texts: Was it legal to rant against trick or treating via loudspeaker during halloween?

texts:
I went trick or treating with my goddaughter for Halloween.  During it we came across a house where the owner of the house were 'preaching' about the evils of Halloween, I don't recall the details but something about not suffering a witch to live means not dressing up as one and that it would all lead to sacrificing a virgin, and for the record that last part is not hyperbole, I remember it as the highlight of their speech.  They had set up a loudspeaker to project what they were saying, they could be heard from 2-3 houses down.

On our way back we passed someone who claimed to be an off duty cop informing them they had to stop.  The cop specifically was saying that they were upsetting young children with some of the things they were saying and thus had to stop.

I was wondering about the legality of the action.  I realize that the speech itself was protected within limits.  I imagine the use of a loud speaker may push the action into disturbing the peace due to being too loud?  From what I heard though the supposed cop never mentioned the volume of the loudspeaker, he was focusing on verbal depictions that were upsetting to young children.

So were they illegal for use of loudspeaker, and separate from that was it illegal due to the use of disturbing mental imagery inflicted on young children?


texts: Does the freedom of information act allow for bulk data requests?

texts:
The freedom of information act in my state (Michigan) seems to be written in a way that favor's "per record" requests.  However, in order to show a trend in one direction or another bulk data must be obtained - ie a list of "records" and their common attributes.

Does the FOIA (in Michigan specifically) cover such requests in a way that makes them reasonable financially?  In other words, if I request all data from 2017, is there a way that limits the cost to a single transaction rather than a fee for each record in such a report?

Specifically, I would like to obtain a list of traffic violations to show a statistical significance that police are targeting out of town visitors.


texts: Paint from someone's photo - copyright question

texts: If I make a painting based on someone's photo (nature photography) and it is recognisable, do I have to pay to the author of the photo (or do I breach any copyright law), or is it enough that I mention that the painting is inspired by this photo and give the author's name?


texts: In Texas, Can I sue if I was misled or lied to about the job I would be working

texts:
I recently was recruited for a contract software engineering role with a bank.  The recruiter on several occasions through emails and phone messages emphasized this was a software engineering role. The name of the role is even in the W2 agreement.

However, after I started, I found out what I would actually be doing is significantly different and is really a different role altogether.

Is this considered fraud? I was absolutely lied to. I know in sales selling a product using incorrect information would count as fraud. Does the same apply here in being recruited for a job?


texts:
We had a theoretical discussion on copyright and couldn't agree on an answer.
Please keep in mind that we purposely ignored common sense and were just thinking about the hard legal implications.
Say there is a copyrighted picture. Making a copy of that picture falls under the protection of the copyright, even if it is not a perfect copy, even if the quality of the copy is significantly worse than the original.
Is there a limit to this?
Or in other words, if I reduce the color resolution of the copy to 1 bit (meaning, only black or white are possible) and the spacial resolution to one square pixel, is this still a copy of the original for the purposes of copyright?
If so, isn't a white pixel a copyrighted version of half of the world's copyrighted content?
If not, where is the limit where copyright vanishes?


texts: GST/VAT tax. Why some countries return tax to tourists?

texts:
Some countries return tax to tourists in airports.

I don't understand it. Why is it happening? What was the logic behind the decision? Why is it only related to purchase tax and not to income tax? Why is it so important to preserve original packaging?

It is obviously a sort of segregation and nationalism. Why did people vote for it?

I have heard that European countries are doing it along with Japan, Australia, and maybe some other countries are doing it as well...


texts: Is a child car seat required in California cabs?

texts:
I have heard that it is ok to not have a child car seat if you are coming / going to an Airport. I googled it and found conflicting opinions. Is it allowed as per law to not use child car seat in a cab?

As per my understanding, at all times we need to use a child car seat, whether cab or your own car.


texts: Rental Agent claiming an admin fee from 2 years ago

texts:
(Context Details: UK, renting in London. Agent is Foxtons.)

I've just left a rental property after 3 years there.
The landlord has authorised the full return of the deposit, but the rental agency has turned around and said that there's £96 of annual renewal fees outstanding.

I've proved that I paid the fee 1 year ago, and I have several emails from them discussing the "outstanding balance" from the points at which the monthly rent changed, but they're now asserting that the outstanding fee is from 2 years ago, and that those conversations were about the RENTAL balance only (and thus don't pertain to any administration fee balance).

As far as I can tell they are technically right - there's an email from 2 years ago asserting that they WILL invoice me for the renewal, but no actual INVOICE for that (that I received) and it looks like all the payments I made add up to cover the rent and NOT the renewal fee.

So I think their assertions about what happened are correct.

Question: Am I actually obligated to pay this fee?
If they didn't invoice me CAN they turn around 2 years later and say "we should totally have charged you for this." The Ts&Cs do state that there will be such a fee.


texts: In the CFAA, what exactly do "Intentionally accessed a protected computer without authorization" and "exceeding authorization" mean?

texts:
I originally looked at this for web scraping, but upon reading it more, it seems like it could be interpreted to include all types of common mistakes.

Does this even include something like a customer who entered his/her personal credentials issued by representatives of the service just for him into the wrong URL on the website as an attempt to "intentionally access without authorization/exceed" even though he thought that was the correct URL, like with different pages of demo and live accounts?

Can someone claim that the user intentionally tried to login regardless of good faith thinking it was the right place + right auth vs user clicks on a random button that lied and actually tried to log him in without authorization instead? Does the law anywhere says something like common day activities like this don't count? This law just seems really vague/broad in that it include a lot of reasonable mistakes.


texts:
In the U.S. there is a federal law making unauthorized entry into the country illegal. Does Mexico have similar law?

If so, does anyone know of English translations?


texts: Is permission required to say your product is used by an organization

texts:
Many companies (especially software companies) put something like "[Our product] is used by [Company 1], [Organization 1], [School 1], [Company 2], and 10,000 more!" on their website.
In US law, is permission from these companies and organizations needed to list their use on the website?  If the makers include a footnote saying, "use of [our product] is not necessarily an endorsement by the company" does that serve in place of permission?
Note: There are similar questions pertaining to the use of logos, which is not what I am asking about.


texts: What portion of a medical bill does the insurance has to pay?

texts:
In a car accident, not at fault, what portion of a medical bill does the insurance company of the other driver has to pay?

The hospital will most probably bill my health insurance, and there is the initial bill, then adjusted bill to match the in network prices, then the portion the insurance pays, then my out of pocket payment.

Does the auto insurance company of the other driver has to pay 100% of the original bill? Or just what i paid out of pocket?

USA, MA


texts: Is a homeowner liable for the actions of a contractor?

texts: Suppose a homeowner hires a contractor to haul debris off their property to the local dump. Can the homeowner be held liable if the contractor instead just illegally dumps the debris by the side of the road? Is there any "due diligence" required by the homeowner in who they contract, meaning that liability could depend on if the homeowner hired a legitimate trash hauling company, or just a guy with a truck? Is there any dependence on where the illegal actions take place, like if the trash is taken off-site and dumped illegally without the homeowner's knowledge, or if it's just dumped in the adjacent vacant lot in full view of the homeowner? Assume a US jurisdiction, not sure if the answer will vary much by state.


texts: Are "sock puppet" sites that generate ad revenue with recycled articles legal?

texts:
I'm wondering about the legality of a practice, for which I can only think to title it "sock puppet site ad revenue farming by recycling articles". I don't know what else to call this, what I've found. It's run by some rich dude, and after investigating, I understand now why he's rich. I'm wondering about the legality of this, and I can't find the answer online.

Here's the deal:

There is one website that is fairly popular among computer geeks, which is part of a "network" of other websites. This network of websites is properly registered to him, in the USA. It's headquartered at a bank, though. (Thanks, Google Maps.)

I found out through other means that he also owns another "network" of websites, which recycles all the same stories from his main news network. These websites are registered in Canada. They're definitely the same network - they left behind an accidental link from one network to the next. Besides the accidental link between the networks, I can be certain that they are the same - they use the same methods. The second network which recycles the first network's stories shares the exact same layout, posting method, and About pages are the same (just reworded).

From the second network, I found a third network in a similar way. Again, it just recycles all the same news stories as the first. Same layout, same About page.

I'm still looking for more site networks, but the reason I question the legality of this is due to the international registration of multiple domains to generate ad revenue by recycling stories across sock puppet networks, giving the impression of multiple, independent companies. These seem to be fraudulent websites, but I am not trained in nuanced legal matters.

... "sock puppeted news" ...


texts: To what extent is the Magna Carta considered constitutional today in Canada?

texts:
I was reading the Wikipedia article on the Canadian Constitution, when I came across this statement (emphasis mine):

  Enactment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has also fundamentally changed much of Canadian constitutional law. The Magna Carta, which has constitutional status in Canada, was occasionally called into service in legal argument. Since [enactment in] 1982, however, the arguments have been easier to make [...]

Unfortunately this is uncited. However, following a different citation on the page leads to this referencep. 56 which places the Magna Carta as part of the unwritten constitution. This seems odd to me as the Magna Carta is a written document, if anything I would have thought it would be part of the written constitution.

So, to what extent is the Magna Carta considered constitutional today in Canada?


texts: What are possible implications of developing software that breaks other software's EULA when used as intended?

texts:
First, I'm not developing any software used for piracy, hacking or online game cheating.

Inspired by some AutoHotkey scripts, I made program that acts like a macro for some game launcher and updater tasks - ironically it also automates accepting the very EULA for that game whenever game is updated, while breaking that EULA by interacting with the game launcher.

The software is open source and I did not put great effort to hide any links between me and the software. With enough effort one could link it to my person.

In my case, the impact of the software is insignificant both by number of users and severity of violation. But my question is generic - as far as no damage is done to anyone by my software violating third party's EULA, can I be held responsible? Or is it the user - who is fully aware of the violation and actively participates in it by pressing a "start" button - who is the violator?


texts: Can I refuse to turn over my digital devices at the border?

texts: Let's say I'm coming into the USA. A border guard says they want to inspect my digital devices. Can I refuse, turn around, and just not enter the USA ,get back on a plane, turn around and drive back, or do I have to give over my devices just because I showed up?


texts: In notice to end tennancy, must you specify the EXACT date of moving out?

texts:
When giving notice to end tenancy, must the exact date be given? For example if all of November has been paid for and the notice says you'll move on the 30st, and you end up moving on the 20th, is that technically breaking the contract?

Must the notice to end tenancy be worded in a particular way if the exact date is known, for example "I will be moving out on or before the 30st of November".

This is for a month to month. The information here appears to be a bit lacking for this scenario. http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/ending-a-tenancy/tenant-notice


texts: What qualifies as "violent" and "assault"?

texts:
I was reading the following news: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150719/local/update-3-veteran-actor-john-suda-charged-with-violent-indecent-assault.577272

Essentially a person is being charged in Malta with "committing violent indecent assault" for allegedly placing a blindfolded woman's hand on his genitals.

How could this be considered "assault?"

And how could it be considered "violent?"


texts: Is consuming, reposting and commenting revenge porn illegal?

texts:
Quotes from Dutch Authorities Seize Revenge Porn Site Anon-IB, Arrest Three Men

  Dutch police force Politie has seized the anonymous message board
  Anon-IB, a major hub of revenge porn and harassment campaigns with
  servers based in the Netherlands, and charged three men with “computer
  intrusion and spreading nude photos,” according to CNET.

So the operators of this site were charged and will be jailed. Is it possible to charge the end users?

user comments on pictures and videos
user reposts pictures and videos found in public internet
user posts and views no underage girls
no harassment is done by user
no original content is posted

  As pointed out by security company Sophos, Anon-IB had a reputation as
  a place where web users could go to find people willing to help them
  target women for humiliation via revenge porn. It had sections devoted
  to non-consensual pornography including “Creepshots,” “Drunk/Passed
  Out,” and “Peeping Toms.”

is the user criminal if reuploads (not producing) non-consensual pornography?

reposts a hidden camera video found in internet


texts: Is there any "enforceable" protection for the uploader from fake DMCA takedown requests?

texts:
I know that a request must be "under penalty of perjury". But that doesn't protect against fake information. Anyone, and especially parties outside US jurisdiction, (and even more so in countries which don't have an extradition treaty with the US) can contact or fill out a web form stating whatever is needed. They can even create a bot to do that automatically.

Why would someone do that?

Terrorism, racketeering and simple extortion, or just for fun / malice. The point is that removing content (even for a short while, not followed by any legal action) can be very damaging.

How is this different from other perjury threats?

When someone physically goes to court they take a chance, they can be arrested. It's also much more resource intensive. But fraud over the internet is much less hazardous (for the felon), and much easier.

EDIT

Apparently the question wasn't clear enough. I know that in a "normal" case, there is enforceable protection. That's the "perjury" part. That's why I put the word enforceable in quotes. My question is about the cases I mentioned above. I'm asking if there's any deterrent for those who give false information about themselves or who are not in the US. All as stated above.


texts: Does one need to be FCA authorised to charge interest on a loan to a friend?

texts:
The FCA guidance largely focuses around businesses intending to provide credit; there is little in the way of information on what the stance is when a friend-to-friend loan is made that involves interest.

Offering credit to consumers

This .gov.uk link also remarks that any lender should be FCA authorised, but specifies "consumer" - does this still apply if the relationship is primarily between friends, albeit with interest added to the repayments?


texts: GDPR and right to provide meter readings

texts:
My energy company have estimated the opening meter readings for my move in date for a property.

I have the correct readings in photos taken on that date, but the energy company won't allow me to submit those readings since their terms and conditions state that the readings have to be submitted within a week of the account opening, and I missed that date.

Article 16 of the GDPR gives me the right to correct any personal information held on me by a company.

Estimated meter readings are incorrect by definition and so they should constitute "Incorrect personal information held on me by a company" which I should have the legal right to rectify.

Does article 16 of the GDPR supersede their policy of only allowing meter readings to be submitted within 7 days?

Article 16 states that they can only refuse for a limited set of reasons like for example if the request is only to cause annoyance or is repeated, which doesn't apply here.

Article 16 doesn't say for example "You may refuse if your terms and conditions say so", so the fact that I accepted their terms and conditions should be overridden and not applicable.

The previous tenants didn't provide meter readings for over a year, so the estimate calculated is pretty far off.


texts: Are lawyers allowed to contact potential clients?

texts:
Would it be inappropriate for a lawyer to proactively find/contact people who might need legal representation and offer them their services? Would it be against any code of conduct or similar?

The lawyer could have learned about someone in need for legal representation through:

public media and published court judgments
non-lawyer friends
lawyers in informal context (friends)
lawyers in business / professional networking context


texts: Is placing the burden of proof on the accused illegal?

texts:
The specific situation I'm thinking of is ticket inspectors, but it could apply to other situations.

The ticket inspectors assume you are fare evading without evidence (no presumption of innocence)
They ask to see your ticket (violent communication, implying you're lying)
If you refuse, you can be arrested and escorted off the train even though your ticket is valid (actual physical violence), and possibly issued a fine, not for travelling without a valid ticket, but for failing to produce a valid ticket when asked

As far as I know, the police must have reasonable suspicion before interacting with you, and ticket inspectors are also called "transit police". I'm not sure if they're actual police or not.

My issue is not about fare evasion. It is about treating the innocent as if they were guilty and placing the burden of proof on the accused instead of the accuser. For what it's worth, I always travel with a valid ticket and I don't like fare evasion. I also find it offensive being falsely accused on an almost daily basis, even if that's not how they see it.

Transit laws notwithstanding, is this behaviour in any way illegal?


texts: Am I required to work if I am not being paid in New York?

texts: My pay period will start on August 22nd, however my employer wants me to come in on August 19th. Since this is outside the pay period am I required to work?


texts: What is the scope of Interpreter code of ethics coming into play in future congresional investigations?

texts:
It has been in the news lately that the President has had a number of private head ups with Putin. On the news someone suggested (Don't remember if it was a congress person or the newscaster), that the Interpreter should be subpoenaed to testify about what was said.

One of the basic ethics for Interpreters is confidentiality of a conversation between two people. It does not seem that this confidentiality is *codified in the USA, the ethics being defined by associations.

*Some courts have rules and guidelines and a few states have laws dealing with court room Interpreters.

At any rate it does not seem that Interpreters have any kind of privilege like lawyers and other professions have to varying degree with clients. I would imagine that is because criminals don't use professional Interpreters very often and the issues surrounding any privilege for an Interpreter have never come up with much if any frequency.

Can Congress compel the interpreter to testify, or can The President stop such testimony?

Added: How about we take it out of the presidential realm, might actually be a bad example I used. Maybe say it was a translated conversation between diplomats or cabinet officers, and for whatever reason (not necessarily malicious), the person just doesn't want to answer any questions about the conversation or they became incapacitated, got pissed and quit the job, or died. So the interpreter is called as a witness. Can the interpreter be compelled to testify under subpoena from Congress? How about not under subpoena but something like the Ambassador has died what did they talk about when they last met?


texts: Driving Eligibility with a Valid Foreign License & Learner's Permit Newyork DMV

texts:
https://nysdmv.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/406/~/drive-with-a-valid-foreign-driver-license-and-a-new-york-state-learner-permit

Based on the information in the page, Can anyone please confirm whether you can use a valid foreign license with a New York Learner's Permit to drive in the Newyork State ? Will these documents be sufficient Incase I get pulled over ?

The answer in page points to that a foreign license allows me to drive the vehicle. Foreign (or out-of-state) licenses are not valid once a person becomes a resident of New York State. Does this invalidate my eligibility if I am a resident of the new york state ?


texts: Could I be sued for a similar-sounding domain name?

texts:
I'm a software/web dev, and I had an idea for a joke website.  Since all of the variations with the word "news" I would like are taken, I thought I'd just replace it with "shoes."

A few things worth noting:

I'm in the US.
It is not a parody of an existing website and does not defame
anybody.
I did a quick search of the trademark database, and it doesn't seem
to infringe any trademarks.
I would put a small Google ads banner towards the top of the page, so
it's possible that I could make a profit from it.
But the url is still similar to another website's, simply with the
name "news" replaced by "shoes."  This website is currently occupied
by a cybersquatter.
There's another url that it's kinda/sorta similar to, which is also
occupied by a cybersquatter.

Is this something that I could be sued for?


texts: Is it a violation to stop at a light in such a way as to prevent Cyclists from passing (USA)?

texts:
Hopped over to Bikes.SE to read the claim that "In some Jurisdictions, it is legal for bikes to pass on the right."

Is this even true?

If it is true, then I'd like to know if the following event I witnessed was a violation by the car.

Car and Bike going straight on two lane road, speed limit 45mph. Car passes bike, bike is far enough over to the right that this happens without issue or incident. (I'm behind both, FYI). Car sees red stoplight, and pulls so close to the curb so as to make passing on the right impossible for the bike before stopping. Bike stops behind car. Light turns green, both car and bike proceed straight.

Did the car commit an in motion violation?

My general thought is that bikes are supposed to follow the same traffic laws as the rest of the gas guzzlers and Teslas out there. From that POV, passing on the right is a no-no. If it had been a motorcycle, or some weirdly thin car which had attempted to do this, I think the driver would have been prudent to position their own vehicle in a way to prevent future conflict (Two cars in same lane going in same direction).

Even if there is some law in some jurisdictions which allows for this (IMO dangerous) behavior, I still don't think the car did anything wrong, it's akin to changing lanes from left to right to prevent a school bus from potentially getting around you to the stop first. Nothing illegal in a lane change, even if it is jerkish to the SB.

But since I've already been surprised by one bike related law which makes no sense to me, I thought I'd post this question. Does anyone know of any laws or precedents which makes the described behavior illegal?

One last note: This question is here instead of Bikes.SE because I'm concerned with the law, and I believe I can reasonably predict that a Bikes.SE response will likely try to claim that bikes have the right to overtake cars on the right at all times (since this claim was made in a question about overtaking a car turning right on the right).

Jurisdiction is Yourstate, USA


texts: Can copyrighted characters be referenced to in an app description on one of the app stores?

texts: We're submitting and app to the app store and polishing up the app description. If you used something like "This is the James Bond of email services" would that be a copyright infringement?


texts: Are documentaries from the 1940s and 50s allowed to be posted on youtube?

texts: I was noticing that there are a lot of documentaries from the 1940s and 50s (primarily American) on youtube.  (Here's a bunch of 'em)  I had thought that copyright in the US was life + 70 years, so even if the creators died immediately after filming, most of them are still under copyright for a few more years.  Are they posted legally?


texts:
What is the typical consequences if a foreign person stop paying landlord rent for housing and leave USA?

This question is for a friend.


texts: Does a cafe proprietor have a duty to look after an item of lost property?

texts:
This involves the UK. I went to the park with my grandson and his friend to play football. We had quite an expensive, high quality size 4 football. After playing around for a while we went to the park café for a drink and something to eat. Carelessly we left without the football, so I returned there later in the day to see if they had it. The person in charge told me that it had been noticed, but had been put somewhere - he didn't know where. After a brief search he said I would have to go back the following day when his colleague would know where it was.

When I returned the next day I was met by the same individual I had seen previously. He told me rather tersely that he had last seen the ball when some kids were kicking it around, and he had no idea where it was, and it was probably taken by someone. When I expressed surprise that, knowing it was ours, he hadn't taken care of it, he got very defensive and kept repeating himself saying we should not have left it behind - a truism, if ever there was one!

My own contention is that the café has been an accessory to theft.

The café has now installed notices which state that they cannot be responsible for people's lost property. However these were not there when the ball was left behind.


texts:
My girlfriend bought a new Samsung A7 phone in Spain. At first she wanted to go for a cheaper one, but was approached by a clerk which presented her A7 2018 version. The clerk specifically said that the phone was waterproof up to 1m in water. Girlfriend was naive (didn't read the manual or googled it) and bought that A7 2018 phone instead. Few days later she tried the 'waterproof test' (Don't ask me why...).

The phone got damaged and stopped working. She took the phone to the store to see if it can be fixed within the warranty. Few days later, an email was received that the damage caused is not covered in warranty (water damage), and that fixing it will cost more than a new phone.

I told her that the odds of getting it fixed for free are close to zero. She got tricked by clerk but cannot prove it.

I want to confirm that here. Are there any laws in EU which could be used in favour of this case?

Small note: The phone was bought in MediaMarkt - multinational chain specified for selling electronics


texts: What legal powers does a person have without having full legal qualifications? (UK)

texts: What legal powers does a (UK) person have without having full legal qualifications? I am interested as you can't represent someone in court without being a fully qualified solicitor/barrister (as far as I know), yet for "power of attorney" you can represent someone in their place but I don't know the limits to this. Is it different for someone in the process of training for a law qualification perhaps?


texts: Can a person sell his own house in Idaho without any assistance from a broker or agent?

texts:
I've been studying real estate law lately for personal pleasure and to better understand the process of buying and selling because I happen to be selling right now. I opted to "sell by owner" using the popular site forsalebyowner.com. I opted for a package that includes an MLS number and posting to popular real estate sites.

After pulling the trigger, I find that apparently Idaho state law does not allow the sale of any property without a broker taking on the owner as a "customer". I learned this from a broker who called me. He was sent by forsalebyowner.com and is responsible for creating the MLS number. He quoted Idaho code 54-2086. The part that stands out:

  (3)  The duties set forth in this section are mandatory and may not be waived or abrogated, either unilaterally or by agreement.

My impression until today was that neither a broker nor an agent was required for any real estate sale. The two parties could open escrow and proceed without them, though it is often advised to have a "real estate attorney" draft and review all documents before you sign them. Indeed, after reading nearly everything on forsalebyowner.com, this impression was reinforced. To the broker's credit, he conceded that Idaho is a bit unique.

Is this broker's claim and cite of Idaho code correct?


texts: Is asking a banker the pros and cons of linking my SSN to my bank account considered requesting legal advice in California?

texts: I opened a checking account in California and had the option to link my SSN (Social Security Number) to my bank account. The banker refused to tell me the pros and cons of linking my SSN to my bank account, on the grounds that it would constitute legal advice. Is that so?


texts: Question about legal side of port scanning during bug bounties

texts:
Additional info I'm living in the UK(Scotland) and testing targets are scattered around the world(but mainly in UK, EU and USA)
I'm just writing some wrapper around the recon tools that I want to use during bug bounties. The question is about the legal side of using port scans(I'm thinking about using rustScan or nmap). I'm assuming that when it isn't on the list of things that I shouldn't be doing then it should be fine. But what about situations with shared hosting or situation in which the server belong to a different company than web app that I need to test. Any easy way to be sure when it should be fine to use it and when I should do recon without it?
Thanks


texts: Can I sue my neighbor if he fired a gun and a bullet goes through my wall and almost kills me?

texts: A neighbor two units down from me discharged a firearm inside the unit and the bullet went through both of our units and ended up in mine. If either of us had been using the bathroom we may have been killed. Is there any legal action that we can take or anything that we can pursue?


texts: The landlord sends advertising with email to tenants, does this count as spam for legal purposes?

texts:
Every time I pay rent on time I get an email from my landlord/rental company about some “deal” from a local random company as a “reward” for paying on time. They are rarely good deals from my perspective.

I personally find it annoying because I believe this landlord/company is taking advantage of their tenant email list to make money on the side by sending advertisements.

They do not have an unsubscribe link since they are transactional emails saying "thanks for paying rent". However they’re also adding marketing into the same emails.

Hypothetically, if I felt like reporting them for violating CAN-SPAM by not letting me unsubscribe from their advertisement, would it hold any weight?


texts:
I rent an apartment in Ohio and I have had numerous occasions where I reported a maintenance issue (AC unit, washing machine, etc) only to receive an email stating someone will be there today, someone enters my home, fixes the issue and no note, work sheet, etc is left. My lease states that 24 hours notice must be given for non-emergencies.

On some instances less than 3 hours notice were given and the only indication that someone was in my home was that the appliance in question was no longer broken.

Do they have to leave some kind of communication as well as give proper notice? Is there anything I can do about this?


texts: Can video rental stores legally digitize and stream the videos they already own?

texts:
I don't really know how licensing works for video rental stores, but I expect they must pay some sort of additional royalty (or similar) on top of the price of the physical media itself.

However, I expect that the licensing/royalties for streaming and other digital rental services are somewhat different, since multiple customers can watch the same video at once.

What I'd like to know is, can rental stores transition to being digital content providers by uploading videos from the physical copies they already own for rental?

Here are some particular potential roadblocks:

Would they have a legal obligation to add DRM?
Would they need to pay some sort of per-view royalties?
If they have a rare video from a now-defunct studio, whom would they need to contact about royalties/licensing/etc?


texts: How can I declare independence from the United States and start my own micro nation?

texts:
How can I take back my sovereignty from the American government and start my own micro nation?

I've read about starting a foreign company with my name in all caps but I want a lawyer's answer.


texts: How are emotional distress damages quantified?

texts:
In TV lawsuits, it's common for the plaintiff to request large amounts of money for emotional distress not caused by physical harm.

What actual guidelines can be used in California for evaluating the amount of damages a plaintiff should aim to recover in a settlement regarding intentionally inflicted emotional distress? What are some examples a layperson can look at?


texts: Child care exemptions for jury duty in NYS?

texts:
New York State (USA) here. I work full time and my wife is a full-time stay at home mom and caretaker for our two children (ages 4 and 6).

My wife received a Jury Duty summons and is expected to show to court tomorrow for jury duty. I am taking the day off work tomorrow to be at home with our kids, but she absolutely can not perform jury duty because she is the sole day-to-day caretaker for them while I work.

What are our options as far as getting her excused from this? They can't just expect a mother to leave her small children abandoned while she performs jury duty, so I imagine there are ways to get her exempt...


texts: Is it true that a suit of defamation could require "very little effort"?

texts:
A recent comment at SE Meta stated:

  my reading of US law is that under certain circumstances, the plaintiff need make very little effort to successfully bring a suit of defamation.

This strikes me as absurd, because even if the plaintiff has a strong case, there is still a lot of work to be done in bringing any sort of suit.

What do the legal experts think?  Does the quoted comment hold water?

(In case this is helpful: here is a succinct outline of the context that led to this question: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334399/summing-up-the-main-issues-the-story-so-far)


texts: Are there temporal limits to data requirements for a GDPR SAR?

texts:
Are there any limits on data that must be provided as part of a GDPR subject access request (SAR) based on the age of the data?
The particular case I am thinking about is SAR made to the 3 credit reference agencies.  As I understand it they only keep my credit data for 6 years, but I would expect them to keep sales data for much longer.  Say they know that they sold a large dataset to a third party 20 years ago, and cannot definitively say my data was not included. Are they required to give me details of this transaction?  What if they had a potential data breach 20 years ago, would they be required to give details of this?  Is there any particular language I should use in my SAR to make sure this is included?


texts: Is taking influence from an Apache licensed software copyright infringment?

texts:
This question was first posted on Open Source here.

I'll try to be more specific about what I'm doing:

After using FluentValidation for a few project I wanted to take a try at developing my own object validation API.

First I examined the code on GitHub to understand the logic that was applied. Then I went about writing my own code, it can be found here.

The API's do the exactly the same, they present very similar, they work very differently and architecturally speaking they are radically apart.

I did not copy one line of code. But I did drew inspiration from it.

FluentValidation is licensed under Apache 2.0 and at the recommendation of a user in my previous question I decided to license  my project under Apache 2.0 as well, adding reference to FluentValidation's designer original copyright notice.

Apache grants "irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare Derivative Works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the Work and such Derivative Works in Source or Object form."

Is it license infringement? Copyright infringement?


texts: What are the likely outcomes if I run out of money when renting a property?

texts:
I am currently renting a property and I lost my job. I am in a two year contract to let the property, of which I have over 18 months left.

I am living in the UK.

The landlord did not ask for a guarantor.

I am currently living off my savings which are getting demolished. I am moving out of the property to go home to save money (food, gas, electric , etc.). When the time comes to when I run out of money what are my options?


texts: Receiving payment for work performed a month prior to filing for unemployment and submitting weekly unemployment claim

texts:
I have been on unemployment for the month of May and am confused as to how I should answer the question "Did you work or earn wages during the week?"

My employer pays me monthly for work that was performed the prior month. I worked in April and just received payment. Do I need to answer "Yes" when my weekly claim is submitted next week?

I'm confused as to whether they just want to know if I worked this week and earned wages for it or if they also want to know if I received payment from work that was performed prior to being on unemployment? I don't want to submit fraudulent information, but I also don't want to short myself additional money I could receive since I am currently missing out on work due to being laid off due to COVID-19.

This is what is listed on the Maryland Department of Labor FAQ:

  Question 1. Did you work or earn wages during the week?

  This question asks whether you earned any income during the week. Income from
  self-employment and wages earned as an employee must be reported in
  the week that you performed the work. If you have not been paid yet,
  you still must report your earnings. If you answer YES, then you will
  be asked to report your Gross Earnings. Gross earnings is the amount
  that you receive for work before taxes or deductions (such as for
  medical insurance premiums) are taken out. If you earned income from
  self-employment, please report what you will actually take home in
  earnings by deducting your expenses.

  FRAUD WARNING: Making of a false
  statement or representation or knowingly failing to disclose a fact to
  obtain or increase a benefit or other payment may disqualify an
  individual for these and additional benefit payments, trigger the
  imposition of interest and fees and the recovery of benefits paid.


texts: Legal meaning of as per and in accordance with

texts:
I am not legal expert and english is not my first language. I have to make some changes in a draft of legal document. I am not sure which sentence is correct. The situation is like "Mr. ABC visiting DEF institute for three months, but during this period of time his living cost and salary should come from main employer XYZ, and DEF is not responsible."

During this visit, Mr. ABC remains employed by XYZ, and he shall be paid full salary in accordance with the job contract with employer XYZ.

Vs

During this visit, Mr. ABC remains employed by XYZ, and he shall be paid full salary as per the job contract with employer XYZ.


texts: Landlord rights in case of tenant death in Germany

texts:
In the shadow of recent virus outbreak, I could not help but to think about my landlord’s rights if I happen to die.

I can imagine that the German law has this covered. Can someone please point it out?


texts: If I discover information about a company through personal investigation can I act on it without being guilty of insider trading?

texts:
Let's say I'm a skilled PI who has, through detailed investigation followed a paper trail back and discovered that Soylent Green is people! (err..spoiler warning?)

I am now aware of information that is not public knowledge, but I have not 'stolen' it from a company, as I have generated this knowledge through personal investigation and research.  However, I was only able to prove something was wrong after capturing photos while doing surveillance of a suspected location, so my knowledge is not just deduction from publicly available records.

I'm now in the process of trying to get the local news agency to take me seriously and warn everyone about the news.  However, while I do this I also decide to short sell Soylent LTD, after all I need to cover my own business expenses somehow.  If it's relevant let's say I have strong evidence that my investigation and leaking of the knowledge was originally done out of an honest intent to warn people about the company, since intent of leaking information seems to matter in case law (the 2014 court case).

Could I be found guilty of unlawful insider trading for short selling the companies stocks?


texts: Service provider states I terminated the agreement by moving to a location they do not service, am I liable?

texts:
I signed a 24 month agreement for internet service while living in Atlanta. A month or two into the contract, my wife formally accepted a contract for a position 800 miles away (expensive move). We flew out to the new area, shopped for homes and purchased one (normal life).

When we moved into our new place I called the service provider to transfer our service to our new home. Unfortunately, at that time the company stated they do not service our new property address (fwiw - my account is paid in full and good standing for services used). ...Long story short a few weeks later I get a notice for an early termination fee.

I've been fighting this for 2+ months now.  I've spent hours with countless phone reps and getting the boilerplate, "these charges are valid due to termination of service." I stated in many words I didn't terminate the contract, I asked for my service to be transferred to my new address." I asked the question in a few different ways and the service rep states, "moving to avoid a service charge is not valid."

I asked a phone rep manager, "how can a customer be held responsible for where a service provider provides service?" The answer given was, "to avoid ETF you should call [us] before purchasing a home."

This seems unreal, unjust, and possibly unconstitutional.  Am I crazy?
How is it that "blah blah blah big company" can place their interests above a citizen's choice of where to live (school district, neighborhood, etc.)?

Am I off base for thinking that I did not terminate the service? On the contrary the service provider terminated the service by not continuing to provide service for my account.

Here's the only copy of the service agreement I could find:
AGREEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL SERVICES


texts: Is it legal to reproduce the image of AlexNet?

texts:
In the seminal paper, "ImageNet Classification with Deep Convolutional Neural Networks", there is an image of Alexnet as shown below:

Is it allowed to reproduce a copy of the image or is it protected under copyright laws?  If it is not allowed and we redraw the image and attribute it correctly, is it allowed to publish the image?


texts: Is my bond (employee contract) legal in India?

texts:
I live in India and I have signed a contract of one year with my employer. But now I want to leave my company. However when I sent my resignation email they told me to take legal actions on me.

About the bond:

It is written on my company's letter head.
It doesn't contain any stamp paper.
It doesn't contain any company seal
It doesn't mention anything about what actions will be taken, they just wrote "legal actions will be taken" if I break the bond.

Can someone please help me by telling whether this bond is legal or not. What actions will be taken on me. My HR scared me by saying that they wont give me Experience letter and Releasing letter. They also said that no other company will give me a job and I will never be able to go to any other country because my Visa will never get approved.


texts: Is it illegal to start a fake crowdfunding page in the UK?

texts:
I want to donate to Greenfell Tower victims at JustGiving but some pages look dodgy and fake (hence I'm reluctant to donate).

I've read the terms and conditions but I'm still a bit confused. Is there a law to stop people pretending to be victims of a disaster? Will these people go to jail if I report them?


texts: Can a Secret Service detail protect their charge against law enforcement?

texts:
I read questions about this on various websites, usually about someone with the initials D.T., but it is a good general question.

A protectee is guarded by their Secret Service detail against people who want to assassinate or otherwise hurt them. But what if the protectee is discovered to be a bad guy?  Can they insist on the detail to guard them from legitimate arrest?  Or would the detail have to let the cops bust him/her?  (I guess the detail would stay at the detention facility to watch over their charge.)


texts: What does "electronic verbatim record" mean?

texts:
What does "electronic verbatim record" mean, and how is it different from "written" in the following:

(v) A written or, at the option of the parents, electronic verbatim record of the proceedings before the impartial hearing officer shall be maintained and made available to the parties.

I'm wondering if it has something to do with audio recordings (which I requested, but was told were not permitted).

There was a court reporter.  I have a copy of the transcripts made by the court reporter.  They have a lot of mistakes.


texts: Illegal to give lawyer a bonus for getting an acquittal?

texts:
I recently found out that in Massachusetts it is illegal for a lawyer to accept a bonus for obtaining an acquittal in a criminal case. In other words, if a client says I will pay you an hourly rate plus a $50,000 bonus if I get acquitted, then it would be illegal under Massachusetts law for the lawyer to accept that arrangement.

Do other states have the same law or is this a Massachusetts special?


texts:
Say that I read on the internet a funny story with a punch line at the end saying: "Don't buy it if the experts publish studies about it."

I liked it and I drew a comic on a bit different topic including the same phrase. What if I were about to sell it?

Would it be possible to succesfully sue me in the USA?


texts: Purchasing Electronic Books from Foreign Store

texts:
The question is motivated by my multiple attempts to find a legal way of obtaining Japanese-language electronic books from their official stores (let is be, say, Amazon.co.jp, though for Rakuten, BookWalker etc. the same applies).

Apparently, all of those make it impossible to purchase anything (variant: anything but free) without a valid Japanese address. In fact, activation of an account fails to proceed without one.

That the barrier is purely bureaucratic and apparently based on the unsurety about the interaction of international laws can be proven by the facts that nothing is apparently even billed physically to the address required and the files are encoded exactly the same worldwide (experience of people with legal double accounts I’ve discussed the matter with). This limitation actually plays not only against foreigners wishing to read Japanese books but also such an important demographic as the Japanese community worldwide, who completely lose an access to their own literature, unless one agrees to physical books, which are

(1) also inaccessible unless through a mediating reseller;

(2) more expensive even without shipping, to say nothing of mail punctuality;

(3) for less-than-perfect speakers make it restrictively hard to look up a word or phrase.

An option that is constantly repeated on forums and such seems trivial: just add an invented (or taken from some hotel advertisement) address and be purchasing. I’ve been wondering: what exactly is violated by such a strategy? Sometimes I am suspecting that exactly nothing but the Conditions of Use of the e-Shops themselves – for which they may delete an account, or may not, depending on their thoroughness and willingness. Note that money are being paid in full and the company, as well as the publishers and authors get their well-earned parts.

P. S. Answers providing some (legal) solution to the conundrum allowing non-Japanese to purchase on the Japanese side of the spectrum are also welcome.


texts: Sharing pricing information as a customer

texts:
I am getting pricing quotes from two companies, A and B. The sales representative of company A asked me to send them the quote from company B, so that they can talk their management into offering me a better price. However, the quote from company B mentions "this information is confidential, it is illegal to share this document", or something along those lines. I do not intend to send the quote, for ethical reasons.
I am wondering whether the legal warnings on company B's documents are valid, which brings me to my question:
Is it illegal for me, as a customer (not working for company A), to forward the pricing information sent to me by company B to their competitor?
And if so, why do people bother writing non-disclosure agreements if a simple line at the bottom of any piece paper can effectively protect the information contained on a document?
My naive guess would be that the information stops being confidential when it is sent to someone who has no legal ties to the company, but I assume there is more to it than this...


texts: What laws allow social media companies to "choose" who to serve, but not brick-and-mortar business?

texts:
I'll say right away, I know this hot topic is politically divisive, but I'm hoping for a neutral explanation by people with experience.
Social media companies (in addition to banks, payment processors, website hosting services, and more) are increasingly picking and choosing which clients they will serve.  This picking and choosing is, I don't think can be denied at this point, based at least somewhat on the political opinions of these clients.
In response to this, a common defense is "They're private companies, so they can pick and choose who they want to serve."  But this argument holds no water for most other businesses; for example if I run a coffee shop, I can't pick and choose who to serve based on what political paraphernalia they're wearing (or at least, I'm pretty sure I can't).  In general, the government forces American businesses to run any number of ways based on the laws they pass.  We don't live in a libertarian / anarcho-capitalist environment, so this "They're private companies" argument has always struck me as disingenuous.
I know it's a general question, but to what extent can companies pick and choose (that is, discriminate) what clients to serve?  What legal rights or contracts allow these companies to discriminate in ways that other companies can't?  If discrimination based on political opinions is NOT legal, how have these companies legally obfuscated their intentions?


texts: In legalese, is there legal a difference between "we would like to hire you" and "we want to hire you"?

texts:
I was selected to for a job, but haven't signed nor seen the contract yet. The "you've been accepted" message was written in conditional format,  "we would like to hire you" instead of "we want to..."/"we have hired".

This job requires investing into some gear and I wonder if the employer can only hire the applicants who have purchased the said equipment. The contract is behind a form of "paywall" as well, an iOS-only chat platform.


texts: Must a natural spring be disclosed when buying a house?

texts:
I purchased a home last fall just to discover, come spring, that it was on a natural spring.

It turned out that the spring is water table dependent and as such was not present during the time of the home inspection as water levels were lower. Upon tearing up the carpet I had discovered cracks in the floor that were patched over and that the water was taking said path and, when breaking open that path, the contractors had discovered that the area around the path was hollowed out by the water.

The only thing indicated on the sellers disclosure was that they had sump pumps that ran no structural or foundation issues were indicated, however I am unsure if a spring is required to be disclosed in PA

Note: When I say there is a natural spring I mean 4000+ gallons an hour from 1 of the pumps alone. And city has tested the water disowning it as definitely ground water


texts: Why was the Supreme Court of the United States set up to only hear cases en banc?

texts:
From the very beginning of the US Supreme Court, we've required a quorum of Justices to be present to hear a case. Unfortunately, seeing as we set up a co-equal judiciary rather than the parliamentary dominance over English common law, we did not have England to use as an example.
We have had multiple opportunities to change this, like the Judiciary Acts of 1891 and 1925 where Congress decided that rather than expand the Supreme Court or allow assignment of cases to a panel of Justices like it does the circuit courts, we would simply give the judiciary greater power to pick which cases it heard. To me, this implies that the quorum model was not only intentional, but that it was important enough to preserve for the length of our democracy.
So why is the US Supreme Court set up to only hear cases 'en banc'?


texts:
Why does the US law  sometimes mention numbers in both digits and letters?
E.g. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2012-title8-vol1/pdf/CFR-2012-title8-vol1-sec316-5.pdf:

Absences from the United States for
continuous periods of between six (6)
months and one (1) year during the periods for which continuous residence is
required under §316.2 (a)(3) and (a)(6)
shall disrupt the continuity of such
residence for purposes of this part unless the applicant can establish otherwise to the satisfaction of the Service.

Typically people don't write the same info twice.


texts:
What is "burden of proof"?

For example, in the realm of special education law, IDEA plus the body of existing decisions say that a student is IDEA-eligible when his disability has an adverse effect on his educational performance.

In my state, New York, when a special education hearing is requested on behalf of a student, claiming that the district failed in its "child find" mission, and that when it did get around to evaluating the student, incorrectly found him ineligible, the district has the burden of proof.  But I'm not sure what that means.

Does that mean that it is up to the district to offer evidence that the student's disability did NOT adversely affect his educational performance?  Does it mean that we should assume that it did (kind of like assuming that someone is innocent of a crime until proven guilty), until the district presents evidence that will provide reassurance, showing that there was no adverse effect on performance?


texts: What effect does an event like the current Covid-19 pandemic have on contractural obligations?

texts:
Across the world, the current pandemic, and various government responses to it will impact on parties abilities to perform their obligations under a contract.

What are the legal implications of this?


texts: How could one form a contractual NDA within an employer funded redundancy program

texts:
I am being made redundant, and as part of that process I am being offered training, including a significant amount of 1 to 1 coaching.  The coaches are paid by the company, and have no contractual relationship to me.  They have agreed to a code of conduct to non-disclosure.
I would be able to get most value out of this coaching if I could as confident of our confidentiality as an NDA provides, and talk freely about my business plans, which I think are good, and so could be stolen for profit.
How could one go about forming a contractual NDA in this situation?  I would be quite comfortable asking questions of any party here, as long as it was not a stupid question.  I would be happy to pay the coach extra, on top of what they are getting otherwise.
If anyone had any opinions on how realistic my worry is, or the social issues of making such an offer I would be interested.


texts: What enforcement is there for lack of lawn care in Minneapolis?

texts:
I live in Minneapolis, and my landlords are not properly maintaining my yard, which is shared with the other unit.

In Minnesota, lawn care is the landlord's responsibility, unless the lease explicitly and clearly states otherwise, and tenants must be remunerated for lawn care. Ours has no such provision.

I don't want to go into detail about the lawn, but it's quite unambiguously poorly maintained, so let's assume for the purposes of this question it is, and has not been maintained for a month.
It's also a hygiene issue because it's much harder to pick pet waste up out of long grass than short grass.

Calling city inspections seems like the wrong course, but I couldn't find any state or city statue that addressed this situation.

I'm not paying rent to also have to do lawn maintenance, but what can I do about this?


texts: Use of encryption and storage of personal information on website based in India

texts: I want to launch a website that stores users' personal information, encrypts user passwords, and uses SSL for secure transmission. Do I require an license to launch the website? If yes, how do I obtain a license in India? I don't have a registered office and am hosting my website on a third-party server.


texts: How can you enforce repayment of a loan with no due date?

texts:
Suppose you loan someone money with an informal but written agreement. No due date is specified. You know they have since obtained a large sum of money, and could pay you back immediately.

However, they say they owe you nothing and refuse to pay. Is there an efficacious legal avenue available?


texts: Is it legal to post a photograph that I captured of a stranger in the street?

texts:
I captured a photograph in the street.

The photograph includes people who I don't know.

There is nothing in the photograph that I believe can offend anybody (e.g. no nude or illegal act).

I just like this photograph.

Is it legal to publish the photograph for commercial use without permissions from the subjects appear in the photograph?

The photo was taken in Australia.
I want to publish it as a demo-photo as part of a photo-editing App (distributed internationally).

Edit: Please note that the question marked as possible duplicate does not relate specifically about someone captured in Australia, and does not specific to my commercial usage context.


texts: Applied for adoption records & original birth registration - It's not the original registration info

texts:
I applied for my adoption records here in Canada because I need the papers for some passport stuff.

I still talk with my biological father, but I was officially adopted by my mother's new husband when I was 10. My biological mother has always been my mother.

I still remember my original birth certificate "Tom Jones". Due to the adoption, my last name officially changed to "Tom Thumb".

What's interesting is that from that point on whenever I would order a birth certificate, the certificate I got always had my new name of "Tom Thumb".  Never again would I see my original birth certificate with "Tom Jones" even though I still talk with my biological father and my biological mother has always been my mother.

This is not a problem because these days you can apply for your adoption records and you can receive an uncertified copy of the registered adoption and an uncertified copy of the original birth registration.

I received the two documents this week however this "original birth registration" is very odd. It looks like a NEW Statement of Birth that was filled out by my mother at the time of adoption because in her own handwriting she put my name as "Tom (Jones) Thumb". That's simply what she decided to fill in.

No problem, however why did they not send my original statement of birth registration that has my original name at birth "Tom Jones"?

In fact, up until I was about 10 I remember seeing my original birth certificate with "Tom Jones". So I know that original certificate must exist.

**Lastly, If it came from the provincial office why would it be uncertified in the first place? Why didn't they send a certified copy?


texts: What's the penalty for breaking a residential lease in NorCal?

texts:
What's the penalty for breaking a residential lease?

For example, in the Bay Area in Northern California.


texts: How does one prove damages in an emotional distress case when they can't afford treatment?

texts:
I was doing some legal research online, and I learned that in emotional distress cases, "...if the defendant's conduct is not so extreme, the plaintiff may need additional evidence that his or her distress is severe." https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=mulr
My question is, how can a plaintiff prove their distress is severe when they cannot afford treatment for emotional injury? Can they sue for the cost of therapy and compensation for lack of productivity?


texts: I'm a trans woman. When can I deregister from the American draft registry?

texts:
When I was 18, I received a scary form from the Department of Defense telling me I had to sign up for something called “Selective Service” (or face prison time and other things). Not knowing any better at the time, I filled it out as if I was male.

Of course, this should be corrected. I recall that there was a box on this form reading “I am exempt because I am female.” (There are several issues with this, including the ban on women who do wish to serve, and the complete lack of recognition of and guidance for enbies, but those are separate questions.) I expect that the American government is, unfortunately, gatekeepy enough to not accept self-identification. What step of legal transition must I have completed before I can resubmit this form with the box checked to excuse myself as female?


texts: Can I use my first name's initial on a copyright notice?

texts:
Instead of this:

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2018 Firstname Middlename Lastname

Can I do this:

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2018 F. Middlename Lastname

Are there any legal caveats to this practice?


texts: What are the relevant U.S. laws that cover businesses that disburse cash?

texts:
I'm interested in starting a business that sends customers rolls of quarters (and maybe at most 1-2 per week at most), e.g. for paying for laundry washing and drying machines. I'd like to be able to accept credit card payments (only) but I haven't yet found a payment processor that will agree to do business with my (potential) business.

Several prominent online payment processors seem to prohibit this type of business from

There was previously a U.S. business, Washboard, that attempted to offer this product/service, but they only remained in business for a few weeks and they stated that their payment processor prohibited their business's activity.

What is it about the business that's legally problematic for payment processors? What are the relevant laws?


texts: Prove my work is not a trade secret violation

texts:
I have recently developed a medical application. One of my previous employers (from 4 years ago) also sells similar application. (You can see where it is going)

I developed this application from scratch in Silverlight and later moved to WPF. It uses Prism for IoC, Entity framework, MVVM with ViewModel first and RIA based WCF servics.

The application my previous employer sells is based on WinForms. Uses classic 3-tier architecture with Most of the code in form code-behind, a Business layer. a Data access layer that performs CRUD operations using TSQL.

The employer is now alleging that I might have stolen the code and created my own version but that is truly not the case. Every line of code has been written from scratch.

The employer is also alleging trade secret violation (without even looking at the software) but everything this software does is based on public domain knowledge. Managing patients, Exams, Bills etc are all public knowledge. Specific tests that go in each exam have been made based on material read from books that I can prove.

My software simply provides a different way of managing practice that has not borrowed anything from my previous employer's software.

I need to present a detailed comparison of the two technologies so my lawyer can include that in a formal reply.

Anyone has experience going through a similar scenario who can help me write a good comparison?


texts: Escort receives prepayment for services and client sues

texts: Can I be arrested in civil court pertaining to my ex-profession as an escort?  I received a lump sum from a client to cover 150 services.  I satisfied the loan but foolishly signed paperwork saying I would payback in money but that was not really the agreement it was just supposed to be a paper to show his wife or if anyone asked questions of why the money was gone.  He said he was the only one who knew of that money, except for some relatives who wouldn't ask where it was and his wife notices when $300 is gone every week and is getting suspicious.  If I explain this in civil court can they arrest me or him or both?


texts: Can I compel my neighbor to remove or relocate a tree that completely encroaches my property?

texts:
My neighbor planted a pygmy date palm cluster fairly close to our common property line. Although the roots and cluster base are entirely on the neighbor's property, one of the trees in the cluster grows diagonally over the property line, such that all of the palm branches occur on our side of the property line.

I am aware that I am allowed to trim vegetation that crosses the property boundary; however, I am not allowed to perform trimming that would kill the tree. In this case, trimming the portion of the tree over the line would definitely kill it.

Can I compel my neighbor to have the tree removed (or relocated, at their discretion)? We are located in Florida, US, if that is pertinent to the answer.

I don't have an image of the actual plantings in question, but below is a good approximation of the size of the plantings, and degree that the tree crosses the boundary line (yellow line). Our property would be to the left of the line, neighbor's to the right. (For clarification, the trees are planted in ground, and there is no concrete around the property line; this is just an example image I found that approximates the size of the trees)

Background: My neighbor has complained that our landscaping/lawn maintenance company has crossed the property line during their work. Our landscaper disputes the neighbor's claims, but allows that they may have inadvertently stepped over the property line. This is possible, but not likely, as the neighbor's plantings are low, and it would be difficult to trim their plantings that cross the line from slightly over the line. Not to mention, pointless, as it is easier to trim the encroaching plants entirely from our property, than it is to stand on or near the property line.

Notwithstanding our neighbor's claim, he has crossed entirely to our property while trimming his plantings. When he attempted to confront us about our landscaper allegedly crossing over, he defended his own crossing over as allowed because he was maintaining his plantings.

The neighbor has sent a letter from his attorney stating that we are not allowed on his property without express written consent. Fine, we have no interest, nor need, to cross onto his property. However, we are incensed that he misrepresented the facts, and we feel he is essentially  attempting to bully us into letting his plantings grow by vaguely claiming some of our trimmings have damaged the "heart" of the tree; and asserting our landscaper engaged in "conversion" (sigh).

Prior to my neighbor's belligerence, we were content to simply trim the low trees that crossed over the line; it wasn't much of a big deal. But now battle lines have been drawn.


texts: What is meant by direct Taxes in Article 1 Section 2 in the US Constitution?

texts:
I am new when it comes to understanding the US Constitution and I am not comfortable with Section 2, Paragraph 3  of Article 1!

[Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned
among the several States which may be included within
this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which
shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term
of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of
all other Persons.]* The actual Enumeration shall be made
within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress
of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of
ten Years, in such Manner, as they shall by Law direct. The
The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at least one
Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made,
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence
Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland
six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five,
and Georgia three.

What is meant by "direct taxes" in Article 1 Section 2 Paragraph 3?
Note: I have done research on Law SE but found nothing which relates to the answer I'm looking for.
Some relevant link:
https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CONAN-1992/pdf/GPO-CONAN-1992-6.pdf
https://www.senate.gov/civics/resources/pdf/US_Constitution-Senate_Publication_103-21.pdf


texts: I'm part of a new law firm and trying to get insight about how other law firms host their video and audio files from depositions, whether it be cloud servers, internal networks, etc.


texts: Can the military see my sealed juvenile record during the background check?

texts:
I applied for US Military Engineering Internships in California. I talked to a recruiter and he said there will be a background check.

I am now in a college. When I was 14, I made a stupid mistake. I was arrested for shoplifting. I think I did some community service and the case is now sealed.

When submitting my background application, if it says "have you ever been convicted or arrested?", should I say yes or no?


texts: What if a board can't agree on a slate to propose for election at its annual membership meeting?

texts:
A nonprofit (New York State 501c3) that I'm involved with has a Board of Directors that has recently erupted in conflict. The annual membership meeting is coming up and it appears that no majority of board directors will be able to agree on a board slate to be presented to the membership for election. This is the first membership meeting for the organization and given the recent conflict, nobody knows how to handle the board election.

How is this situation typically handled or how does it typically play out? Could members propose individual director candidates and could there be a separate round of voting for each of these candidates? Where can I find documents regarding this scenario?


texts: Identifying corruption in tendering process

texts:
Under Indian law, is it allowable for a department (or department head) to bypass the a formal open "request for tender" process, by instead calling limited tender among arbitrary selected venders. Specifically, does this (or is this likely to) violate vigilance rules of central vigilance commission or state vigilance commission, for a state-owned company for generating thermal power?

The company has a official public notice published in its website stating that material and services will be procured through e-tender and interested parties must acquire Digital Signature Certificates from authorized agencies for participating in the e-tendering process and in the said notice there is no mention of value range or type of items or services for which e-tendering is exempted and other methods are to be followed.It is also mentioned in the notice that for any unforeseen eventualities interested parties may follow notice in organization website

However, in one of this company's power plants, procurement is not handled through the open e-tendering process, but instead tender is only available to vendors arbitrarily selected by an official.

Is the "limited tendering" policy described above legal? If not, is it a form of corruption? Could this be evidence of a kickback scheme or other systematic corruption?


texts: Is it legal to own lockpicks in Pennsylvania?

texts:
I am interested in learning about lockpicking as a hobby. I have heard from others that intent to use the picks for something otherwise illegal is what can actually get you into trouble, but I have not found anything to back this up.

According to the Open Organization of Lockpickers, Pennsylvania does not have any specific laws. Is this true?


texts: Can a neighbor point cameras at our backyard and the back of our house?

texts:
We live in the hills. And the way our neighborhood is designed is as you go up the hill, there will be a house below you, and a house above you (which are side by side to your property). The elevation between each house is pretty dramatic. I would say at least 10 feet in elevation.

The house above us was owned by a family for over 30 years and recently sold to a couple and their small child. They have been working on the house for at least 6 months now and recently hired what I would assume is a non-licenced security installation company to put up cameras (At least 10) all around their property.

Camera 1 of 8 was placed during the first installation and it is pointing at the right side of his property and 90% of our backyard including our pool.

We were upset about the camera but didn't really care enough to cause an issue with them since they are new.

3 Months later he also installed camera 2 and 3. These are PTZ cameras. Meaning they can Pan, Tilt and Zoom. The reason I know that, is because I've installed security equipment in the past. I know the industry very well.

Because his property is 10 feet above ours and these 2 PTZ cameras are placed on a pole behind his pool. He can see directly into one of our bedrooms. I'm really not sure what to do about this.

I was not too crazy about the camera (cam 1) on the back of his house pointing at our entire backyard. But Those PTZ cameras are overboard. And I'm pretty sure he spent a lot of money to install those cameras.

What are the laws behind all of this? I'm in California.

EDIT: Cameras 2 and 3 are not on his roof. They are in his backyard behind his pool. A perfect angle to see into our bedrooms.


texts: Why is distilled water packaged and sold similar to drinking water in the US but not in other countries?

texts:
In the United States and Canada, distilled water packaging is almost identical to that of drinking water with just minor differences. In other countries such as Israel and Germany, distilled water is sold with very different packaging and usually in the pharmacy or automotive section of stores rather than next to drinking water.
Is there a legal reason why US manufacturers choose to package distilled water and lay out stores this way? It just feels so odd like selling rubbing alcohol and vodka in identical packages and on the same aisle, which I assume is illegal and clearly ill-advised.
Is difference in law between the US and e.g. Germany is what causing this difference in outcome?
Also, I'm sorry if law StackExchange is not the best place to ask this. Please point me at somewhere better.


texts: SAMSUNG refuses to honor their warranty. How to proceed?

texts:
I bought a SAMSUNG flagship Android device from the world's largest retailer (Walmart).

The SAMSUNG device is now failing in multiple ways.

I have repeatedly contacted SAMSUNG, and SAMSUNG refuses to honor their warranty because Walmart does not print the IMEI on their receipts.  Instead of honoring the date on the receipt, SAMSUNG is calculating the end of the warranty based on the original manufacture date at the overseas factory.

The purchase was conducted in the United States at a Walmart retail store.  I have the original receipt from the cash register.

SAMSUNG does not dispute that I bought a SAMSUNG device with the exact model number of the device I have.  They claim that I have no way to prove that the device in my hand is the device I purchased less than a year ago, because Walmart does not print the IMEI on the receipt.

Does anyone know the best way to proceed?

UPDATE

I spoke with the manager at Walmart, and she insisted they have no way to print me a receipt or document with the IMEI number on it.  I even asked her to write a special letter for me, and she refused.

I also spoke with SAMSUNG again, and once again, they refused to honor their warranty without an IMEI printed on a receipt.

So, legally, how do I proceed?


texts: EU spam legislation Spain, which action can be taken and to whom?

texts:
Me and hundreds of other people are receiving a unsolicited emails from a major Spanish based airline. They seem to not have an unsubscription feature and when contacted they refuse to delete emails addresses.

I would like to know what action can be raised against them and eventually who to contact.


texts: Legality of short clips cut from famous movies to fit a new soundtrack

texts:
Bob has written a short piece of music and realized that it brilliantly fits certain sequences from a certain famous, copyrighted movie. He cuts essentially a music video from those sequences which appears quite fun and entertaining.
On the one hand, Bob's derivative work may be regarded as:

joke/prank on the particular scenes from the movie that Bob used: his music may change how the scenes are perceived (e.g. make them look fun where they did not), or make them look much more fun/amusing than they were;
tribute to the movie (which is not just famous but actually cult);

Also, there may be actual dancing and the actors' movements may look as if they indeed danced to Bob's music (rather than to what was used in the movie).
Overall, it would be hard to imagine a way in which Bob's clip would cause any detriment to the movie's copyright holders. In fact, if it causes any effect on the movie at all that would be a spike in its DVD/Bluray/streaming sales.
But on the other hand, the clip could be seen as employing the fame of the movie to promote the piece of music Bob has written. Although Bob will not be monetizing the clip itself, he could by all means benefit from selling the music only through other channels.
Could there be any defenses for Bob against copyright infringement (e.g. fair use) if he posts the clip on Youtube but otherwise does not aim to directly make any money out of it? What tests would courts apply to determine if these defenses stand?
(Closely related but different: Large YouTuber: Copyright Lawsuit vs Fair Use)


texts: What rights does a lender/loan purchaser lose by being negligent?

texts:
A lender wrote a mortgage on a house that was defaulted. The lender waited for several years before foreclosing, instead of acting, say, after 90 days. Shortly thereafter, the borrower declared bankruptcy. The house is sold for more than the value of the principal, but less than the value of principal plus interest.

Is it true (as I've been told) that the lender has "different" rights to the principal and interest? E.g., the mortgage fully secures the principal, but the lender has to get in line with other unsecured creditors for the interest in bankruptcy?

Same house, a slightly different set of facts: A loan purchaser bought the loan for $1 million when the mortgage was for $3 million, because the mortgage was in default. The loan purchaser was found to be "negligent" either at the time of the loan purchase, and/or on subsequent loan modifications (didn't fully follow underwriting procedures). The mortgagor declared bankruptcy. Does the loan purchaser have "different" sets of rights and responsibilities with regard to the $1 million investment and $2 million potential profit.


texts: Parsonage deduction on top of a parsonage: any limit?

texts:
Is there a limit to the amount of money a church can give a religious leader for housing?

A church is planning to offer a contract in which the leader is given an house with all expenses paid plus a substantial parsonage allowance.

What are the legal considerations that should be considered?  Is this likely to get anyone into trouble? Is the legitimacy of the substantial financial parsonage allowance called into question by the contract clause that provides the house and all associated expenses?  (This is in the USA.)


texts: Does apply Single Tax Principle in that situation?

texts:
Does apply Single Tax Principle in that situation:
Person is citizen of Chile, but currently lives and has residence in Ukraine and works remotely meanwhile Chile.
Does he need pay taxes in Ukraine?


texts: Claiming collaborative work as individual

texts:
What is (if any) the offense for claiming a piece of collaborative work as an individual work.

More concretely, if a thesis was the collaborative effort of multiple personnel but one decided to claim that it was his/her own work, what offense did he/she commit? (copyright? theft?)

Furthermore, say said person contributed vastly more than the others, will his claim be justified / more justifiable?


texts: Tennessee landlord's rights on charging tenant's "on file" debit card without authorization

texts: Is it legal for a landlord in the state of Tennessee to charge a tenant's debit card electronically (using information stored from a previous transaction) without the tenant's knowledge, presence (neither of card or card holder) or authorization?


texts: Ending contract without a termination clause

texts:
We as an association have a contract with two other associations. One of these associations has told us they would like to end the contract.

This contract has no clauses regarding its termination. As such, we think we should all come to a mutual agreement on how to end the contract. The other association argues that they can just void the contract right now.

Who of us has got it right? Or are we both wrong?


texts: Does promissory estoppel or estoppel by convention apply to this situation?

texts:
Suppose party A has some legal right L. A and party B are in negotiations. B wants to do an action, C, which would entail some risk of loss, but if B is successful, both A and B will acquire a benefit (A will acquire this benefit through its legal right, L). A says they do not want C to happen, since they consider C to be unjust. B does C nonetheless, and is successful. Is A now estopped from enforcing L?

What more detail would you need to decide whether or not estoppel can be established against A?

[Edit: one further detail. The benefit would have to be shared between A and B, so A claiming some benefit reduces B's benefit]


texts: Consumer Rights 2015 (U.K.): Wear & Tear dispute over a vehicle

texts:
I am planning to go to a small claims court about a Consumer Rights Act issue on a second-hand vehicle. The trader that sold the second-hand vehicle claims that it's the result of wear and tear. His mechanic had already a look allegedly. They are confident that is a timing chain issue. They say that when they had the car was fine. They request the consumer to pay for the repair.
The first indication of the error was only after two weeks of purchase. No damage was done to the car from the consumer or any other third party. It was driven solely for leisure purposes.
A couple of other independent mechanics (paid by the consumer) had a look at the car and each one of them has a different opinion on how to fix the car. One said to change the engine oil the other to change the solenoid.
The only thing sure is that it's P0014 error code which indeed it may be caused by a series of things (all the above claims from the various mechanics are not wrong). Allegedly the root cause of it which I found online is bad vehicle maintenance (not changing with good quality engine oil at the supposed time periods, this practice is reinforced by the fact that every wheel has a different brand tyre to save cost).
In the eyes of the judge does the wear and tear argument have any basis? Will more evidence be needed from either parties?


texts: Requirement that terms not defined in a contract can only rely on the industry definition if "ubiquitous"

texts:
I had a reference to a case in english law where the judgment was that the supplier could not rely on the standard definition of a term within the industry, unless the other party was also active within the "industry" and wasn't a consumer, and the definition the supplier sought to apply was "ubiquitous" across that industry. Here's the catch - I'm 99% positive the word was "ubiquitous" but it might have been some synonym - my 1% of doubt is fuelled by the fact I now can't find that case!
I'm assuming it was an "unfair terms" "Unfair Consumer Contract Terms" case, but can't fully trust my memory on that either.
The key point I'm looking for is a conclusion that even if the understanding of a term is well-established within an industry (ideally the insurance industry, and even more ideally income protection / permanent health insurance), a layman consumer can't be expected to understand the term in that same way. I know that's a basic tenet of UCCTR, but I'm hoping for something more specific. FYI, the term is "self-employed" - the interesting thing about this is that the dictionary definition and the common understanding is someone who owns their own business or someone who works on their own account and carries the risks of running a business which he/she owns - but it seems the IP / PH insurance folks consider that person to be "employed" if their company is incorporated, but "self-employed" if it is not. My belief is that a lone director of a limited company who purely uses that company to market personal services (not as a director) will consider her/himself self-employed and would not naturally expect that an IP/PH policy would penalize a claimant based on the incorporation status of the business - and so if that is the intent of the policy it should be made absolutely clear in the policy terms, and the risks highlighted strongly.


texts: In Florida, if you are caught with stolen property. But didn't steal the property, can you be charged?

texts: Lets say you are walking around your neighborhood and you find a golf cart in the middle of the road with the keys in it. You get curious to see if you can find something with the owners info on it and sit down to look through the cart. As you are looking around while sitting in the cart, the Police roll up and find you in the cart and it turns out it is stolen. Can you be charged for theft of the item, even thou you didn't steal it?


texts: Who holds legal rights to manage a fund's money?

texts:
Scenario:
Bob, Larry, and Curly want to invest their money together.  Bob will be the active investor and Larry and Curly will only contribute capital.  They set up two companies:  Company M (management company) and company P (pool of money company).  Both companies are LLCs in the United States (assume Delaware if it matters).  Company P is just a vehicle to own assets.  Larry and Curly each own 50% of company P.  Bob owns 100% of company M.  Company M earns a 30% performance fee on all returns and charges no fees on assets owned by company P.

Q1:  Can a non-natural person (i.e. company M) be the only director / manager of company P?  If not, how would company M exert its managerial power over the assets held by P?

Q2:  How does Bob, who has no direct role in company P, open a brokerage account and move money from company P's bank account to the brokerage account?  Also, presumably the brokerage account should be owned by company P also, so how does Bob even open the account?  I've signed up for one or two business accounts years ago and they asked for information about the person representing the business, but in this scenario the representative of company P is another company M and then Bob is the representative of company M... inception!  How would this actually work?

Thank you so much to anyone who can help shed light on this matter!!


texts: UK – remedy for the insured for wrongly rejected claim

texts: If an insurance policy provider wrongly refuses to consider a claim for a substantial time can it be argued it has given up its right to reinstate the losses and has to pay the insured instead?  This is in relation policies which offer reinstatement or the payment of monetary value of the insured item.


texts: Can you present a clear record if you do Driver Safety Course in Texas?

texts:
It appears that speeding tickets in Texas, or at least most metropolitan areas, for example, Austin, Texas, have a standard option of a Driving Safety Course, which is allowed once a year, and will let you dismiss a speeding charge, supposedly without any record, and pay a reduced fine, all whilst pleading no-contest to the citation.

What if you do that, just to spare the headache of a trial, even if you truly think you didn't drive unsafely at all?  If it so happens that you are selected by traffic police again to fill the coffers of a municipality, would you be able to raise an affirmative defense, and bring your spotless driving record into the picture?


texts: Is ignorance of the law a valid excuse for not following emergency laws with no warning period?

texts:
Yesterday in Melbourne, Australia a State of Disaster was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new set of emergency laws came into effect, including an 8pm curfew, no travelling beyond a 5km radius of your house and various other restrictions.  These are enforceable by police and large fines will be issued to those who don't comply.
Let's say I don't own a TV, never go on the Internet, and don't listen to the radio.  I also don't speak to anyone for a week.  Next Sunday I go out for a walk at 9pm, completely unaware of this law.
Can ignorance be a defence in this case?


texts: Real estate listing agreement legal wording question

texts:
This is a Georgia association of realtors Form 201, "exclusive seller listing agreement". I have cropped the part about commission. My question is part c. at the very bottom of the attached image.

Survival: The commission rights of Broker and the commission obligations of Seller set forth herein shall survive termination or expiration of this Agreement.

This Survival clause sounds like its indefinite. So how does this make sense when there is a defined period for this realtor agreement? What does it even mean? Thanks.


texts: Is it legal to hire someone to conceive a baby with?

texts:
Let's say Alice wants a child, but doesn't want to get married. Can she legally place an ad to hire someone ("Bob") with desired attributes (e.g. no genetic diseases, IQ of 180, whatever Alice wants) to conceive a child with her?

My intuitive guess is yes she can - if it's a crime it's victimless after all - but I'm not sure since it might also qualify as soliciting prostitution.

This question is meant to be gender neutral. I used "Alice" simply because it begins with A which is the first letter of the alphabet.

Related but not the same: Does the lecherous millionaire violate any laws?


texts: Can a person sue for emotional distress as the victim of fraud?

texts: Suppose I am the victim of fraud – e.g., I bought an item on eBay that the seller knew was counterfeit. Would the seller also be liable for damages of the emotional distress caused me by being scammed?


texts: Can you claim unemployment benefits while driving for a ride-sharing company in Florida?

texts:
I've been working in one full-time job for over 5 years. In the past year or so, I started driving for a couple ride-sharing companies to supplement my income.

Now, I'm being laid off from my primary job and I don't have a new full-time employer lined up yet. During the gap in work, I'm planning to substantially increase my ride-sharing work so that I can hopefully continue to pay most of my bills and debts. However, my expected income from ride-sharing is hardly a third of what I made in my full-time job.

Given these circumstances, is it legal for me to claim unemployment benefits, while receiving income from ride-sharing gigs, until I find a new full-time job with comparable pay to my previous job? Will the ride-sharing income reduce the amount of unemployment benefits that I can receive? Is there a limit to how many hours I can work in the ride-sharing job, while still receiving unemployment?

Personally, I'm generally against the idea of having any sort of dependency upon government-provided income. I've been on unemployment and food stamps before, and there were numerous times where dealing with the system nearly seemed more trouble than its worth. But, I've also got to keep a roof over my head and food in my belly. So, I'd like to know what my legal options for doing so are while I look for a new job in my usual profession.

Jurisdiction is Orang County, FL.


texts:
Neither position carried the day. On the one hand, this Court rejected the view that the IDEA gives “courts carte various judgments indicate should be imposed.” Rowley, 458 U. S., at 190, n. 11.

Source: https://www.creativeleadership.net/blog/2017/4/2/special-education-services-just-got-easier-and-harder-the-endrew-f-supreme-court-decision-in-the-courts-own-words

What does carte mean in this context?  What does the part in double quotes mean?  I tried two legal dictionaries and didn't find it.


texts: Looking for a name of a construct which is treated "like a standard" in the EU

texts:
Usually, technical standards are created by dedicated standards bodies such as ISO, DIN or ANSI. But I heard that there is supposed to be another construct which can be produced by professional organizations which are not strandards bodies, and that there is legislation in the EU that this construct is treated almost like a standard. I believe that W3C recommendations or RDA recommendations are an example for that.

Is it correct that such a construct exists? If yes, what is its proper name in European legislation? Also, what are the main similarities and differences between that construct and true standards from a legal point of view?