we were told that our address is not correct and the 401K plan manager refuses any contact with us.

They won't send correspondence, they won't send out an address correction form, they won't respond at all.  This has been going on about 6 months and we have about 225K in the 401K.  Can anything be done or do they just keep the money?


texts: Can insurance companies in the US give a premium discount to people who get a COVID-19 vaccine?

texts:
There is abundant evidence that many COVID-19 vaccines, e.g. from Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca-Oxford etc., dramatically reduce morbidity and mortality.
They thus reduce costs to medical insurance companies.
Is it legal for an insurance company to pass such savings on to their customers, and give them incentive to stay healthy, by giving a premium discount to customers who get vaccinated?


texts: Can the executor of a will enter into an option agreement for property on behalf of the estate?

texts:
I am acting as executor for my late father's estate. This is in UK.

One issue that the beneficiaries do not 100% agree on is how to go about selling the house. Some wish to sell it "normally" via an estate agent, others wish to explore possibility of selling to a developer with planning permission, as this potentially gains more cash, but at a risk. Some beneficiaries (including myself) do not want to take on this extra risk. However, I would like to take all beneficiaries' opinions into account, so I want to explore what the developer option would mean.

My understanding is that a sale via an estate agent would be done in a very similar way to selling one's own house, and can be handled by conveyance direct from the estate. That is, there is no requirement to resolve the inheritance of the house as a shared asset by all beneficiaries before selling it. Instead it is sold by the estate, ownership transfers to the new owner, and the executor would then distribute the proceeds of the sale to the beneficiaries.

There are lots of ways to deal with property development. For the purposes of this question, assume it will work via a call option. The developer would create an option agreement against the property, to purchase it at an agreed price in future, should the planning process and potential profits suit them. Of course if we proceed with that we will take professional advice on the option agreement in detail.

My question is whether it is feasible for the estate to enter into an option agreement directly with the developer? If it is feasible, is it advisable?

My initial thoughts are that it would either not be possible (although this is just an assumption - without any legal knowledge), or potentially just a bad idea, because the option agreement would be more complex, due to ownership and accountability being split.

Therefore, my initial understanding is that the house would need to transfer ownership to being shared between beneficiaries, and as a group the beneficiaries could enter into option agreement (or not) as normal property owners. One attractive approach here is to have beneficiaries who want low risk be bought out by the others, allowing us to resolve differences of opinion on selling the house separate to resolving the will. However, I am not asking about that detail - I'm just sharing it to avoid answers focusing on that advice. So another way to phrase my question: Is this inherit-then-contract approach the only [legally sensible] way to approach signing up to an option agreement, making it fundamentally different to an estate agent sale?


texts:
There's been a lot of discussion in the media lately about the question of whether a sitting president can be indicted.

The Constitution says that in order to be vice-president one must have the same qualifications that the Constitution requires of the president (being at least 35 years old, being a "natural-born citizen", etc.).

How much do the questions of indictment of the president and indictment of the vice-president have in common?

Am I right in thinking that in 1973 the vice-president actually was indicted (for having taken bribes when he was governor of Maryland)?


texts: Can you avoid the division of debt during a divorce (Arizona community property laws)?

texts:
The context is in USA, AZ and with regard AZ community property laws.
Say spouse A gets a credit card and racks up debt on the card without Spouse B's knowledge or consent. The couple had the income to support all expenses and had no need for the said credit card.
How can spouse B avoid taking on liability for this debt in the division of community property?
IS there any legal precedent, in Arizona (or other community property states) that allows an individual (spouse B) from acquiring debt that spouse A acquired during the marriage?


texts: US, legal producing pornography, illegal prostitution

texts: If prostitution is illegal in the US, but production of pornography legal, couldn't johns/punters just offer prostitutes money for filming a pornographic movie instead of money in exchange of sex?


texts: What is the legal theory which allows members of active military service to be legislators?

texts:
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a Hawaii Army National Guard major.  She is also a serving member of the House of Representatives.

On the face of it, it seems to be a violation of the separation of powers for any person to retain an officer commission while also being a legislator.  She may, after all, (at least in theory) have to take orders from the commander-in-chief, who is in a different branch of the government.

I do not think that her situation is unique.  I am sure there have been many other legislators who were either in reserve or on active duty.

Was there a SCOTUS case which provided guidance on why this is allowed?  Or does this arrangement rely on a good faith belief that (a) a President would not interfere with the legislature by issuing orders which may interfere with an enlisted legislator's Congressional duties or that (b) such a legislator would not use her position to influence the armed services?


texts:
Situation:
Parent company is registered in the EU member state but does not do b2c business in the EU and does not process personal data of Europeans. Subsidiaries are not EU companies and  does not do b2c business in the EU and does not process personal data of europeans.
Is it true that the parent company must comply with the GDPR just because it is registred in the EU (even if does not really do business in the EU)?


texts: A hypothetical accident: charges, verdict, sentencing

texts:
In my speculative fiction work-in-progress (sorry about the fantasy elements :), but to be frank, superhero prose is a hard sell and I need some weirdness like this to interest the suits in publishing). I have this chapter wherein the protagonist, a 21 y.o. normal human male is transformed into a Superman-like being, the only such “super” in the world. Powers include flight and invulnerability.

Just a few hours after this freakish transformation, he goes riding on his Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle, to think (this takes place in Florida). While he is riding along, he runs over a pit in the road, blows a front tire, and pancakes, eating pavement in the process. He slides into the opposite lane into the path of an 18-wheeler and gets run over. In the following, he suffers no harm whatsoever as he is invulnerable.

His path is in purple (under the truck). The front tire of the truck hits him and blows as well, causing the truck driver to lose control.

Long story short, he rises to his hands and knees at X, in effect becoming an roughly 30 inch tall, immovable, indestructible object. Then he’s struck by the trailer rear tires (red squares). They shear off, all 8 tires and two axles as a unit, go airborne and land across the road in a parking lot on top of a car. A woman inside that car is killed immediately. The truck itself jack-knifes and wrecks, turning over.

The protagonist doesn’t notice crushed car across the road, checks out the truck driver (who’s the sole occupant), sees that he’s belted up, unharmed, and coming to. He looks around; there are no other witnesses--it’s a Sunday morning, and leaps over to his slightly damaged bike. Handlebars in hand he rises straight up a thousand feet or so, surveys the scene, hears sirens, and leaves the scene. Why? He’s a physical freak, and he’s nervous about revealing himself so early. Read too many comics ;).

He doesn’t know about the fatality until weeks later when it’s revealed to him. Now he decides to turn himself in, even though the authorities are unaware of him (the truck driver was blamed, even though he swears a motorcyclist caused him to wreck). The protag, remorseful, does turn himself in, although he mentions nothing of his abilities, the super powers that is. Just a clear-cut case, he lost control of his bike, the wreck and fatality occurred. He miraculously escaped injury, he claims, and panicked (which I doubt the investigators would buy), not noticing the crushed car across the street.

First question: what would he be charged with, since I assume he caused the wreck and he did leave the scene? Maybe involuntary manslaughter?

Next question: if found guilty, could he face incarceration? I should add he has no record.

Working toward my next question; during the wait for trial an alphabet agency in DC discovers (long story) that this guy is a freak, a superhuman of unknown abilities. They approach the judge in the case and ask him to make the defendant an offer when he announces the sentence. Jail or join the military. The Feds wants the man’s real abilities investigated and possibly have him utilized in say, special forces. So...

Last question: This offer seem possible in today’s courts? I think the actor Steve McQueen was offered this (before fame), IIRC.


texts: Does Air France Cancellation policy violate EU 261/2004

texts:
Related to https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/155243/air-france-cancellation-policy-seems-to-violate-eu261 but this question is explicitly about legality as compared to "how to approach Expedia"
Air France Cancellation Policy says for flights canceled by Air France:

complete the online form below to obtain a travel voucher. This voucher is valid for 1 year on all Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic flights. This voucher will be refundable after one year if it is not used

EU 261/2004
Article 5:

In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:

(a) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 8; and

Article 8:

Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

So it seems that EU261 requires refund within 7 days but Air France is offering only a travel voucher that may be refunded after one year.
Questions:

Does this Air France policy violate EU 261 ?
If yes, what options does a passenger have to get a full refund as required bu EU 261 ?


texts: Can infringement of a trademark be pursued for using a company's name in a sentence?

texts:
If I have a sentence on my business website stating something similar to

"Mr. Smith participated in the process that ended with Pepsi acquiring Silly Sally's Sodas"

Is this a basis for infringement on Pepsi or SSS? No logos or other graphics used, just a plain statement of fact.

Can Pepsi or SSS sue for trademark infringement?


texts: Leagalities of recreating a website design but not using publically

texts:
I am wanting to try and "copy" a website design, for an example let's use facebook. What I am going to do is simply try to recreate the page layout completely from scratch. The only resources I will be using are images/spritesheets from the website. The purpose of this is simply so I can recreate the design from scratch and record the coding as I progress and then upload it to youtube or another platform. What I am worried about is design copyright, because in the recreation I make the orginal website name and images/logos will be used.

However, because the design will never be used by me for any online purpose (meaning: I will not be putting the finished files online or using the design to create anything else) Will I be able to do this without causing any infringment to the website copyright and still be allowed to upload the finished video to youtube or similar platform?

Another note, if I am allowed legally to do this will I need to put some sort of disclamer into the description of the video about how I do not own any of the names or images shown?


texts: Does my phone company have the right to charge me later for a service that I never requested?

texts:
I have a phone service that charge a flat rate every month providing 30GB data at high speeds and then unlimited data at 2G.

Now I noticed that as I finished my 30GB data quota, the company never slowed down my data speed as it promised. So far I have used about 40GB high speed data this month and the system shows my data balance is negative. Surely I am enjoying more (unlimited?) high speed data, but I am wondering if eventually they will charge me for the high speed data that I used after the 30GB limit.

Since I never requested high speed data beyond 30GB and the company did not slow down my data speed as it promised, I am basically receiving a free service that is neither promised by the company nor requested by me.

Does the company have the right to charge me eventually for the high speed data that I used? Will they likely to do so? Or maybe it is simply a loophole that I am not responsible of (in which case I can use as much high speed data as I need with no consequence)?


texts: What constitutes PII w.r.t. DPA \ EU legislations?

texts:
I have the following data items:

Name
Office
Department
Parking space number

I'm using What is personal data? – A quick
reference guide to figure out what out of these items would be regarded as PII.

The first two questions are:

Can a living individual be identified from the data?
Does the data ‘relate to’ the identifiable living
individual?

The Name obviously ticks both of these which the document states is PII.

The other three are harder though.

Office and Department mean nothing (assuming a lot of people work there), unless it is combined with the name.  Now they both inform an adversary where that person will be during their working hours.
If we assume that each employee has a car parking space then the car parking space number can be used to identify the person.  Again, an adversary could use this information for nefarious acts.

The reference document does give me an option for "Unsure" for answering question 2, in which case the next question is:

Is the data ‘obviously about’ a particular individual?

This, and the subsequent questions are where I'm starting to get unsure.  Office, department and car parking space don't feel like PII.  The document and my reasoning seem, to me, so suggest they would.

NB: I'm used to working with computers where things are generally black or white.  My argument above would hold if I was working with a security architecture, but maybe not with defining PII.


texts: Are open-source developers protected to a greater extent from liability in the event of security breach involving their software?

texts:
I'm studying for the Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) exam and am confused by some statements that were made regarding cloud application security.  Specifically a statement on proprietary software vs open source:

  Perhaps one of the main points in favor of proprietary options is the
  possibility that liability will map back to the vendor -- that
  breaches or other impact due to failures in the program can be blamed
  on the vendor, who may be help accountable (although it's difficult to
  think of examples where this has occurred).

I don't understand -- if I'm using opensource software to protect some asset in my organization, how does that completely absolve the developer? Are open source use licenses that good? Or is this predicated on the assumption that I'm not paying anything for open source software? Or perhaps it's based on the assumption that as a customer who had the opportunity to review the source code for security issues, I did?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying that everyone should have the means to sue open source developers (certainly not!!) but I want to understand why the cloud application security material in this course seems to have a blanket statement essentially saying "if you're using open-source security software, you can't hold the developer liable."


texts:
I am a software engineer interested in creating a side business. I already understand most of my company's policies around this, but I am a little unsure about one area.

I understand that if I use a license purchased for me by my company on my side business, this could be a breach of contract and my primary employer could bring action against me, as considered in this question.

If I were to purchase the license myself and seek reimbursement for it, would this change the ownership of the license and therefore negate the breach of contract?


texts: In the EU, with GDPR in force, can a company refuse service if a customer doesn't want marketing emails?

texts:
I am having an argument with a local discount airline in the EU:

They have been sending 3 up-sell emails for a single flight. Under GDPR, it is my right to revoke any consent to receive marketing material.

Their argument is that email is an all or nothing and if I opt-out of marketing emails, I will not receive purchase confirmations, etc.

I am wondering if this is legal under GDPR to limit service because I refuse to receive marketing emails.


texts: Simply put, on what grounds can a company refuse to repay a deposit? What criteria give them the right to do so? I had an incident where a company refused to repay my deposit, with reasons I was not informed of either verbally or in writing.


texts: Does Unity's "Reference Only" license allow anything that copyrighted publication would not?

texts:
I recently encountered the Unity Reference-Only License.

Is there any freedom allowed by this license that wouldn't be allowed already simply by an "All Rights Reserved" copyrighted publication of the source code?  In other words, is there anything they are granting beyond what is granted by the default copyright, as described on OpenSource.SE?

I'm wondering why they bothered to write an explicit license when it seems on the surface of it that the same effect could have been achieved without doing so.  Perhaps there is some subtlety I'm missing.


texts: What would happen to the churches (physical buildings), works of art, etc. in case of a new schism?

texts:
In the recent past, in the opinion of some theologians, the German catholic church is close to a schism with the Catholic Church.
Regardless of whether you agree or not, I'm interested in knowing what would happen to the physical assets (churches, works of art, etc) of the catholic church in Germany? Would they then belong to the newly founded German church?


texts: Do I need permission to reimplement application programming interface calls/classes?

texts: Suppose MS Excel has an API so that other programs can communicate with it. Suppose I'm the developer of OpenOffice Calc, and I want other programs to be able to communicate with my program in like manner. So, for example, let's say Excel's API has a function called "run" and takes a formula as an argument. Calc's API would then also have a function called "run", which takes a function as an argument. Is that legal?


texts: When can a contract require the agreenment of another contract?

texts:
I have seen several contracts that have terms such as "by accepting this offer you agree to sign a NDA/Non-Compete/Anti-harassment/Etc". How can this be fair prior to even seeing the NDA?

I work for a company that during the on boarding had a website say

  I acknowledge that I have downloaded and/or was provided with the
  Company Employee Handbook on the previous page of this onboarding
  portal.  All Company policies contained in the Handbook are subject to
  change or modification at the Company’s discretion.  Complete and
  current versions of all Company policies and the Handbook are
  available to me on-line once I am an active Company employee.

I recently was in violation of a rule that I believe contradicts the law. I honestly don't remember being provided with any handbook. I remember the website being very buggy and think the recruiter advised me just to click ok on everything.

I have a few related questions that I ask out of curiosity

if the policy in the handbook was enforceable, would I be in breach of the contract if I didn't follow it? It seems unreasonable to say the handbook can be updated from time to time and that I had agreed to always follow it no matter what
Is the contract void if I was never provided with a handbook?
Is this even a contract? Hypothetically speaking could the company fire me or do more for a breach of policy in the handbook which I had been given?
In general if you were given instructions just to "click ok" could that make the contract void because of not having agreed to it?


texts: Which, if any, data protection laws apply?

texts:
I am the DBA (Database Administrator) of an online group. We store a few bits of personal data for our members. Name, Age, Email. Nothing huge. The rest of the data is specific to our group.

I don't believe we need to do anything specific but I wanted to check.

The thing that I believe makes this complex is that I think there are possibly different countries laws that apply:
I (the DBA) live in the UK.
About 4/5 of our members are US based.
A spattering of members from EU countries.
The data is stored on a server in Canada.

Based on this website, in the UK we are based as a hobby group and thus I do not need to do anything. What I don't know is if any other countries law would apply?

Thanks for any help!


texts: Illegal to have a driver's license in multiple states?

texts:
In New Hampshire they have a law that it makes it illegal to issue a driver's license unless the person has no other license in another state:

  263:4 Driver Limited to One License. – No person shall receive a
  driver's license unless and until he surrenders to the division all
  valid driver's licenses in his possession issued to him by any other
  jurisdiction. All surrendered licenses shall be returned by the
  division to the issuing department together with information that the
  licensee is now licensed in a new jurisdiction.

  Source. 1905, 86:4. 1911, 133:8. 1921, 119:7. PL 101:1. 1927, 11:2. RL
  117:1. 1945, 44:3. RSA 261:1. 1965, 207:1. 1981, 146:1, eff. Jan. 1,
  1982.

The US Constitution specifies that each state must respect the laws of the others, so it would seem contrary to this that one state should refuse a drivers license unless the same is revoked in another.

Has this issue ever been tested in court?


texts: Helping disabled person to vote by mail in Florida

texts:
My mother has MS and can barely move her arms, she cannot grip a pen, much less write anything.
She is interested in voting but she cannot sign the ballot. How can I legally help her to vote (by mail-in ballot)?


texts: Are damages in non-disclosure agreements regarding illegal acts enforceable?

texts:
The question arises because of reading that a famous music artist had hushed up instances of sex with a minor through the use of non-disclosure agreements. Making these enforceable in a civil setting would seem contrary to the public interest in having sanctions fall solely on the adult in such an instance.

I suppose a further question would arise whether non-disclosure agreements regarding any illegal acts would be enforceable, but I imagine the such agreements might sometimes be evidence of violating laws regarding conspiracy to obstruct justice. (I'm not a lawyer, so accept any mangling of proper terminology.)

So I guess the overarching question is what sort of statutory or common law restrictions exist on the enforceablity of non-disclosure agreements? I do understand that practically the mechanism may be more "effective", even in the absence of enforceability, due to unwillingness of victims or witnesses to provide evidence.


texts: What can happen if you violate a cease and desist letter?

texts:
A few months ago, my alma mater emailed me a cease and desist letter for repeatedly trying to have a grievance against a former professor dismissed and complaining about how the dept. chair handled the situation. (My attempts were spread across around 7 months and involved going to various levels of administration, the Board of Regents, and asking a couple of faculty and staff members to reach out to her on my behalf.)  In addition to the request to "cease and desist' from that behavior, the letter prohibited me from communicating with anyone at the university except their assistant general counsel. (Every employee at the university has been instructed to forward/report all communications from me.)
I've reported the university to a state agency for how they handled the situation and requested that they investigate to find out if there was a grievance against the prof., and if there was, to have it and any consequences she may have faced reversed. (The dept. chair told me in writing that there was a formal grievance, but the university denied this once I started requesting to retract it.) Due to the Covid situation, however, this agency is behind in processing complaints, and the professor will soon retire.
I sometimes consider emailing her to apologize and explain how my mental health (combined with my admiration for her) affected my behavior. I don't expect anything from her, but I hated the way things ended between us, and this may help me feel better. However, I'm sure she'd have to forward the letter to the asst. general counsel, so I want to ask what potential consequences I could face if she does?
I'm not going to risk being charged with harassment, involuntarily committed (can they do that if I'm not a danger to myself/others?) or any other serious consequences. However, the letter might have been an intimidation tactic to get me to discontinue trying to retract the grievance/ complaining about how the chair handled the situation.
Would they even have grounds for taking any legal action against me for apologizing to a professor?


texts: Can a nursing home for my mother take my father's assets?

texts:
In Michigan, my mother is very sick. She is being transferred from a hospital to a nursing home to recover from surgery and for physical therapy.

Someone told me that my father should legally remove my mother from assets such as the house and bank account; otherwise the nursing home would take them as payment.

I need to make sure that their health insurance covers the nursing home, but if not, what would happen legally? Can the nursing home take my parents' house? Would all claims be deferred until after both parents pass away, and then be made against the estate? Or what?


texts: Can my health care proxy make decisions over the phone?

texts: I'm planning on setting up healthcare proxy paperwork, and trying to decide who to pick. I'm in the US, and the person I'd like to pick is in England and can't travel easily. I know it'll be harder for her to get all the relevant information without being at the hospital, but assuming I'm all right with that: will she be allowed to make medical decisions for me over the phone, or does this have to be done in person? Could a doctor legally refuse to listen to my health proxy over the phone?


texts: How much authority do teachers get from *In Loco Parentis*?

texts:
I am concerned entirely with the issue as it relates to property.

Let's say at Madeup Prep the cell phone policy allows for phones to be in pockets, but not out in class. Some teachers, however, ignore this, and have students use their phones to answer questions in real time (via something like TopHat).

Now let's say Alice has her phone out when she should not, and it is taken away by the teacher. It is returned sometime later. Then Alice's mother tells Alice's teacher that the phone is her property, not her daughter's, not the teacher's, that only Alice has permission to use it, and that if the teacher takes the phone away again, the mother considers it theft and (legal threat here).

Can the teacher/district take the phone anyway due to In Loco Parentis?

Note: For the record, the better solution for the district is to simply give detentions every time Alice violates the rule from now on, leading to eventual suspension and expulsion, but I'm far more interested in how much parenting authority a teacher/school can legally exert even when the actual parents are clearly and conspicuously opposed to such exertion.

Bonus Question: The phone is actually Alice's property, bought and paid for with money Alice earned at her job. Does this change the answer?


texts: Is it possible to forbid linking to a site?

texts:
I have seen on several sites notes similar to

  The creation of hypertext links pointing to the ... site is subject to the prior written approval ...

Is this notice legally enforceable? (or legally makes sense at all)

A hyperlink is an address, so it would be similar, I believe, to disallowing someone to list an address (on a map for instance).

Since Internet is (usually) not limited by country boundaries I will not tag it with a specific country, but if there must be one I would mostly be interested by EU.


texts: How can immigrants in the US get paid as owners of companies when they can't be paid as workers?

texts:
I have been interested in starting a company as an immigrant but don't understand what the law is for paying myself from the company or in what capacity I could legally work in the company. I have discovered that it's very commonplace for undocumented migrants to get legally paid as worker-owners in co-operatives. According to a document I found from Harvard Law (page 18):

  federal immigration law does not expressly prohibit undocumented immigrants from working for a business that they own, such as a cooperative, so long as the worker-owner does not fall within immigration law’s definition of "employee.”

What considerations need to be taken when forming a company or when doing taxes in order to follow the law? Can immigrants who otherwise might not have work authorisation do this in general? Does this also work for people with temporary visas that don't have work authorisation?


texts: Child pornography and pictures of oneself

texts:
Alice is 30 and lives in the EU. When she was underage (say 14) she willfully took photos and videos of herself masturbating and/or performing explicit sexual acts. She still has those photos on her computer.
Situation A:
She is charged with an unrelated crime (e.g. fraud) and her computer is searched by the police, who find the files.
Situation B:
She now uploads those files to an American website, and sells them to get money from pedophiles willing to see them.
Situation C:
She willfully uploaded those pictures to the Internet when she was 16, without asking money for them. The pictures are now public, uploaded to servers in many different countries, and she is OK with it.
In what cases and to what extent would she be liable for child pornography related offences?


texts: If a motion to dismiss is granted on one of several defendants how does that affect their receiving copies of discovery made on other defendant(s) and or copies of anything else filed in the lawsuit?


texts: Can student loans be used in retirement, brokerage, savings, checking, and 529 accounts?

texts:
I am aware of the purpose of Student Loans.

However if not immediately used, I park some of the money in a savings account.

But would it be legal to use the same funds in a retirement account (roth ira), brokerage (index funds, stocks, bonds, etc.), and college 529 accounts, to purchase investment instruments?

Given the nature of the question, let me know if I should ask a mod to migrate this question to Personal Finance and Money SE instead.


texts: If a New Mexico anonymous LLC must register in California as a foreign LLC (for doing business in CA), does the LLC lose its anonymity?

texts: If a New Mexico anonymous LLC is required to register in California as a foreign LLC because it does business in the state of California, does that company as a whole lose some or all of its anonymity? Would those seeking to reveal the identity of the company's owners be able to through the California registration?


texts: How can one prove that a contract was signed by force?

texts:
I posted another question recently relating to the same person but I didn't want to include two questions in the same post.

My father is an extremely abusive person and has been physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive throughout my life. When I was in college, he came to my apartment and forced me to sign a "contract" in which I would be forced to pay him $30000. This contract was essentially me writing out "I promise to pay  $30000" with my signature at the bottom. I told him numerous times I did not want to sign anything without a lawyer present, and he threatened to hit me if I did not sign it. I even tried telling him I would sign it if it included that he never contact me after college, but he cornered me and raised his fist up in an attempt to punch me.

That was 2 years ago, and he still has the contract and threatens to use it if I don't listen to him. Is there any way I can prove to someone that I was essentially forced to sign this contract, assuming he did try to use it?


texts:
I heard a lot of people say that Poker is a game of skill, not a game of luck. And often, you see the same winners in the finals of poker tournaments.

Does that mean online poker sites do NOT require a gambling license to operate?


texts: Legal liability for theft of credit card information left in my care with no contract?

texts:
Suppose your neighbor asks you to babysit their cat.

The neighbor has to run an errand so they leave it with me.
Someone else breaks into my house and steals the cat, along with its diamond necklace.
Do they have any chance of successfully suing in court for negligence leading to a loss?

The real case I'm thinking of is

VISA issues a credit card to John.
John sends me a copy of their VISA bill in order to get some financial advice.
The bill happens to contain their credit card number although I did not go out of my way to ask for it.
Before I can shred the paper, someone breaks into my house and steals it. In fact, my house contained millions of people's statements and they steal them all.
VISA sues me for negligence leading to damages because the theft will likely lead to fraud which will cause them damage. They (correctly) point out that I did not take reasonable action to secure the paperwork.
There was no legal agreement between myself and John, nor between myself and VISA. I did not intentionally give out credit numbers. At the same time, I did not go out of my way to secure them either.
Damages may have occurred, but I never promised to secure the papers nor to accept liability in the case of their loss.

Questions related to this scenario are

Does VISA have a legal leg to stand on?
Is there a legal precedent in this (or equivalent) case?

If we weren't talking about credit cards, I would have expected John to be ultimately liable but we all know that credit card companies do not hold card holders responsible for unintentional fraud.


texts: I have a problem with a cyber stalker whose sole intention is to ruin me personally and professionally.  How can one protect themselves legally?


texts: Financial responsibilities for Custodian of (minor) international student

texts:
hoping this question is in scope here.

Ok, first some background.

Canada, Ontario. Toronto area if it matters.

My wife and I have decided to act as a Homestay guardian/custodian for an international student. She is a minor (16 yr old) and attending Secondary school. The child's parents will remain in China.

The family is a friend of ours, so there isn't any major immediate legal "panic" :) We know each other, and we both have at least a basic level of trust. (ie we aren't trying to scam each other).

We got our guardianship notarised, as required.
We got insurance setup as required.

Chatting with the wife, however, one thought came up. "What if" scenario.  What if an accident occurs, and a hospital bill arises beyond what insurance covers.

Who is responsible for paying that?

Our current arrangement/understanding is that the child's parents will cover all financial issues (we provide house, food, and basic transportation). However, that is mostly a verbal arrangement.

As the notarised guardian, I actually suspect, (as far as the government is concerned), I would be the one responsible. Is that correct?  It would then be up to me to get reimbursed from the parents on my own ?

I did some searching around, however, any search with the word "financial" starts talking about the minor's assets/property/etc.  which isn't really what we're after here :)

So for now, just trying to do some high level research / digging.  If needed, I'll consult a lawyer for "more better" clarification if needed. Just hoping to avoid that hassle if it's not really needed.

Links to related material definitely welcomed :)

Thanks!


texts: Would a newspaper calling for an illegal act be illegal itself?

texts:
I read this quote in a Guardian article a while back and have been questions the legality ever since.

  You can look at Nixon’s returns at the Presidential Tax History Project. You can look at Trump’s 1995 returns at the New York Times. If you can somehow see Trump’s later returns, feel free to send copies along to our offices at 222 Broadway, New York.

It is the last part of this that is of interest

  If you can somehow see Trump’s later returns, feel free to send copies along to our offices

According to law.cornell.edu

  (c)  Disclosure of returns and return information to designee of taxpayer ----------------------------
  The Secretary may, subject to such requirements and conditions as he may prescribe by regulations, disclose the return of any taxpayer, or return information with respect to such taxpayer, to such person or persons as the taxpayer may designate in a request for or consent to such disclosure, or to any other person at the taxpayer’s request to the extent necessary to comply with a request for information or assistance made by the taxpayer to such other person. However, return information shall not be disclosed to such person or persons if the Secretary determines that such disclosure would seriously impair Federal tax administration.

Now, according to California Law, actively encouraging/calling for the committing of a crime can be considered a crime itself. To me, asking someone to divulge confidential information is calling for the committal of a crime.

Issue of my post: I only know the California Law because that's what google gave me first.


texts: What programming language do software copyright applications need to be in?

texts: Can software copyright applications only use one specific programming language? Or can they be in any language like Java or C++? Thanks!


texts: Self defense after provocation on the part of the defender

texts:
A friend of mine in university wants to ensure he can defend himself legally. In a library a group of individuals were talking enough to annoy him and as the library has explicit no talking policy he proceeded to tell the group of indivudals to shut the f up and after some brief exchange of words he gave them the finger and walked off. Clearly one individual from the group was verbally aggressive back. After said friend went to sit down he was glared at by said individual in an aggressive manner.

The day proceeded but my friend wants to know if he is allowed to defend himself if the other person some other time gets in his face or attacks him. Since he was initially verbally aggressive.


texts: Are there situations where it is legal to threaten someone with a gun but not legal to fire the gun?

texts:
One of the essential rules of firearm safety is to never point a gun at anything or anyone you do not intend to shoot. It also seems to be a consensus that whenever it wouldn't be lawful to shoot someone in self-defense, brandishing a gun would also not be lawful.

I would like to clear this question more.  Is there a conceivable situation in which it would be completely legal to point a gun at a person, but not be legal to pull the trigger?

I know that the two have different severity. I also know that brandishing a gun, even in a situation it was illegal, could have a lesser chance of prosecution, mainly because there is less evidence (while shooting someone will leave plenty of evidence). So, it can happen that in a situation both are illegal, but only shooting will be prosecuted. This is not what I'm asking. I'm asking whether it can be that one would be legal but the other not.

I'm mainly interested in the USA and Europe, if there is a difference.

This question is purely theoretical, it was inspired by a comment on this answer. I would also like to keep it in the realms of civilian self-defense.


texts: What kind of documents on a civil case file can be not accessible by the plaintiff?

texts:
Say Bob filed a civil lawsuit against Rob. Normally documents that get filed on the case will be served on Bob (and all other parties involved) — submissions, affidavits, judges' minutes etc.

I am aware of one exception: application without notice. Rob could make such an application and, if accepted, Bob will not even know about it.

Are there any other similar situations where Bob can legally be prevented from seeing documents on his case? If he learns that any such document exists, could he demand that it is disclosed?

(Answers for jurisdictions other than New Zealand are welcome too).


texts: Which EU document or treaty article removed the internal customs in 1993?

texts:
From a EU customs union history:

  1992

  EU adopts the Community Customs Code. It assembles for the very first time in a code the provisions of customs legislation that were previously contained in a large number of Community regulations and directives - a job of fundamental importance for the internal market and a paramount simplification for traders and customs.

  1993

  Free movement of goods is now a reality. No more customs formalities at internal borders of the EU. No more long queues for commercial vehicles for goods to be declared and/or checked at border crossings. For the first time, uniform customs legislation becomes directly applicable in all Member States of the EU.

From another EU presentation

  The customs union came into being 18 months ahead
  of schedule on 1 July 1968, when the remaining
  customs duties on intra-Community trade were
  abolished and the common customs tariff was
  introduced to replace national customs duties in trade
  with the rest of the world.

  In 1993, customs controls at internal borders were
  abolished and long queues of commercial vehicles at
  border crossings are now a distant memory.

So given the noteworthiness of this removal of internal checks, in general terms: which code or treaty provision enabled the 1993 elimination of the internal customs checks?

It's easy enough to trace that broadly to the SEA:

  In 1993, the Single European Act came into full force creating a single European market without frontiers. The European Communities were renamed the European Union. This meant the removal of all duties and restrictions as well as procedural barriers and checks by customs administration at internal frontiers.

Although the SEA was ratified in 1987, the 1993 date was seemingly set in it. In a little more detail

  By amending the original 1957 Treaty, the EEC gained the enabling instrument for the Single Market. The revised Treaty – the Single European Act - came into force in July 1987. Its provisions included: [...]

  gradually establishing the Single Market over a period up to the end of 1992, by means of a vast legislative programme involving the adoption of hundreds of directives and regulations;

  With these changes in place, 282 laws were passed between 1985 and 1992 to sweep away the technical, regulatory, legal and bureaucratic barriers that stifled free trade and free movement. The Single Market was finally put in place on 1 January 1993.

But which of those laws (directives, regulations or codes etc.) specifically did away with the internal customs?

Interestingly, the Council passed regulation 3904/92 which set rules what to do with the former internal customs agents... like what financial assistance to offer to those laid off since many of the checks are no longer needed. But that doesn't cover the core issue of closing down the internal customs posts.

As a good search hint from there is that many such time-synchronized regulations contain the text "It shall apply from 1 January 1993". But that already produces a lot hits...


texts: Are there any restrictions on the taxes or duties a U.S. state can levy?

texts:
The U.S. Constitution's "Commerce Clause" (Article I, Section 8) grants the federal government authority to regulate interstate commerce.  The same section contains the "Taxing and Spending Clause" which grants the federal government authority to "lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States."

Has federal law drawn a line on what taxes, duties, etc., can be collected by the states?

Evidently the states can tax (a) income and property of citizens and entities within their borders; (b) commerce (via sales and excise taxes) conducted within their borders.  Has any restraint been imposed on such taxation, other than the prohibition on double-taxation affirmed in Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne (SCOTUS, 2015)?

One prohibition I suspect exists, but I can't find in law: Can states impose duties on goods that merely transit their territory?


texts: Consequences of "Not to be sold separately"

texts:
The company I work for (40,000 employees) has vending machines throughout the buildings which are filled by the internal catering team.

Now I have noticed many of the separately packaged foodstuffs in the machines clearly have notes on them indication they are not to be sold separately.

Before I approach anyone about it, I wanted some advice:

Are these notes legally enforceable?
What are the normal consequences for breaking these rules?


texts: Is it legal to film yourself putting something in a mail slot?

texts: I need to serve someone papers, and I need to be able to prove that I served them. It is an acceptable method to drop them off at their homes mail box, but then if contested I wouldn't be able to prove it. Is it legal to have a friend take a video of me delivering the envelope, on a cellphone?


texts: Can a business that is in the process of dissolving in California file in small claims court case against a contractor who owes them money?


texts:
There are 2 parcels of land purchased by different but (family) related parties at the same time. One of the properties (A) contained a well; the other (B) contained the pumps and equipment required to operate the well. For some period of time the owner of B operated and maintained the pumps (including a major upgrade costing $4,000) and both properties used the water.

Recently, the owner of property A installed a storage tank and the water now goes from the well to the tank and then to both properties. A has sent B a bill for the water being supplied via the tank.

Negotiations about agreeing on the water rights having failed, B has requested the return of their pump and equipment. A has refused saying B has no claim since it was B's responsibility to keep the well in working condition.

Who owns the pump?


texts: London - Final step of getting my deposit back

texts:
I have been living in a shared house in London at some point.
When I left (more than a year ago), the landlord (an agency) told me he would pay me back my deposit shortly.
As they still have not done it, I googled online and found out that they actually never protected the deposit.
So I followed the guidlines at

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_get_your_tenancy_deposit_back

and sent them a letter before action 2 months ago to which they never answered.
So now I'd like to take it to court, so I found:

https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/search/aol

From there, I picked the "Housing possession" category. The problem is that I emailed more than 5 of them and none of them answered me but one which told me to make a money claim (which was clearly inappropriate according to money claim website).

The problem is that I'm currently abroad (until end of March or even June) and cannot go there in person.

Would you have in mind a local court (anywhere in London) which deals with deposit claims? Also, would you know if it is possible to start the process (ie make the claim, pay the fees online)?

Thank you for you advice.
Franck


texts: Are there states that don't require having a family name?

texts:
I know this session might seem absurd.

I don't like the family name appearing in my passport and will likely change it in a bureaucratic procedure in an interior ministry affiliated consulate (outside the borders of the state of which I hold citizenship) or in a population bureau branch (inside the borders of the state of which I hold citizenship) sometime in the future.

My problem

I know that in the past, before states became existent generally everywhere besides Antarctica, some people didn't always used family names (people would have been named by a nickname or by one or more parents or by town of origin).

My problem is that I never came across a modern state that allows issuing a passport without a family name (let alone a country that accepts a person from such a state, as an expat); so just a personal name would appear there alongside some identification number.

My questions

Regarding my problem, I (exceptionally) have two questions:

Are there states that don't require having a family name in passport?
Are there states that allow a family name to be a number (say, 0, and not as the word zero but as in integer only)?


texts: If the government obtains property through a tax lien, does the homeowner's association contract make it through?

texts: If a person owns (100%) a property and is subject to a homeowner's association (HA) contract, but defaults on taxes, after which the property is sold via a tax lien sale, does the HA contract become null, and that property is no longer bound to the HA?


texts: If indeed the headline is correct: Trump revokes waiver for California to set higher auto emissions standards,  the waiver grants California the authority to set higher standards in favor of the environment.  That being said, is there anything in law. that prevents California from setting the bar higher in the absence of said waiver?


texts: When should one represent oneself in court?

texts:
I recognise these adages: "a pro se defense is usually a bad defense." and "A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client".

However, some pro se defenses have succeeded, such as the following. So when ought one to flout this adage?

1. UKSC Justice Lord Sumption  (Caveat: He is a barrister)

2. Some other notable victories here


texts: Cookie laws: Do I have to show a banner for technical cookies?

texts:
I am aware that technical cookies don't need consent, only marketing cookies need consent.

However, if my site only uses functional cookies, do I still have to display a cookie banner that says what the cookies are used for?


texts: What consequences are there to ignoring GDPR rules as a non-EU entity?

texts:
If a non-EU entity ignores the GDPR rules, including not paying any fines they receive from not following them, what consequences are they subject to? Can a company simply decide to ignore GDPR rules while still providing their services to EU citizens?

for clarity: assume the company does not have anything in the EU: No local offices, no support staff, no remote workers, no contact details, nothing that would allow someone to make the case that they fall under EU jurisdictions. However, the products they provide follow relevant non-GDPR regulations that deal with health and safety. They just don't want to deal with GDPR rules because they think those rules are nonsense in their case.


texts: Why can NTSB reports not be admitted as evidence?

texts:
According to 49 U.S. code § 1154, part (b),

  No part of a report of the Board, related to an accident or an investigation of an accident, may be admitted into evidence or used in a civil action for damages resulting from a matter mentioned in the report.

That is to say, an NTSB report may not be used as evidence in a civil action for damages, resulting from an aviation incident. This is re-iterated at the end of most final NTSB reports.

My question is what is the motivation and reasoning behind this legislation? While some of the elements of the report may be of a subjective nature, there is a specific section detailing factual information.

Could the motivation be to force admittance of the original evidence, rather than the NTSB report which would potentially secondary source?

A more interesting aside is also, can it be admitted into evidence if the civil action is not for damages from the incident in question? What if a report has tangential relevance in a potentially non-civil, say, criminal action?


texts: Are Michael Cohen's False Statements About the Law Grounds for Disbarrment?

texts:
A recent NPR article revealed that in making a threat of a lawsuit, Michael Cohen materially misrepresented the law in claiming that one cannot rape their spouse. This strikes me, as a layperson, as rather unethical behavior.

Is it grounds for action from the bar association that he's licensed under, whether that be disbarment, censure, or something else?


texts: Does the "a well regulated militia" part of the 2nd Amendment apply only to militias?

texts: I'm currently debating the topic of gun control with a few people I know personally, and someone in the debate brought up the "a well regulated militia" part of the 2nd Amendment, saying that it's equivalent to governmental gun control. I argued that it applies to militias only though. Am I correct in assuming this, or does the "well regulated" part apply to gun ownership in general?


texts: What is the law regarding web/mobile applications and "personal" data?

texts:
I'm developing an application for mobile/web/desktop that will (in very watered down basic terms) store free text strings they've self-contributed and access them freely.
As it stands, these applications can run without processing data and storing everything locally on the device. However, if I want to save the users data to a server in order for them to load the same information on multiple devices, I will be storing and processing data.
The reason I'm hitting a brick wall in trying to track down the legal issues involved here are twofold:

If the developer is based in the EU and the server is based in the US, which jurisdiction does this fall under?
If I'm storing just an e-mail address and unique identifier key in the database for login, would this in itself, be identifiable information? Would a user storing the text string "Mop floor tonight" be considered personal data? I ask because as this is free text, I'm aware a user could essentially type "My name is Dave Smith and I live at 742 Evergreen Terrace" and suddenly that's very personal data.

I'm just trying to get my head around the risks/efforts involved in having a simple "sync to all devices" command that can be manageable by a 1 person developer team. Are there perhaps exemptions for small businesses whose IP is the code itself and not the data (i.e., I'm just collecting a username/email for login, no other data, not writing to the e-mail or using that data to generate revenue etc), and the self-supplied data is essentially just there to enable a feature? Or is this a legal framework I'll have no choice but to consider globally for all users?


texts: Alabama Accomplice Law - Charging a person with murder who hasn't killed anyone

texts:
There has recently been a case of a teenager who was charged with 65 years because, during a robbery he and his accomplices were committing, a police officer shot and killed one of the robbers. The media reports that charging all those engaged in the crime that led to the criminal's death with murder is legal under "Alabama's Accomplice Law."  I could not find the pertinent statutes leading to this conclusion; what is the legal justification for this charge?

Article - Media report on the story

Alabama Section 13-A-2-23 Criminal liability based upon behavior of another - Complicity.


texts: Does a state governor have the power to prevent immigration into their state?

texts:
In response to the recent Paris attacks, the governor of Alabama recently said this:

Alabama governor Robert Bentley is refusing to allow Syrian refugees to relocate to Alabama.
“After full consideration of this weekend’s attacks of terror on innocent citizens in Paris, I will oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. As your Governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm’s way,” Governor Bentley says in a statement released by his office.

(Source.)
Does the governor of Alabama have the power to prevent the federal government from resettling immigrants in their state?
If they don't have the power to do this directly, could they accomplish the same thing in some indirect way, or with the help of the state legislature?


texts: Does marriage speed up the green card process?

texts: I have a friend that doesn’t have legal US documents, but who got married about a year ago to a US citizen. As far as I know, he hasn’t ever applied for a greed card or anything like that. Now that he is married, how could he safely go about getting a green card or getting residency? And does the fact that he’s married to a citizen speed up that process?


texts: Liabilty for copied website content on a third-party server

texts:
Some time ago, I developed a website for a client. During the development process, I used a staging server which is registered to and operated by me to host the site so they could follow development and preview the work I was doing for them.

At this point in development, I added some images to the site as dummy content to illustrate how things would appear when the client had added their own images.

I acquired the images from Google Images and one of them now appears to have been copyrighted with rights managed by a company notorious for suing webmasters for illegally using their images.

The prototype website was not online on my server for long, but apparently long enough for the infringement to have been detected by said notorious company.

Recently, the client received a letter demanding recompense for the use of the image - though again, the website in question was on a server and domain registered and operated by ME.

My question is this:

Can my client's company be held liable for infringement that occurred on MY server/domain?

The prototype website had the client's business contact details on it, so the letter demanding payment was sent to them, even though they have absolutely nothing to do with the server it was hosted on.

I realize anyone reading this is likely not a lawyer with specific knowledge of this type of situation, but if you have any insight to offer it would be much appreciated!