texts:
Let's assume that I have all the resources to be able to travel to Mars or any other celestial body and colonize it. It is legal to colonize celestials bodies in space?

I think I read once that by international law, no country can colonize space. Is this true? If it is, will it apply to me as citizen of United States?


texts: Is it legal for a company to continue using my name and picture on their site, despite not being an employee anymore?

texts:
A few months ago I decided to leave a company whose CEO engaged in a lot of questionable practices. (1, 2)

It has come to my attention that this CEO is using my name, title, picture and current company on the company's page as a "Testimonial"

He's also still using my name, picture, and e-mail address to deceive leads and customers into thinking that they have access to the "technical lead" of the platform itself.

I have texted, e-mailed and called him multiple times asking him to take down my picture, my name and my testimonial from the page. I have also asked him to stop impersonating me. He hasn't replied.

Is there anything I can do to force him to stop? I don't care if I burn a bridge with him. It's not a bridge worth keeping. I'm concerned about my reputation and my supervisors might think that I'm still associated with my former company. Can an individual issue a Cease and Desist letter?

I am in the US if that matters.


texts: Can one go to jail for not abiding by the letter of the law but abiding the spirit of the law?

texts: What if there is a clash between the spirit of law and the letter of law and my actions only abide by the spirit of law but not the letter of law?Is there a chance that I might go to jail?


texts:
Is there any way to file a will in Massachusetts?

The problem is that if the will is placed, say, within a home, then it could be lost or accidentally discarded when the individual dies.

What is the standard method of ensuring that the will is not lost or overlooked?


texts:
A private website that publishes the Constitution of Pakistan carries the following copyright disclaimer:

We reserve all rights to the HTML formatting and presentation of the entire Constitution and all accompanying documents as presented here. No reproduction of the HTML formatting is permitted without our express written permission.
Source

My question is, does HTML formatting meet the the threshold of originality? Or is this text likely just a deterrent?


texts: If a no-deal Brexit happens will EU provisions on reverse engineering be nullified?

texts: As it stands the UK implements an EU law which prevents the reverse engineering of proprietary software with few exceptions, could this change once we leave the EU?


texts: Copyright question: citing publications in Youtube videos

texts:
I have a question regarding “Fair Use” in Youtube videos that are monetized through Google Adsense. In particular, is one allowed to cite academic publications (books, articles, etc.) and refer to their contents in an Adsense-monetized video on Youtube? Let me give two possible scenarios to illustrate:

(A) I create a Youtube video about, for instance, a particular language. I want to analyze it and I use a theoretical approach developed in the published writings by Smith (1980, 1991, …) [author invented for the purpose of being explicit]. These works are standard in the field of linguistics and are cited all the time - a big subset of the field adopts the approach of these works. The works are referred to in the Youtube video and cited as references in the description.

(B) There is a book on the history and culture of people X by John Doe (e.g. 1990). I want to discuss how culture X celebrates Christmas. I look up when Christmas comes up in the book and what traditions it involves. I then discuss these traditions in the Youtube video. The book (Doe 1990) is mentioned in the video and cited in the description.

Now, (A) and (B) are scenarios that are completely standard and are practiced all the time in academic writing. My question is, whether (A) and (B) are in anyway problematic if used in a monetized Youtube video.

N.B. In both cases, no identical text of the original publications would be reproduced in the videos. Everything would be heavily paraphrased (again, as standardly done in academic writing). Also, in both scenarios very minor parts of the publications would be referred to, content-wise. Everyone seems to do this on Youtube, but I wanted to check the legality of the matter.

Thank you!


texts: What are the alleged perpetrators convicted of after being caught by a paedophile hunter?

texts: Paedophile hunting seems to be on the rise (see e.g.: Paedophile hunters: Should police be working with vigilantes?, BBC News, 9 December 2016), and I'm surprised that it seems to lead to convictions (e.g.: Paedophile jailed after vigilantes set Bluewater trap, BBC News 21 October 2016). While what they're attempting might be abhorrent, it seems to me that technically all they've actually done is have a sexually explicit conversation with another consenting adult. What are they being convicted of?


texts:
I have seen multiple examples of sweepstakes run in the US, where entrants have to do something to enter the sweepstakes and the sponsor gets some benefit (e.g. long mailing list, etc.), with Official Rules saying that the names of winners will be posted to a specific Web site, or available on request, but then they just aren't.  It's not clear whether there is actually any winner selected or not.  (Even when names are published, like "Jane D. from Minnesota," they're often unverifiably vague).

It seems that no individual, not even an entrant, would have standing to take action because nobody can prove they specifically would have won, nor can anybody prove that there was no winner, because of the sponsor's ability to limit access to information.  It also seems like there is no regulator whose job it is to follow up on those things, who actually cares (because the harms to any individual are relatively low, and there are higher-priority issues).

At first glance, running a sweepstakes with no actual winner seems unethical, but from a practical perspective, what if any negative legal consequences could such a sponsor actually face for doing so, and how would that practically come about?


texts: alternatives to other party signing a contract

texts:
What can bind a party to a contract other than executing it by signing it by hand or electronically and delivering it? My question is only about this element in making a contract, not consideration or other elements. The other topic cited mentions that signing per se is not required, but something is, and therein is my question.

I'm thinking of a situation in which person A imposes a burden on person B and person B wants to be paid for fulfilling that burden, but person A would decline to sign a contract, claims the burden is mandatory when it's not, and might worsen the burden if asked, so isn't asked to.

Example: If someone visits a doctor for an office consultation, gets the consultation, and leaves and then the doctor sends a bill to the visitor, the fact that neither one ever discussed a contract or a price and that the office had no price posted would be irrelevant and a court would rule that the visitor owed. Maybe that's the case only for medicine and some other professions and not for, say, home party hosts, although I think that could be answered by establishing, somehow, that the service provider's service is commercially valuable and deserving of compensation even if the provider is not classified as a professional.

In one case, a jury was persuaded by a photo of a handshake. The parties were major companies, one well known and the other able to build or buy a factory for a big contract. I've also run into people who try not to sign anything due to a religious reason (I think), but they doubtless enter into contracts and execute them somehow, but I don't know how.

Hypothetical case: In the U.S., a person writes a letter to a carpenter known to make a living as a carpenter. (Any occupation will do for this purpose, especially one for which compensation is not always expected, such as house-cleaning.) Both are adult individuals. In the letter, the person asks the carpenter to make a chair. Assume nothing else is in the letter. The carpenter makes the chair and delivers it. The carpenter bills the person for the service. The person says there was no intention to make a purchase, just a thought that the carpenter would like to practice making a chair and seeing someone gladly sit in it. The person has sat in it, is glad for the experience, and happily accepts the chair as a gift. The carpenter never said anything about a gift. Would the person owe?


texts: Legal Requirements to Register Car in Texas?

texts: I'm going to be a student at a public university in Texas, and will live at a fraternity off-campus. But I believe I will still be keeping my California residency, as I'm not "moving" to Texas. I'm going to be buying a car in Texas. Can I register this new car in the state of Texas, despite not having residency nor a permanent address in the state of Texas?


texts: If a motion to dismiss is granted on one of several defendnats 'with prejudice' is there anything that must be done to preserve an appeal of the order granting dismissal whether or not it was done 'with prejudice?


texts: Use the name of a product for another type of product

texts:
I develop software and computer fonts, and have been wondering lately if I could title my software or computer fonts the same name as products that already exist; for example medicinal products and drugs.
For example, could a computer font (to be sold online, therefore all over the world) be called "Tums"?

I understand that originality is always the best bet for many reasons, but with many things having a similar name but in different fields, sometimes as an hommage (the band "Twin Peaks" as an hommage to the TV show), I feel like the using a name / brand in another field somehow legitimately is always a bit blurry for me.


texts: How can I sue an empolyer for immigration status discrimination?

texts:
My situation is as follows:

I interviewed with a prestigious financial service company in downtown NYC.
A few days after my onsite, the head recruiter gave me a call saying "Congrats!" they would extend me an offer. Then they asked my visa status and whether I need H1B sponsorship. I replied "I will need H1B sponsorship in the future."

After a few days the company pulled back the verbal offer because they do not want to sponsor H1B for this role.

Is it a discrimination?


texts: Intellectual Property Implicit or Explicit?

texts:
In relation to software engineering.

Business A does x work for business B and neither had any sort of design, patent, software license agreement or intellectual property agreement. Simply, a statement of work and project plan only + final invoices for said work. Business A pays business B at the end.

Are intellectual property rights implied / automatically assigned to either business? How has case law historically effected these types of scenarios? Who owns the software if it isn't explicitly stated anywhere?


texts: Is there protocol for US police officers for handling a fellow cop that is using excessive force?

texts: If I'm a police officer in the United States and my partner is restraining a suspect with an excessive or otherwise out-of-protocol use of force, what am I legally allowed to do to stop him?


texts: When is copyright infringement committed?

texts:
I sometimes get confused about copyright. I've heard two things

The abstract idea is never protected, so you can 'copy' the idea behind someone else's work and use it as your own.
Just changing the names/wording of someone else's work doesn't make it your own.

I don't get how 1. and 2. are compatible. If you were to actually change the fundamental structure/inner workings, then it would be a different thing all together?
For example a lot of the computer programming code online isn't licensed to actually be used and is only intended to be learned from. How do you 'learn' from another's source code without copying it, as if you were to change it then it would be a different algorithm and thus a different program?

Obviously most things in life we learn, yet we don't always go around citing where we learned it from.


texts: CEO wants to step down to a VP position - when should board be notified?

texts:
Suppose a startup has three directors on the board, two co-founders and the main investor.

The CEO (one of the co-founders) wants to step down and take a VP position. The CEO has started to have conversations within the organization about his plans but the board has not been notified.

Should discussions like this be disclosed right away to the board? Are there any legal ramifications of not doing so?


texts: How does Akinator not violate copyright law?

texts: Akinator, the app and website, both display images of what I assume is copyrighted material. How do they manage to get around copyright law? Is this considered fair use?


texts: "In a manner inconsistent with its labeling": What's the deal with all the exceptions?

texts:
7 USC 136 (ee) defines what it means when the government says "To use any registered pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling".  It is loaded with exceptions in a mighty wall of text and run-on sentence.  What does it all mean in practical practice?

  (ee) To use any registered pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling
  The term “to use any registered pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling” means to use any registered pesticide in a manner not permitted by the labeling....
  ..... except that the term shall not include

  (1) applying a pesticide at any dosage, concentration, or frequency less than that specified on the labeling

  unless the labeling specifically prohibits deviation from the specified dosage, concentration, or frequency,

  (2) applying a pesticide against any target pest not specified on the labeling if the application is to the crop, animal, or site specified on the labeling,

  unless the Administrator has required that the labeling specifically state that the pesticide may be used only for the pests specified on the labeling after the Administrator has determined that the use of the pesticide against other pests would cause an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment,

  (3) employing any method of application not prohibited by the labeling

  unless the labeling specifically states that the product may be applied only by the methods specified on the labeling,

  (4) mixing a pesticide or pesticides with a fertilizer when such mixture is not prohibited by the labeling,
  (5) any use of a pesticide in conformance with section 136c, 136p, or 136v of this title, or
  (6) any use of a pesticide in a manner that the Administrator determines to be consistent with the purposes of this subchapter.

  After March 31, 1979, the term shall not include the use of a pesticide for agricultural or forestry purposes at a dilution less than label dosage unless before or after that date the Administrator issues a regulation or advisory opinion consistent with the study provided for in section 27(b) of the Federal Pesticide Act of 1978, which regulation or advisory opinion specifically requires the use of definite amounts of dilution.

So what are all those exceptions about, in actual practice?


texts:
Are disclaimers of warranty, liability, and the like legally required to be in all-caps? For example, the "disclaimer of warranty" section from the GNU GPL:

  THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

On the other hand, Stack Exchange's disclaimer of warranty uses normal casing (well, normal for legal documents):

  Stack Exchange has no special relationship with or fiduciary duty to Subscriber. Subscriber acknowledges that Stack Exchange has no control over, and no duty to take any action regarding: which users gains access to the Network; which Content Subscriber accesses via the Network; what effects the Content may have on Subscriber; how...


texts: Is it illegal to give handouts to panhandlers?

texts:
In our municipality we have a public safety bylaw, and one part of the bylaw clearly states that, "No person shall engage in panhandling." The definition of panhandling in the bylaw is as follows:

  “panhandling” means the personal, verbal, and direct solicitation by a
  person of gratuitous donations of money, food, or goods of any kind,
  or the exchange of money, food, or goods, or an unsolicited service
  for money of any kind from any member of the public, but does not
  include a solicitation allowed or authorized pursuant to the
  Charitable Fundraising Act, or any other legislation permitting the
  solicitation of charitable donations;

I'm trying to discern whether the interpretation of this definition is:

“panhandling” means the [...] direct solicitation by a person of gratuitous donations of money [...], or the exchange of money [...] from any member of the public...

or

“panhandling” means the [...] solicitation [...] of gratuitous donations [...] or the (solicitation of the) exchange of money...

With the way this definition is worded, is it illegal to give to panhandlers when solicited as much as it is for a panhandler to solicit for money? Can someone who gives money to a panhandler be considered to be engaging in panhandling according to this definition?

I asked the local Peace Officer, and he said he's not certain.


texts: Trademark use in software package names (USA)

texts:
Does the use of a Trademark in a software package (an NPM package for example) qualify for descriptive fair use if its usage is intended to describe how the package relates to the original trademarked program?

For example, say I want to release an NPM package named chrome-dev-tool-enhancer that does something special to enhance Chrome's Dev tools.

The name would be describing how that package's functionality is related to the Chrome browser, a trademark of Google.

It sure looks like a lot of packages on NPM, Rubygems, Hex, etc., use trademarked names in this way. Is this considered fair use?


texts: Is the following a copyright/trademark infringment?

texts: I'm starting a technologically oriented publication at my high school, and when dreaming up a slogan, I thought of doing a pun on the New York Times' mantra - "All the news that's fit to print - changing it to "All the news that's fit to println()" (a computer programming reference). One of my editors-to-be, however, suggested it might be some sort of copyright infrigement to take their motto and twist it a little bit - is this indeed the case? If so, what could theoretical consequences be (not that I expect them to enforce them on a couple of high schoolers publishing a magazine for no cost - it's just my school administration might care). If it isn't illegal, should we still go with something else just for the sake of not ripping them off (although I intend for it to come across as just a playful little reference)? Thanks.


texts: Terminating the contract early (before tenant moves in)

texts:
I live in Uk and renting a flat in Netherlands, my tenant gave me deposit but agreement states he has to pay one month in advance, two weeks have passed since we signed contract but still no money.

If tenant hasn't moved into the property yet is there a way to terminate contract on the spot (or some other faster procedure)?
If not how long do I have to wait to start termination due to non payment, and how do I do this?


texts: The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program has data for Homicide, and then has data for Expanded Homicide. What is the difference between these two? For example... when selecting view by race the homicide data says there was a total of 6185 offenders in 2018, whereas the expanded homicide data says there was a total of 16724 offenders in the same year. What are the missing 10000+ offenders from the non expanded homicide report?


texts: Spanish Court ruling on working remotely

texts:
Recently, some Spanish consulates have been telling applicants for a "non-lucrative" visa that their income cannot be from any job, not even telecommuting for a non-Spanish company.

Someone posted in a Facebook group an English summary of a Spanish Court ruling that contradicts this.  I've asked four times there for a link to the (official) Spanish ruling, but no luck.

I find searching for Spanish law on the BOE site difficult.  Matter of opinion whether that's due to the site design or to my limitations with the language.  Update: Just discovered the BOE has a language menu—but when I selected English, was told (in Spanish) that content is not available in English!

I went to another site that is for courts only, where a free-text search for visa OR visado OR extranjero had zero results.  (On BOE, 65 hits, but none of them were pertinent and only one was from a court.)

Anyone able to provide a citation to the official text of the ruling?

Related: https://expatriates.stackexchange.com/questions/17856/spanish-court-ruling-on-working-remotely


texts: Is it legal to work without pay - Canada?

texts: I have heard it can be illegal to work without pay. Under what circumstances is this true? I could see why it would be illegal for certain things (like a police officer not getting paid), but what about volunteer work that can be done for free (like cleaning up a beach)? This question focuses on Canada.


texts: Do licence terms of Microsoft Visual Studio Community allow me to distribute applications developped with it?

texts:
From the licence terms ofMicrosoft Visual Studio Community:

  Individual License. If you are an individual working on your own applications to sell or for any other purpose, you may use the software to develop and test those applications.

My interpretation: Since I'm an individual, I may develop a game with MS VS Community and distribute this game.

However, apparently, this is not the only interpretation. From a comment another used posted under another question:

  You do realize that the first license statement only says develop and test, not deploy, sell or distribute.

This comment has gained an upvote, so I'm wondering, if there is really not something important I'm missing?

I'm not sure how: the licence terms seem to be clear, I may use VS Community to develop applications that I will be later distribute: doesn't this imply that I may distribute applications I have developed with VS Community?

But, well, law is law... It's notorious for being hard to interpret for non-lawyers...

For a year or so I've been working on a game that I intend to publish at some point. And yes, I've been using MS VS Community to develop this game. Do I have the right to publish this game? Or - however I don't know how can these licence terms be interpreted in such a harsh way - am I really only allowed to develop, but not publish this game?

(Is a year of work wasted then?)


texts: Criminal federal laws regarding functions of civil officers

texts:
Has Congress passed any laws that place criminal executive restrictions on federal employees in the executive branch?

For example, if Congress passed a law that said the FBI director wasn't allowed to send agents to Alaska or he would be imprisoned for 5 years.

If they haven't, is there a reason why they're not allowed to?


texts: Can the DA refuse me discovery because I'm pro se

texts: When I started to strongly feel that my court appointed atty was trying to get me "the best deal" rather than actually defend me against a crime that he admitted there really wasn't evidence I committed I chose to go pro se. The DA said that since he gave the discovery of 3 videos and the police statement to my lawyer he did not have to give it to me. My former lawyer asked the judge if he could make me a copy of the discovery and the judge told him no. Is this legal?


texts: Is a photo that is in the public domain in US also in the public domain in other countries?

texts:
I want to use a photograph that is in the public domain in the United States. However, I would be sending a document with this photograph around entities in Europe. I know that just because something is in the public domain in the United States, that doesn't mean that it is in the public domain in other countries. Can I use this photograph or not and what decides this?

This is the photo in question:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rowing_at_the_1988_Summer_Olympics.JPEG

The "Permission" field in the "Summary" section details what I'm talking about.


texts: Who licenses Stack Exchange content to end users?

texts:
If I take content that's posted on Stack Exchange (or, more generically, from a site that publishes user content based on a CC BY-SA license) and re-use it elsewhere, who is my license from? Is it the author themselves, or is it from Stack Exchange (from the publishing site)?
Relatedly, who has the authority to request that attribution be removed? CC BY-SA provides for the licensor to request attribution be removed, but who has to make that request in this case?


texts: Right of way on new construction when easement was never established?

texts:
As I know real estate law tends to be very local, this is occurring in the state of Georgia (in the US), and I'm not certain if the county is relevant (and not something I'd like to give out).

I am running into an issue on sewer line access.  Originally (1932) the plots of me and my neighbor were not divided as they are now.  Apparently both existing hookups to the sewer are in between my front yard and the street.  My house was built in 2006, after acquiring one plot from the neighbor's estate and combining it with another plot.  At the time, a new sewer-line was put in for the house and no easement was written up.

The house that was on neighbor's plot was from 1941, extremely dilapidated, and occasionally abandoned for up to 8 months at a time.  The property was sold at the end 2013 and the house was demolished.

Then a new house was erected on the site, where the building permit makes no mention of sewer access.

Does the previous sewer attachment running through my property likely grant the current owner/construction the right to dig through my property to reconnect the new house on the old connection?

I've been reading through much of O.C.G.A. TITLE 44 Chapter 9 and wasn't able to find much that might seemed immediately relevant.  Is there a better place to look? Perhaps I need to try to find more county regulations (which I had a hard time finding digital copies of).

I was a little interested in O.C.G.A. § 44-9-6 because there were several occasions where the property was vacant for 6+ months, including a 7-month pause in demolition construction due to funding, but after trying to find some case law I don't think that's long enough (as 44-9-6 doesn't specify a time, it seemed vague to me).

Hopefully you will forgive if I'm not even asking this question correctly, but I'm trying to read up on relevant Georgia code so I can understand the situation from a legal perspective.


texts: Picture of record or book on social media

texts:
Say that I am listening to a record. Is it fair use to take a picture of the record cover, e.g. standing behind the turntable, and share it on social media or a blog?
Similarly, is it fair use to take a picture of a book that I am reading, e.g. laying on a table, and share it on social media or a blog?
If the above is problematic: how does sharing a picture of a record cover or book differ from a picture of any other everyday object, e.g. the turntable, a table, a chair or a car – all of which also has a designer behind it?
Will anything be different if the person posting is an artist or a public figure, posting on his/her public profile?


texts:
Medium is sort of a content facilitator that charges its users for premium content and passes on part of that fee to authors, when the reader interacts with their work. However, over recent months, Medium has become increasingly focused on their own partnerships and internal publications, to the point where it's hard to argue that there is not an ethical conflict of interest. My question is whether there's a legal conflict of interest.

General Idea

To put it into general terms, consider three parties, A, B, and C. Party A offers party B and C the opportunity to profit from an operation, where parties B and C are in competition with one another for a finite amount of revenue in a given month (the total available from subscription fees in this case). Further suppose that the operation relies on party C for success (it seems easy to argue that Medium would have trouble surviving if only their own content was on the platform), and that party A provides biased support to party B. Finally, B and C are paid by A, from the revenue generated by the operation, rather than B and C obtaining the revenue directly from the operation's customers.

In such a scenario, there seems to be both an ethical issue and potentially legal issue. However, I am not familiar with any specific civil statutes that may come into play. Does it appear that the above scenario might violate any specific statute? The one potential reason why Medium might be saved from a valid lawsuit is that an author does not have to pay for the service. However, they are providing support, in their aggregate, through the massive volume of writing that they provide to the platform, without very much chance of being able to actually generate revenue. Precedent from cases involving pyramid schemes may apply here.

Michael Seifert raised an interesting question: "How would this be different from Publishing House A promoting a more profitable Author B instead of a less profitable Author C?"

The difference is that the publishing house does not rely on C's work for sales. To continue this analogy, consider a situation where the publishing house put in a request for chapters for an anthology, where the majority of the chapters came from C, and a few came from B. Further suppose that the publishing house paid its authors based on how many sales the respective authors generated, but almost exclusively promoted author B's website that sold the anthology. Even though readers likely would not purchase the anthology, without the chapters provided by C, because of A's disproportionate support of B, C would receive very little of the revenue stream.

BlueDogRanch made a point that Medium's terms of services "says nothing about being fair, or ethical." Agreed. Its terms of services say nothing, and therefore it does not say that they reserve the right to unfair, unequal, or unethical, biases. If the terms of service stated that Medium reserves the right to unequal promotion of work regardless of whether it reduces the potential revenue by other authors, then Medium would have a greater chance of winning in court, and greater justification for their actions. However, without such statements, it becomes less certain that one should assume that a content facilitator that provides revenue streams as part of a partner program would engage in actions that disproportionately shift revenue streams towards their own content.

A final point. It seems that in California, an individual must pass the "ABC" test, at least when it comes to wage orders. Specifically, Medium's authors do not pass B: the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business. It seems that, contrary to the suggestion that Medium's authors are subcontractors, they are, at least as far as California law is concerned, employees.


texts: Does a patient have to pay for the shipping fee for mailing medical records from a previous doctor?

texts:
I had some dental x-rays and a teeth model with a previous orthodontist in Baltimore, and the records are stored in his office. I now live in New York.

In general, do patients have the right to receive their own medical records from their previous doctors? Do they have the right to receive their records for free by mailing, or do patients have to pay for the shipping fees? Is there some health-care law or policy regarding my questions?


texts: Was displaying a gun in a cartoon in the 1990s on MTV in the USA illegal or controversial somehow?

texts:
At the 01:10 mark in the 12th episode of the 7th season of Beavis and Butt-Head, "Citizens Arrest", first aired in 1997, they are at Burger World as a robber comes in and takes out his gun. Just before this happens, they cut from the overall shot to a close-up of Beavis and Butt-Head, and linger on this up-close shot far too long, as the boys look amazed by the gun which is never actually shown to the viewers. When it cuts back to the wide shot, the gunman has just put the gun back into his jacket, covering it entirely.
The gun is never shown to the viewer.
Granted there is no law saying that they have to show this, just because it's in the scene, but the scene strikes me as very unnatural and odd every time I watch it. I suspect it's some kind of self-censorship.


texts:
My only sibling (sister), both parents and I all live in Maryland.

According to my parents' will, after their death, each sibling will inherit half of the total net assets.

My concern is that my irresponsible sister will have my parents pay for large amounts of her expenses during their life (such as mortgage, college tuition, etc, etc). If my parents decide to do that, I don't want it to reduce my inheritance. I want it to come out of my sisters' share.

I would like a contract (or a change to their will) such that:

Any large payments made by my parents to or for my sister during their lives (except customary gifts less than $250) should be deducted from my sisters' 50% "share" of the inheritance at the time of my last surviving parents death. Thus guaranteeing my "share" of the inheritance remain the same
My parents cannot make changes to the above arrangement without my signature
Any time my parents make large payments to or for my sister during their lives, they have to notify me promptly
I should be able to inspect their financial accounts in the extraordinary situation that I suspect they are secretly paying my sister during their lives.

I have three questions about this:

Would such an arrangement be legal?
Would such an arrangement be enforceable?
Would an ethical lawyer draft such an agreement?


texts: Rental: am I responsible for all maintenance, including that caused by wear and tear, under $200?

texts:
tl/dr: My property manager (PM) states that I'm responsible for all maintenance under $200 in the home, regardless of whether it is the result of damage I
  cause.  This is on the basis of a clause in the lease that I find very
  ambiguous.  This also is at odds with my (admittedly non-expert)
  understanding of real estate law.  Is it possible I'm actually on the
  hook for repairs clearly caused by standard wear-and-tear, and which
  are not at all my fault?

I just moved into a new rental home and there have been a number of maintenance items that have needed repair, which the owner has paid for.  However the property manager has recently stated that we are responsible for all maintenance items under $200.  That sounds very much at odds with my understanding of "real estate law" (aka the landlord is always responsible for basic wear and tear), and didn't sound like anything I read in the lease so I looked it over.  There are two clauses in the lease related to maintenance:

  TENANT TO MAINTAIN; USE OF PREMISES;

  TENANT shall be responsible for the cost of all minor repairs and
  damages to the PREMISES due to the default, negligence, or willful
  misconduct of TENANT or TENANT'S family or guests, including [long
  list of perfectly reasonable things].  TENANT to alert the LANDLORD to
  any declining conditions inside and outside of the PREMISES included
  but not limited to [another list of things].

This seems perfectly normal and reasonable to me.  Farther down it says:

  Maintenance: The Tenant agrees to properly maintain the home and complete, at his own expense, all daily maintenance EXCLUDING furnace/AC, water heater, appliance replacement and major repairs.  The tenant is responsible for the cleaning of all clogged drain lines.  If the home is located within a community governed by a Homeowners Association, Tenant does hereby agree to abide by the rules and bylaws of said Association (Exceeding $200 maintenance threshold contact owner/landlord)

(emphasis mine).  That last bit - Exceeding $200 maintenance threshold contact owner/landlord - is what the PM pointed to as establishing that I am responsible for all maintenance under $200.  That is not at all how I understood that sentence.  The reason is because this is a section talking about daily maintenance, i.e. the regular things that need to happen to keep a house running - changing air filters, light bulbs, snow removal, etc...  and that the $200 threshold only applies to items such as these.  However the PM believes this means that I'm instead responsible for any maintenance under $200.

To pick a specific example, the basement just lost all power.  An electrician just left and determined that there is a wiring issue in the walls and a new wire needs to be run.  From the perspective of the PM, if the electrician charges less than $200 it is my responsibility because of this clause in the lease.

I can't decide if I simply misread this lease because of my own expectations on the division of duties between tenant and landlord (aka the landlord is always responsible for all normal wear and tear - such as a wire breaking somewhere in the walls), or if the PMs understanding of this clause is completely at odds with basic property management law and therefore incorrect.  Obviously though I need to figure out which is the case so I know how to respond.  If I signed a lease I shouldn't have because I misread an important clause, then I'm going to have to eat this one and let it be the cost of learning an important lesson...  So...

Is my PMs understanding of the situation correct?


texts: Are "To the maximum extent as permissible under law" exemption clauses too uncertain and litigation-prone?

texts:
This clause is from  a commercial landlord's offer  in England. Isn't it too disputable and vague?? Firstly, it wrongly assumes that the "law" on exclusion clauses is settled and certain. Perhaps the case law is uncertain. Or there may not even be law.
Secondly, it wrongly assumes that "the maximum extent" can be handily identified. Perhaps Landlord and I disagree on what "the maximum extent" is.
Thirdly, the "law" can change. Then what's "the maximum extent" or "law"?
I communicated these arguments to the Leasing Manager, but she refused to amend this clause. She replied that this clause is part of Landlord's standard form contract, and Landlord almost never amends it for small business owners like me.
Is this reasonable? Or must I just push harder? I'm bewildered because I don't want to antagonize Landlord by pushing harder, and I got little bargaining power.
I plan to pay a solicitor to review the contract, but the solicitor advised me informally to ask the landlord myself to define the extent of the exclusion clause upfront. Why? If he does it, he'll charge me and he'll be saying the same thing. He advised me to accomplish as much as I can myself before officially retaining him.

To the maximum extent as permissible under law, the Landlord shall not be liable to the
Tenant, its employees, licensees or invitees in respect of any claim, loss (including but not
limited to loss of profits), damage or injury to person or property sustained by the Tenant
or any such other person caused by or through or in any way owing to:

(i) the adequacy or inadequacy of or any defect in or breakdown, failure, malfunction or
suspension of the lifts, escalators, fire services equipment, security, airconditioning
system or other facilities of the Building or the electricity, gas or
water supply or other building services provided to the Premises, the Building or the
Development; or

(ii) typhoon or other adverse weather condition or fire or the overflow or leakage or influx
of water including rain, storm or sea water or water of any other nature or other
substances from or into anywhere within the Building or the Premises or the escape of
fumes, smoke, fire or to activity of termites, cockroaches, pests, rats, mice or other
vermin in the Building or any part(s) thereof; or

(iii) the adequacy or inadequacy or otherwise of or any defect in any of the management
services (including security) rendered by the Landlord and/or the Building Manager or
the failure to render the same or the suspension or interruption thereof for whatever
reason; or

(iv) the closure of shopping mall of the Building or any part thereof by reason of any war,
hostilities (whether war be declared or not), invasion, act of foreign enemies,
revolution, insurrection, or military or usurped power, order or direction of any
Authority, riot, commotion, social unrest, strikes, industrial action, lock outs or
disorder, or threats of terrorism, or pandemic, or any other contingencies which, in
the opinion of the Landlord, may cause or threaten to cause damage or injury to the
Premises or the Building or any part thereof or injury or death of person;

(v) the letting or leasing of any part of the Building and the Development (except the
Premises) to any other party for any purpose whatsoever or any acts, omissions, neglect
or default of any other tenants, licensees or occupiers of or of any accident in the
Building and the Development.


texts: Is accessing a company's corporate slack channels after I leave the company illegal?

texts:
I had an active slack session which never timed out and was able to read chats for a couple of months before I finally logged out.

Since I logged out (approx 6 months after leaving the company) I notified security about this issue.

I have not downloaded any data from the slack channel and was simply a lurker there.

Furthermore I worked remotely from a different state.

Is this state misdemeanor computer tresspassing or a federal offense or "no big deal"? Is this a potential civil suit? Are they required to let me know if they will press charges? Are they likely to?


texts: When does "mental health" factor into penalizing an individual?

texts:
What is the reason behind a person with poor mental health wouldn't face the same repercussions as someone with good mental health for breaking the law? In extreme situations it could be used as a defense in murder (like James Holmes). In lessor situations, someone who is drunk saying racist remarks on the street may not be charged with hate speech.

If the reason is people because sending them to prison wouldn't help rehabilitate them, do people really think it ever does for people with good mental health?

Doesn't this sort of allow psychiatrists to make up the law, because they can decide if something is considered a mental condition? Some people would argue that someone who would commit such crimes (such as rape) couldn't possibly be in their right mind.


texts: Fair use: is legality of use determined separately from legality of source?

texts:
Youtube and other content sites have extensive resources (Youtube Fair Use Guidelines) that describe the conditions for fair-use. However, these do not contain adequate treatments of legal content acquisition.

Providing that an individual:

Seeks to use copyrighted content that is not available from publicly-licensed sources (e.g. MovieClips.com, public domain)
Uses content in an objectively "fair-use" manner
Takes illegal measures to acquire content (e.g. ripping DVDs, torrent, breach of contract)

Will fair-use and source legality be determined separately in a court of law?
Further, will a judicial determination that the content source (or method of acquisition) was illegal necessarily determine that usage was "unfair"?
Conversely, does fair-use ever justify the method of sourcing content (especially dvd-ripping)? This has been implied in responses elsewhere on stackexchange.

Context: United States


texts: What restrictions can organisations impose on the method of making a DSAR?

texts:
From the ICO "An individual can make a [Subject Access request] SAR verbally or in writing, including on social media. A request is valid if it is clear that the individual is asking for their own personal data. An individual does not need to use a specific form of words, refer to legislation or direct the request to a specific contact."
The Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (Cifas) says "If you wish to request a copy of any data held about you on the Cifas Database, the only way is to apply online", "In line with government recommendations the Cifas office is now closed and therefore we are unable to send or receive post" and "we are unable to handle requests over email as we require originals of some documents in order to prove your identity before releasing information about you".  If you go through the web form (which requires javascript to even load) it provides an option for online verification (submission of images of Proof of ID and Proof of address).  There appears to be no way to make a DSAR using the web form until after you have provided documents.
Is it consistent with the GDPR for companies to restrict the means through which a GDPR DSAR can be made, particularly if the restrictions require one to provide specific PII prior to being able to make a request, rather than after?  Does it make a difference if the restriction makes technical sense, ie. so "only through post as we need originals" may be justifiable when "we will accept images submitted by a web form but not over email" may not be?  If one sent an email request to these people, and at least one email reached its destination would that count as a valid DSAR?  Is it reasonable to request original documents to complete a DSAR?  While I may feel like I could trust Cifas, I really would not want to send any original documents to most data controllers.


texts: Legal restrictions on LLC names for worker cooperatives in WA state

texts:
Myself and several friends are planning on starting a for profit worker-owned cooperative business that will provide landscaping services in Washington state.
Washington is one of a few states in the US that have created business structures specifically for worker cooperatives (see RCW 23.86), as opposed to having co-ops form as partnerships, LLCs, or corporations as in most states. However, we would like to start our co-op as an LLC to simplify our taxes and bookkeeping, reduce our startup fees, and to have more flexibility as far as our management structure.
Unfortunately, WA cooperative law prohibits people from using the word "cooperative" unless they form as a cooperative association under RCW 23.86. The regulations for naming LLCs (in RCW 23.95.305) state:

(5)(a) The name of a limited liability company:
(i) Must contain the words "limited liability company," the words "limited liability" and abbreviation "Co.," or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC"; and
(ii) May not contain any of the following words or phrases: "Cooperative," "partnership," "corporation," "incorporated," or the abbreviations "Corp.," "Ltd.," or "Inc.," or "LP," "L.P.," "LLP," "L.L.P.," "LLLP," "L.L.L.P," or any words or phrases prohibited by any statute of this state.

The word "cooperative" is specifically prohibited for LLC names. So obviously if we form as an LLC, then we cannot use the name "XXXX Landscaping Cooperative, LLC". But I was wondering about the legality of calling ourselves "XXXX Landscaping Co-op, LLC", since the word "co-op" is not specified in the list of prohibited words or abbreviations?
Obviously, this would be a sort of "loophole" since the law is designed to force all cooperatives into the structure dictated by the state in RCW 23.86, and forbid other businesses from calling themselves cooperatives. But I was wondering if legally, since the word "co-op" is not explicitly prohibited, are we entitled to use that name?
If we do have a legal basis for it, how would we approach this matter with the WA Secretary of State's office if they are resistant to the idea?
Thanks for your advice!


texts: What happens if open hardware infringes existing patent?

texts:
For example, maker community builds a machine implying/related to technologies/concepts under patent, and licenses these under GPL.

What are the consequences?

Example: electronic beam welding patent by NEC vs. MetalicaRap community effort.


texts: Can the user be given time to respond (DMCA) before removing content?

texts: If I (as a website owner) receive a DMCA Takedown Notice for a user's post, am I allowed to give said user a small period of time to provide a counter-notice before I take down the post? I was hoping to give users the ability to fight false takedowns before their content is removed.


texts: Definition of inhabitant in US Constitution?

texts:
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Shall not be an inhabitant? Isn't this the residency requirements? Why 'shall not' instead of 'shall'?


texts: How often does a website have to ask for cookie consent?

texts:
I'm working on a website that requires cookie consent because of the GDPR. After the user agrees to storing cookies, the browser will store this data for 10 years. Using another browser, device, or clearing their cookies will reset this timer.

10 years is a completely arbitrary number that I came up with, but I was wondering if the GDPR has any specific guidelines on how often the website should ask for cookies.


texts: Pair programming is a practice in which two or more people get in front of a computer and collaborate on writing program. Usually, one person is "driving" by typing the actual program, while the other person offers tips or direction. Suppose that two people pair program for a while, and only one of those people ever touches the keyboard. Does the person who never touched the keyboard hold any copyright over the produced work? What happens if the person who never touched the keyboard works for a large tech company, which claims copyright over the works of all of its employees?


texts: Does the President's Pardon authority extend to crimes not committed at the time of the pardon?

texts:
Does the U.S. Constitutional power of the President to pardon extend to crimes not yet committed?

I know Ford gave Nixon a blanket pardon, but he did so for acts that (might have) been committed in the past.


texts: Bike locked to mine: am I allowed to cut through the lock on my own?

texts:
Bob locked his bike. Two hours after he found another bike locked to his. Is he allowed to cut through the lock that doesn't belong to him on his own?

I am mostly interested in the following locations:

California, United States
Massachusetts, United States
Paris, France
Seoul, South Korea


texts: Written document from meeting in spite of a contract

texts: I resigned from a company and it was documented in a meeting with my district manager that I would receive compensation for the way I left. It changed the way I left the organization as I had 3 different ways to leave, but as I am leaving, I am being told the meeting document is incorrect in regards to the original written contract. Does this meeting document supersede my original written contract? Do I have rights in regards to this meeting document given to me?


texts: Qualified Immunity in Wright Minnesota Shooting

texts:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/minnesota-police-officer-fatally-shoots-driver-traffic-stop/story?id=77013068&cid=clicksource_4380645_3_heads_hero_live_twopack_hed
Given that a Minnesota policewoman used a firearm, when she verbally indicated she would Taser a fleeing suspect.  Assume there is no malice or racism component to the shooting and that she thought she had the non-lethal taser, when in fact she had a lethal firearm.
What is the range of charges she would face? What if any defense does qualified immunity provide in a case of such a serious error?


texts: Condo contract without record of it in the board minutes

texts: In Ontario, if a previous board entered into a contract and there are no minutes showing a vote to accept it, can the corporation get out of the contract?


texts: What keeps people from trying to reach a negotiated or mediated divorce settlement?

texts: Two people close to me are going through a divorce.  I am trying to understand why they are spending so much money on lawyers' fees rather than even trying to reach a negotiated or mediated settlement.  This question is asked in order to get some broader perspective. In general, what can keep two people who both want a divorce from pursuing a negotiated or mediated route?


texts: A police officer finds new evidence before a retrial, who should they give it to?

texts:
Scene: Someone committed a murder. Lots of false evidence led an innocent man to be found guilty at his last jury trial. But, a few minutes before starting the new trial, a police officer finds true evidence proving who the real murderer is.

Now to whom should this police officer give this evidence? To the prosecution who is dying to prove an innocent man guilty? Or to the defendant who is dying to prove himself not guilty?


texts: Does money make it easier to become a naturalized US citizen?

texts:
I'm family friends with some undocumented immigrants, one of whom is a DACA recipient. With everything the Trump administration and Republicans have been doing it's made me pretty angry and honestly pretty fearful for my friends. I'm sure that the DACA recipient has been waiting patiently for Congress to offer a natural path to citizenship, but who knows how long that will really take.

From my perspective, as a friend and US citizen, I'm wondering if there are any ways I can help move along the process on this individual's behalf. This family does not have a lot of money, but I do have some disposable income, and I would be willing to pay any fees (up to a certain amount). But I don't know if that willingness really makes a difference, or if there are inherent limitations to the system that no amount of money can solve.

If I wanted to "sponsor" my friend in a monetary sense, would it make a difference? Are there any risks? And how would I even start down that path... of helping this person initiate / complete the naturalization process?


texts: Statutory interpretation by regulation: effect of regulatory repeal?

texts:
Suppose there is a US federal regulation that asserts a particular interpretation of a statue (in particular, that a certain class of documents is included among those designated by a phrase in the statute).  If the regulation is repealed, can the executive continue to assert that interpretation?

This question was inspired by Can "evidence of registration" be a "certificate of registration"? because I have learned that there was a regulation explicitly answering that question in the affirmative, but the regulation was repealed in 1960.


texts: Can I distribute instructions on how to extract a private key?

texts:
I asked this question over on the reverse engineering Stack Exchange but was told to post it here instead, even though I felt the question didn't really fit here.

To recap, I'm writing some (open source) software that talks to some hardware. The communication is encrypted, but I managed to find the encryption key in their app. I know I can't distribute the key, but can I give people instructions on how to find the key?

I was planning on making it step-by-step (e.g. "go to app-downloader.example.com, type in 'com.example.app', download the file, upload it to app-decompiler.example.xyz and look in path/to/private.key"), but also wondered itf it was better to scale it back (e.g. "download the app, decompile it, look in there for the password").

I plan to chat to a lawyer when it comes closer to release time, but for now, I'd like to know if I should put the effort in documenting the process or not.

EDIT: To further clarify, my app's purpose is to achieve interoperability, or in this case, operability. The app which houses the private key is literally unusable -- I've made 30+ attempts and tried three different phones and their app won't connect to their hardware. Many others are experiencing the same (1.6/5 stars on Google Play, 16 1-star reviews out of 24 total). Early signs tells me that my code could connect, providing I can encrypt and decrypt the information necessary. Support is non-existent (they stopped replying to comments mid last year, and no updates in that long either).

U.S. Code § 1201 - Circumvention of copyright protection systems tells me that:

  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(1)(A), a person who has lawfully obtained the right to use a copy of a computer program may circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a particular portion of that program for the sole purpose of identifying and analyzing those elements of the program that are necessary to achieve interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs, and that have not previously been readily available to the person engaging in the circumvention

So as far as I can tell, I'm within my rights to create the code, as my goal is to achieve interoperability, by letting users control this hardware (a Chinese version of a Belkin WeMo WiFi switch) with their home automation system.

So my goal isn't to "stand outside a bank at midnight and offer to give away the access code to the front doors", but rather to stand out the front of a bank during opening hours and show them how to operate the door when they can't get in, and the bank refuses to fix the door.

EDIT 2: Since then, I've discovered that I can make this key extraction process even more generic. The app can be freely downloaded from their website. If I download it, read a single file in there and tell my computer to find anything that is 16 alphanumeric characters long in that file (the encryption type they use states that the password MUST be 16 characters long), then it can find it.

So now that's what I'm attempting to focus on, because I don't need to distribute anything, I just need to write code to download the file from their public website, pull out all the 16-character long strings from the file (there are a few) and try each key until the correct one is found.


texts: Gag order in reference to a Criminal Investigation

texts:
Lets say you reach terms with a party "B" about a dispute and they specify a gag order.  That is you cannot disclose the nature of the settlement, or disparage party "B".  The settlement is in reference to civil, not criminal matters.

Latter, as part of a criminal investigation, law enforcement officials contact you about an investigation into "B".  Are you free to disclose what information you know?

In this case there is a clause in the gag order that excludes subpoenas.  Will law officials need to subpoena you so you can talk?


texts: Is it legal to give fictional characters titles of real-world government officials?

texts: Is it legal to refer to fictional characters in a video game with titles of real-world government officials, e.g., a Congressman, the President, etc.? I've seen lots of movies where they refer to "Mr. President" as a character in the show, but who bears no relation to the real-world incumbent president. So I think this is fine, but I'd like to know if there are any caveats involved.


texts: If I include in an animation a scene derivative from someone's photograph, would it be copyright infringement?

texts:
I'm the author of a realistic 3D animated fiction which has a scene inspired by a photograph. When I saw that picture, I liked the fact that the person in it matches perfectly a character from my work, and I liked the idea of putting the character in the exact situation shown in the picture.

Everything in it is reproduced in the animated scene, except the background/location, although in my work it is an equivalent place matching the story's setting, but everything else (the person's position, expression, clothes, appearance, the spot where the person is and how, etc.) are exactly the same.

It's just one single scene, although the character has some permanent traits taken from the picture, such as the eye color.

So my question is: would that be considered any kind of plagiarism or copyright/royalty/license infringement? If the scene is recreated absolutely exactly like in the picture and a whole work is created derivatively from that, would it (also?) be?


texts: Is it possible to declare a large underground area as a sovereign principality or any form of independent state?

texts: If one were to happen upon a large cavern deep underground, are there any laws that dictate how deep underground a country's claim to land can be? Would it be possible to declare the area an independent country?


texts: Does talking about jury nullification get you blocked from jury duty?

texts: I've heard from a few different (non-authoritative) sources that talking about jury nullification will get you removed from a jury. Is that actually true? If so, does it therefore follow that if you get a jury summons you don't want to do, you can get out of it just by loudly talking about jury nullification?


texts: Home maintenance: contractor paying separate company to obtain permit

texts:
tl/dr: I'm trying to perform some home improvement projects in preparation for selling in 6 months.  My jurisdiction requires a permit for one part (replacing siding on one side of the house).  I know someone who is well qualified to do the work and is in the process of becoming a general contractor.  Since he isn't one yet, he was going to pay another company to pull the permit for him.  I'm not sure if this is perfectly standard and legal, or something that may cause problems when I go to sell my home.  Is this above the board?

I'm planning on selling my home in ~6 months and I'm working on some minor home improvements to get ready for that.  One thing I need to do is replace the siding on one side of my house.  I've called all the companies in my area who would be best suited to do this, and they are all booked up, literally, for months.  It's apparently the busy season.

I happen to personally know someone who has done some small projects around my house.  He's also well qualified to replace the siding on my home - I know his history and he's done work far more complicated than this.  He isn't a licensed contractor because he has changed careers a couple times, and is now in the process of becoming a licensed contractor.

Because I couldn't find a company to do this work for me I asked him about it, and he was the one who pointed out that a permit would be required.  He said that I could either pull the permit myself or he could pay another company to get the permit on his behalf (I believe from the same company that is sponsoring him to become a general contractor).

I initially looked into pulling the permit myself (mainly out of interest in the process), but stopped when I realized that local regulations may stop me from selling my home within a year of "performing" my own home renovations.  Presumably if I pull my own permit it will be assumed that I performed my own renovations.  Therefore my plan right now is to let him get the permit himself, through a company that he has a relationship with.  This adds an extra ~$450 to the cost of the job - $150 for the permit, and the rest goes to the company that is obtaining the permit.  I don't know if that extra $300 is simply for the costs associated with filing the permit, or if it is to cover their increased liability for taking "responsibility" for the job.

However, I'm not sure if him having someone else get a permit for him is typical operating procedure or the sign of potential legal trouble down the road.  Mainly:

Does this mean that the work would effectively be "licensed and insured" by whatever company he has get the permit?
Or, if something goes wrong, would this mean that I effectively hired an unlicensed contractor to do work on my house, potentially exposing myself to liability?

Obviously my preference is for option #1, and since the name of a licensed/insured company will in fact be on the permit, I actually expect option #1 to be the case.  Still, I want to make sure I'm not potentially setting myself up for trouble.


texts:
When a lawyer needs an expert witness I assume he looks for three things:

Unimpeachable credentials
Motivation to support his case
The ability to favorably impress a jury, via a compelling demeanor and convincing, lucid, and engaging testimony.

For commonly litigated fields like medicine I assume there are directories and services for experts?  But what about less common fields?  Maybe statistics, ballistics, chemistry, applied physics?

Or, looking at this question another way: Suppose I am an expert in a field and I have been told that I have a gift for engaging a lay audience in it.  How might I alert interested lawyers to my willingness to serve as an expert witness?  Is there a competitive market for expert witnessing?


texts: Is there any "delik aduan" like laws in the west?

texts:
In Indonesia there are laws called "delik aduan" that define acts as crimes only if someone files a complaint.

These are like civil laws in that someone has to file a complaint, but they are like crimes ("pidana") in that the penalties include incarceration.

One such law is defamation: It's only a crime if someone that feels hurt by some speech reports it and sues.  Otherwise it's not a crime.  I.e., law enforcement will not search for or prosecute defamatory speech.

Another such law is adultery: It's only a crime if someone "complains" and reports it to cops. Otherwise it's not.

Basically, someone else, not the state can decide that this is a crime. Delik aduan laws are quite clear in that they require a private-party complaint.

Do we have such laws in US?

Many acts that constitute such crime are not prosecuted because nobody bothers reporting it.

However, in case of governor election, Ahok is jailed due to one such case. The law the way it is written is so elastic that anyone could be jailed by it. However, most of the time, the guy accused of the law is not running for gubernatorial election. Hence, most of the time, there is little incentive to use the law.

Western countries have elections too. They also have criminal and civil laws. Do they have "delik aduan" (reportable chapter) kind of laws?


texts: Do you need approval from the FAA for amateur model rocket launches?

texts: I'm building a model rocket that will probably go a maximum of 30km. Do I need special permission from the FAA to do this? I'm in Delaware, U.S.A., and this is a Class 1 Model Rocket. If I do, where can I get started? And do I need a licence or just permission?


texts: Tenant is asking to repair a built-in closet. It was fine when they moved in

texts:
I own a small studio apt. in a co-op building located in Brooklyn, NY USA.
My tenant, who's been renting this studio for ~ 3 years, is asking to repair one of the built-in closets.
This closet was fine when this tenant moved in. I made a few repairs to it before signing the lease. Based on the photo they provided, it is very hard to tell whether this problem has been caused by wear-and-tear or any intentional / unintentional damage.
My question is -- Who is responsible for making these repairs?

If its the tenant, is there a regulation I can refer to when speaking to the them.
If its the landlord, what's stopping the tenant from damaging something else in the house(.e.g kitchen cabinets) and claiming the same story, and how can I protect my property?


texts: Constitutional Law - What is "the obligation of contracts"?

texts:
Why is this included in many constitutions and is it relevant today? Please link to any relevant case law. Thank you.

Source: "that the General Assembly shall not pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts;" - Constitution of Viginia 11.I


texts: What are the legal ramifications of using Post Nominal Letters from a degree mill?

texts:
Background
This question was sparked by a question about firing an employee with a B.A. from a degree mill
To my knowledge, using protected post nominal letters that are related to a professional organization, like M.D. or P.Eng. are enforced by state/provincial organizations that can take legal action against anyone using that title improperly. But with BA, BS, BBA, or others there is no organization that protects these, so what are the legal ramifications here?
Scenario:
In this scenario, HR discovered that an employee had obtained the BA from an unaccredited degree mill. It isn't stated in the original question whether the person used their post nominal letters on anything, so I'm proposing this as a separate hypothetical scenario where they used B.A everywhere their name appears.
Would using the post-nominal letters, B.A. be illegal in anyway? Would it give legal grounds for firing? What about suing for damages against a consultant? What are the legal ramifications here?


texts:
Recently CNN went after the Reddit user who created a GIF (animated image) of President Trump smashing a WWE fighter with CNN's logo superimposed on the WWE fighter's head making it look like Trump was bashing CNN.

Once the meme went viral, CNN went after the user by finding out his identity. CNN claim that they attempted to contact the user but without response. 2 days later after the alleged "failed communication attempts", the Reddit user posted an apology to Reddit and deleted all his "offending posts". In CNN's article, they claim that they "reserve the right to release the identity of the Reddit user" if he re-offends so to speak.

My question is:

Is this legally classified as blackmail making it a punishable offence?
Is releasing this person's identity against his will illegal considering that they are using his likeness on a commercial platform?


texts: Is reposting a video from youtube on vimeo for purposes of criticism and commentary fair use?

texts:
The reason for reposting would be to not give exposure to someone getting 'famous' for problematic behavior that is likely causing injury to others and certainly endangering lives.

Credit is obvious since it is included in the video. Video would not be transformed in any way, and discussion would take place on reddit or other discussion platforms.

Video in question is a dashcam recording. Video would not be changed in any way and is absolutely not for any commercial use or profit.

Would this instance qualify as fair use? Criticism and commentary are the only goals and it is obvious that this is the case.


texts:
When lanes merge on a highway, who has right of way?

Consider the point where the left lane ends, and cars must now must merge into the middle lane.

Who has the right of way?


texts: What is it called when someone suspects an outlawed behavior has been committed so asks for confessions?

texts:
I am looking for a legal term in the case where a particular behavior is outlawed. The governing body suspects someone has conducted the behavior but has no proof. The governing body then addresses the population and says “we know who did said behavior, but we want to give that person a chance to come forward. If you come forward, your punishment will be reduced”.
What is this called when the illusion of evidence prompts a confession?


texts: Surrogate Court Petition NY - What County

texts:
FOR NEW YORK STATE
If you need to submit a petition to the surrogate court for executor purposes, what County?
I was told the county that the person passed away in and issued the death certificate, is the county you submit papers to for the surrogate court?


texts: Equivalent of "illegal" for violating civil law

texts: If "illegal" is typically used for criminal law, what adjective or adjectives are generally used for breaking civil law?


texts:
I am creating a project that I would like to open source and license under the Apache 2.0 License. The project will come with a bundled version of an open source component which is licensed under the MIT license.

Can I bundle MIT licensed components in a Apache 2.0 licensed project?

I would also be interested in an explanation on why the answer is yes or no.


texts: Can an attorney-in-fact with full powers transfer his power to another entity? Please explain

texts:
Say there is a Power of Attorney that grants full power to entity A. When I say full power, that means, anything that the original entity can do, it can also do. Now of course, I am not an attorney, but I dont know if entity A can create its own special power of attorney to grant entity B a full power.

In any circumstance, can entity A transfer his full power or grant his same power to another entity, which the original entity is not a signatory? Please explain.


texts: If SCOTUS decided that Gonzales v. Raich abuses the commerce clause to ridiculous proportions and overturns it, would they necessarily have to overturn Wickard v. Filburn also?


texts: Can one get information about US federal misdemeanor citations?

texts:
According to New Hampshire Public Radio, in June 2019,

Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued tickets to 29 people for alleged immigration violations at a checkpoint on I-93 near Woodstock on Sunday.
The violations were for legal visitors to the U.S. who didn’t have appropriate paperwork on them, as required by law, accordign [sic] to the CBP.

Will there be any information in the public record concerning these citations?  I suspect that they allege violations of 8 USC 1304(e).  Is there any way to confirm that?
Nine years ago, an article on the American Immigration Lawyers Association's blog stated that "a search of court records reveals no prosecutions federally for this offense."  If the federal government has started trying to enforce that statute after not having done so for some long period of time, it seems like it should be big news.


texts: (NC, USA) Employer promised in interview (and verified by email) that time off was paid. Now saying it isn't after I came back

texts:
This actually happened to my wife but she's under too much stress to deal with it and I'm not a citizen so I'm less sure what to do.

Timeline: In October she did an interview, having already booked flights to leave for 10 work days over Christmas, and in the interview it was agreed that this time could be taken as PTO. In orientation when the job started (a week or two later) it was stated that PTO had to be accrued, at a rate of 8 hours per two months, but we we're under the impression that the agreed PTO was a condition of hiring. On Nov 27th we have an email stating that PTO was approved for the given date. Jan 4th was payday and there was no pay.

The Chief Medical Officer (this is a private healthcare job and she's the only one that could approve PTO) said "why would I approve that in the interview?" and when confronted with the email said it was a "terminology error".

What can we do? For info these wages would be about $950 after tax so we're willing to do a decent bit to get this back. In terms of resources only her parents and sister are in the country (and aren't that headstrong), I'm a STEM PhD student and may or may not have access to legal resources through my university but it's too hard for me to check because I'm flying right now.


texts: Bankruptcy petitions granted by state legislatures?

texts:
In this document we learn that someone was "discharged as an insolvent debtor, by virtue of an act of assembly of" New Jersey.

And I have learned that Thomas Chandler was similarly discharged in Vermont (then still an independent country) by an act of Vermont's legislature in June 1785.

Was it generally state legislatures that decided such cases in the 18th century?


texts: What is the law requiring a product to be labeled : "This product is not manufactured by..."

texts:
I see it on products that look similar to others. Is there an authority that checks new products and decides that people will get confused with other products? Why not just require them to change the packaging?

Here is an example:

https://shop.riteaid.com/rite-aid-shampoo-dandruff-medicated-formula-11-oz-325-ml-0325336


texts: How would the law in US handles private investigation like this?

texts:
I saw video where there is evidence beyond any doubt (reasonable or not) that a company is committing fraud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avpx8UTakI

How would US laws handles this?

Is it legal to document or record people against their consent?
Is the owner sent to jail because of this video?
What happens next?


texts: Is there liability for accidental deaths of astronauts?

texts:
I read about the death of an astronaut in an exploding rocket; I don't know if it was recent or not.

Would the developers of this shuttle have been subject to any legal action, or would it be ignored as the astronaut knew the risks?

What if it was found that someone made a sloppy mistake, would that be gross negligence / manslaughter?

I know there was a dog that was left in space to die, did anyone face any form of action for that?


texts: Let's say a person is convicted of a crime and incarcerated. If it is found afterwards that at the time of the crime he was not yet 18 (or whatever is the age of maturity in that system), and that he turned 18 two days after committing the crime, is he still held responsible? What would happen to that person?


texts: Can a thief sue someone whose house he was robbing?

texts:
A thief entered a house by crossing an electric fence. The fence was turned off when the thief came in, but it was turned on before he fled. When he tried to escape over the fence, he got shocked and suffered serious injuries. He sued the owner of the house.
The legal principle is an occupier of a premises owes a duty of care to all his invitees & visitors.
The thief was neither an invitee nor a visitor like a postman, delivery boy, etc. But the home owner was also liable. Why?


texts: What has been the largest class suit action in the USA by payout?

texts: What has been the largest payout in a class suit action against a corporation in the USA due to deliberate corporate malfeasance of whatever kind?


texts: Me and my grandpa signed this simple finance contract just yesterday, but what we didn’t notice was so many sheets that we signed that weren’t really pointed out, I know this is not something the seller is supposed to do, but the contract was so terrible, I need to cancel this. Am I on time, conditions? I think we weren’t prepared and didn’t really what was going on, it was our first time on this kind of situation. I want to cancel this contract and also get my trade-in car that I gave them plus $4500 down. May I face penalty fees or something here. I feel so sad of what I just did..


texts: Why would a company with a market cap over $100 million choose to be a non-limited, general partnership?

texts: Why would such a significantly profitable company choose to have unlimited liability? What benefits would still be afforded by the non-limited, general partnership structure? United States especially.


texts: What is the Basis in Law that an "Investigation 'Quid Pro Quo'" is Unlawful or Unconstitutional?

texts:
In cases of investigating election fraud, there seems to be a potential for a conflict of interest no matter who investigates it.

So, why can't the White House investigate campaign issues (involving the Ukraine, Clintons, and Bidens), regardless of any perceived conflict of interest?

How is it unlawful/unconstitutional for a President to order Executive Branch employees to investigate election fraud, (or if they were to solicit foreign allies to do the same with reciprocity)?

Suppose that any given sets of facts regarding President Trump's actions are true and constitute "basis in fact".  But, what would be the "basis in law" to impeach over those acts?

Aren't these types of negotiations expected of heads of state?


texts: I was offered a full time job that i did not take and i refused it and I requested for a part time. I called and i asked since the director didn’t reply to my email or message and i was told that the job still available and i can come for paperwork. I went for paper work and signed everything with county I-9 and have received my rights as part timer. However, I schedule my orientation with the county service and was supposed to start orienting today. I went to the orientation and met with the person who I’m supposed to meet so we go through the orientation. There was the director in the same room and after saying hi, i was asked to go with director to his office which i did. Then the director asked me why I rejected his offer for a full time job and I explained my personal opinions and he stood up and said “i think you should go.” He did not give me any reasons why i was rejected the part time. He took everything personally although i paid respects and still showed up and wanted to work for the county. My question is, what should i do? I was humiliated and wasted my time driving there twice which was 2 hours round trip. Should i file complaint to the county? Should i seek redemption through the court? I really feel very bad about this.


texts: Can the Defense Production Act grant immunity to civil liability?

texts:
Trump has said that he's going to give liability protections to meat processing plants in case employees catch COVID-19 at work.  The executive order itself is here.  Cited in the order is the Defense Production Act of 1950.

Does that Act grant the President the authority to give private companies protection from civil liability cases?  (This is assuming, for the sake of the argument, that the Defense Production Act applies to a pandemic)


texts: Public procurement laws or regulations similar to HIPAA or PCI?

texts:
United States here, and potentially also involving two states, New York and Vermont.
If a business is a vendor that sells goods to the federal government (as a GSA awarded contractor) and also sells goods to state procurement agencies (New York - Office of General Services, or OGS; and in Vermont its the Office of Purchasing & Contracting), they have to maintain inventory data and regularly submit updates to the agency they have an award with.
In a similar vein to how HIPAA regulates businesses who maintain health data, and PCI regulates businesses that collect payment information from consumers, are there any similar regulations that govern what such GSA/OGS/OPC vendors can do with their inventory data?


texts: Should contracts always contain the phrase "he or she" when the person could be either gender?

texts:
Must a contract explicitly state "his or her" each time if the gender could be either? For example in a rental lease should it say
"a tenant is responsible for his or her guests" if it's unknown if the tenant is male or female, or would just using "his" or "her" be enough? What about using gender neutral worlds like "their"? But this may technically be wrong if it's interpreted as plural and there is only 1 tenant.

Is s/he legally acceptable substitute for either "she" or "he"?

Almost a silly question, but in this modern age could someone argue that a contract didn't apply to them as they didn't identify as either male or female and the contract used that wording?


texts: Can landlord charge a fee to return security deposit by wire or mail?

texts:
I am an international student living in Pennsylvania, USA for the semester. I had to pay a security deposit when I rented this property and now my landlord is saying that I must pay a "shipping" charge to receive my money. PA law states that the landlord must give back the security deposit within 30 days or provide reasons for why they are withholding the money.

The lease mentions no fee for returning the security deposit, but the landlord is demanding a fee of $75 for direct wire transfer and $125 for overnight courier service

Can my landlord charge a fee to return my security deposit?


texts: Legal obligations of a company in case of GDPR-related vulnerability

texts:
First of all I would like to state that my question occurs in a context of EU laws and EU citizen.
I found a vulnerability in a product distributed in a few companies of EU countries. This vulnerability allows an attacker with a foothold in the network to gather encrypted, unauthorized backups of critical personal data. There is a few concerns on this vulnerability as :

It is easy to avoid, and it is easy to fix (but has been running for years)
It allows the attacker to get the data from ALL the consumers of the product, not only the one that has been compromised (= can get the client database of each consumer of the product by just compromising one consumer)
Due to other events, we were told by the software vendor that he did not own any backup of his consumer data, nor provides the capacity to do so (which is wrong because I found weekly backups of critical personal data on their server)

As the software vendor is not known to be very open to discussing topics such as bugs & vulnerabilities, and tells us he has not undocumented backup system, what would be the best approach to discuss this critical vulnerability ? Should we get in touch with the national GDPR referent ?
Is it legal to "make pressure" on the vendor by stating that the vulnerability will be sold/published if he does not act appropriately ?
Thanks for your time.


texts: How to call the 'agrement' of a user accepting an action or risk?

texts:
I am planning a software management solution of storing the user accepted agreements for some of my applications.

I have Terms of use and Privacy policies for every app and I want to store them in a central place with the date time the user accepted the agreement.

The first two agreements are called:

Privacy Policy agreement and
Terms & Conditions (T&C) agreement

Now I want to store an other type of agreement, I want to store when the user gave me permission to make a dangerous action, e.g. Delete a product or Remove a client from DB.

I display a popup modal window that explain the action to be taken and I ask the user to enter the word 'DELETE' if she confirms the delete action.

I want to store this information to my Agreement Database and I need a name for such agreement. How to call this?


texts: Customer gives me an e-book or a document, I record audio of that document and send it to the customer. I am not redistributing that work, I only charge the customer. Will this infringe the copyright law? The customer could be giving me an e-book that he bought.


texts:
The following occurred on private property, no civil servants involved and not illegal.
There was an incident which the other side found funny and they decided to record me without my knowledge.
When I find this out, I ask them to delete the video and photos, which they said they would. At this point, I have withdrawn my consent.
I later see their phone and they haven't removed the footage.
Which act covers this, specifically a section so I can look it up on legislation.gov.uk?


texts: What if someone violated a business contract and you don't have the money to take them to court?

texts:
I'm in Australia. Legal costs are very expensive, can go up to USD $50,000.

What's the use of contracts if you can't take a contract violator to court?
Any party is free to do anything.

Or worst, halfway down the line, you don't have any money left to pay your lawyers, and they leave the case.

Is this typical?


texts: If a Plaintiff fails to serve a Defendant at the address listed in the Summons, does the Summons have to be reissued with the accurate address before service can take place or can service of process be made at the new address without going back to the court again?


texts: Can I claim unemployment benefits if I already have a new job lined up?

texts: Imagine that I live and work in Massachusetts. I am being laid off by the end of the year. I already have a new job but it won't start until a few months after the end of my current employment. I know that collecting unemployment benefits requires me to be "able, available, and actively seeking work" (see here). Does this mean that I am no longer eligible for unemployment insurance benefits?


texts: Does creating an account or making a purchase apply consent for all marketing communications?

texts:
Many companies I have registered with or interacted with sign me up to their email newsletters without my providing my consent.

For example, I created an account using my email and hired a bike from a bike sharing company through their app. Now I am on their email newsletter.

Does the company have the right to send me marketing emails based on the fact that I purchased something from them even though I didn't give my explicit consent for my data to be processed in that way?

Is consent assumed for every kind of processing/communication based on one reason (a purchase or making an account)? Can I withdraw my consent for marketing specifically?


texts: What are the legal implications of evicting a foreign host child?

texts:
So, I know of a family in the US that (years ago) agreed to host a teenager from a foreign country, but later tried to kick them out without a flight home. (Thankfully the situation worked out... not great... But it worked out).

The police never became involved, but if they had what could have happened? I can't imagine this being legal, but I can't find any similar situations.  It was not the family's child, and the teen was not a U.S. citizen (but she did have a foreign family that cared about her).


texts:
My Ex has contacted my attorney about trivial matters.  My attorney bills me for these contacts.  Is there a way to avoid these charges?  For example, can I forbid my Ex from contacting my attorney except through her attorney.  (That might stop the trivia, since she would have to pay attorney fees also.)

What other options does she have?  Are there more reasonable and less expensive approaches for my Ex to use to voice her claims (which appear to me to be groundless or trivial)? Or are we doomed to continuing legal fees?


texts: Under ADA, are size or weight disabilities?

texts:
Within the context of the US ADA, are a man or woman's size or weight considered disabilities?  What is the threshold?

For example, could a 7' 2" male weighing 300 pounds be considered disabled?  In the business context, does an employer or a business have to accommodate a man so sized?  For example, with adequate workstation for their job.  Or if traveling on public transportation, with seating which accommodates their stature, leg length, etc.?

Could a 450#, 5' 10" woman be considered disabled, and what is the range of accommodations that might be required in a business, employer or even perhaps academic environment be?

Could a 4', 88# woman be considered disabled and would their employer or a business providing them services be expected to make reasonable accommodations?


texts: What action can a tenant take if a property manager refuses to provide name and address of owner in Texas?

texts:
So it is my understanding that in Texas under Texas Property Code Section 92.201, a property manager has a duty to disclose the name and either street or post office box of address of holder of record title (the owner).

I am concerned that comments in this link lack an understanding of why a tenant would want to be able to communicate with the real owner of the property and not the company they use.

https://www.texasrealestate.com/members/posts/does-a-property-manager-have-to-disclose-a-landlords-name/

I am aware as mentioned in comments in the link above that it is a matter of public record, but it is certainly due diligence for a tenant to ask for it anyways, especially since public records may only provide a name and not necessarily and address and because Texas Property Code Section 92.201 says so.

Anyway, what recourse does a tenant have if the property manager does not provide that information?


texts: Traveling outside of the US as a permanent resident?

texts:
I was planning on traveling outside the US (first time in 20 years lol) I was admitted as a asylum. I read the Homeland Security (https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident) info on this but they are saying I need a Permanent resident card (which I have), a foreign passport(I don't own any passports from any foreign governments) or other immigration documents (which I also don't have). Besides my Social Security card, drivers license and Permanent resident card, I don't have any other documentations.

What


texts: US work authorization laws for non-resident aliens

texts: Say I was offered a job by a US corporation, but I would remotely from a different country. Do I need some sort of work authorization or documentation before can I commence work? Will I be required to pay tax to the US?


texts: At what times during the litigation process is discovery allowed?

texts: My divorce was finalized a couple of years ago. My ex recently filed a Motion for Contempt over some bills that were not paid that I was ordered to pay. These bills were all in her name and the lenders couldn’t discuss anything with me without her written consent. She refused to cooperate with me and the lenders to get these bills taken care of and refused my certified mail when I tried to contact her that way and hasn't sent me any certified letters trying to rectify this.  After I was served with the contempt papers, I filed a Motion to Dismiss (since I honestly tried my best to take care of the bills). Her attorney recently filed Notice of Readiness and requested a court date. In the notice, her attorney stated that “discovery is complete”. I had planned on filing a Request for Production to gather any possible correspondence between my ex and these lenders and between me and her (in hopes that the absence of any correspondence would help build my case). My question is this: since her attorney stated that discovery is complete, does that mean that I no longer have the option of discovery before the trial? Or does that simply mean that they have completed their discovery and I’m still free to explore my own discovery options?


texts: Can a U.S. phone call recorded in a 1-party state be used as evidence in a case tried in a state that is 2-party?

texts:
Hypothetically, let's say someone is involved in a case that was originally filed in a NJ court. The case was then transferred to FLA (after a motion to do so was accepted).

If they have recorded calls in which involved people with knowledge of events state certain things that would support the case, can these calls be used in court? If it now appears that a recorded party is going to state things that are false and contradictory to what they said before in either written or oral statements (potentially via threat from their current employer or an ex-employer).

Will one be able to use NJ 1-party-state recorded phone calls as evidence in the case that has now been moved to FLA, which is a 2-party-state? Is there any different application of this when it comes to using them in depositions as opposed to during a courtroom trial?


texts:
How is it possible to be on the wrong end of civil forfeiture while not engaging in criminal activity?   I'd like to understand this because, tools that victimize or even put the public at risk seem antithetical to principles of the constitution.

Even if one is 'squeaky clean' Eagle scout, it makes sense to understand the nature of the issue and best practices to not fall in 'the line of fire' of the war on drugs.


texts: Authority to enforce a law after it expires in New York

texts:
Recently, with the hubbub surrounding the expiration of the law authorizing rent control in New York City, Governor Cuomo issued a statement with this content, as quoted in the Daily News.

The letter, obtained by the Daily News, states that despite any temporary lapses, the new rent laws once approved will be retroactive to June 15 — so “your legal obligations under existing leases and under the passage of the new rent stabilization program will not expire on that day.”
The governor directed landlords to continue to follow the current law until a new law is enacted and any changes are fully understood. The legislative session is scheduled to end Wednesday and Cuomo has threatened to bring lawmakers back to Albany into special session every day if they adjourn without at least extending the existing law.

So, how can a governor tell people that a law, which expired, will continue to be enforced (it's no longer current law), and how can the New York State legislature "backdate" a law, given Article 1, Section 10 of the US constitution?


texts: Brand new computer crashed during job interview - compensation?

texts:
My brand new computer cost me a job. The device crashed, not just once, but twice during a job interview over Skype. I took it back to the origin of purchase where it was diagnosed as a having software issues, it was subsequently wiped and the operating system was reinstalled fresh. The laptop was purchased two or three months ago. I'm curious as to whether there is any sort of  compensation available for situations like this? Of course, winning any sort of lawsuit against a large corporation is unlikely and nobody want's to set precedents taking responsibility for inability to procure work.
The exact cause of the crashes can be found here: -20 shutdown, what to do?


texts:
I purchased a home and paid the agreed earnest money. Living and traveling between two cities, at the time, I don't remember how the money was paid (wire, cashier's check, money order) but all parties (including buyer, seller, both representing realtors and both escrow attorneys) agreed that the earnest money was paid. The house closed without event and the closing documents confirmed earnest money was paid.

Fourteen months later the seller's real estate agent is claiming the earnest money was never paid. Seller's agent is suing me for failure to pay earnest money and demanding proof of payment. A debt collector is representing the plaintiff and there has been no proof presented for "failure to pay".

Are the closing documents sufficient proof? If not, what would be?