texts:
New York Judiciary Law § 478 makes it illegal to practice law in New York state.  I imagine that there is some law defining what constitutes practicing "in" the state, and that questions probably involve whether they are advising people in the state and whether they are located in the state while advising.

My question is: does any law prohibit an attorney who is admitted in New York from practicing the law of other jurisdictions, while that attorney is in New York state.

Obviously one must meet certain criteria (admission, pro hac vice, etc) to appear in court in another State as an attorney.  But is it correct to assume that an Admitted Lawyer can practice the law of any jurisdiction, so long as they do so from within their home state?

Additional wrinkles:

I vaguely remember something about it being the primary place you practice, such that (some/most) states don't prohibit an admitted New York attorney from occasionally providing advice in their state.
I am interested in international jurisdictions as well.
I imagine my assumption must be right, because a New York attorney is certainly not constrained from interpreting a contract with a Texas choice of law clause, so long that attorney does so in the context of practicing in New York.


texts: Paid to write software, contract not signed. Who owns the software?

texts:
I was hired, on a 1099 basis, to write a piece of software for a client. I created a contract to specify the work to be done and the cost. I was paid the full amount owed to me. However, the client never signed the contract, nor did I sign it. I sent him the contract about six months ago, as a first pass at a contract and figured we would haggle a bit back and forth. In the mean-time, I started work on the project and was paid in full, despite not having any sort of written agreement.

My question is this. Who owns the software I wrote? We were going to come to an agreement about that in the contract, but, as I said, the client never signed it and he never actually attempted to contact me during the course of my work to discuss it.

I know this sounds like an odd situation, that I would be paid, in full, without an agreed upon contract, but it happened.

This is in the United States.


texts: 'first brought about the alteration in their relationship which led to an alleged actionable breach' vs 'actionable breach'

texts:
Source: Civil Litigation (Feb. 2010). pp. 236-237 Bottom. Footnote 37.

  Above note 1 at 2.550—70. See also Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. CKPG Tele-
  vision, [1992) 3 W.W.R 279 (B.C.C.A.), a case involving breach of a television
  broadcasting agreement, in which the British Columbia Court of Appeal sets
  out a much more detailed analysis of the status quo: "[Tlhere are at least three
  separate aspects to the consideration of the status quo. I think that all three are
  conceptually important but that their respective importance to the assessment
  of the balance of convenience in any particular case will vary with the circum-

  stances. The first aspect involves a consideration of  which [37.1] party took the step
  which first brought about the alteration in their relationship which led to an
  alleged actionable breach of the rights of one of the parties [End of 37.1]; the second aspect
  involves a consideration of which [37.2] party took the action which is said to be an
  actionable breach of the rights of the other party [End of 37.2]; and the third aspect involves
  a consideration of the nature of the conduct which is said to be wrongful and
  which is being carried on at the time that the application for the interim injunc-
  tion is brought" (at para. 26).

Mustn't the parties in 37.1 and 37.2 be the same?

If not, I'm overlooking the distinction: how can these 2 parties differ?


texts: What should happen if I break a housing contract?

texts:
3 months ago, I moved to the UK and I signed a rent contract for a house, along with another person. Recently, the person who shares the flat with me decided to come back to her country, and leave the house. When we signed the contract, we were said that we couldn’t finish it earlier, but if we found a replacement, we could then leave.

With the help of the recruiter (both the girl leaving and me moved here at the same time, and were recruited by the same company) we have found a new girl to replace her in the contract, but the recruiter has advised us to not inform the landlord yet, because since the other girl is breaching the contract already, we could be forced to leave the house and still keep paying the rent for the rest of the contract. But I feel that this is wrong, since there is a clause at the contract that forces us to inform him in case this happens.

Since I’m not familiar with the UK law, could someone explain to me in what position I am? Could I have problems with the landlord in case the other girl breaches the contract? Could I be forced to keep paying the rent for the whole year and still not allowed to live here? Should I concern about something else?

Now I’m leaning towards informing the landlord that the other girl wants to leave, but I’m worried about the possibilities afterwards.

The advice of the recruiter doesn't seem right to me, and I think by following his advice, I'm going to end breaching the contract myself, and I would like to avoid that,


texts: Union officials taking members' grievance awards

texts:
My union (the Teamster) has a sleazy practice that I find utterly amazing. If a dues-paying member files a grievance against an employer and wins, the member can sometimes win a monetary settlement. However, they have to go through a union shop steward. Shop stewards with more seniority who process grievances can effectively claim them as their own and take the money for themselves. Some of them rake in thousands of dollars by letting other people file grievances, then taking the money for themselves.
I assume it's legal, because it's a routine practice and has been for years. However, I'd like to find out if there are any state or national laws that relate to this practice. I'd also like to find out if this is a practice other unions allow.
However, it's hard to know how to research it when I don't even know what this practice is called. Is there a legal term for this kind of racket?
I've observed this practice in Washington State, but it probably occurs in all fifty states.


texts: Do I need permission to use an image from a book from 1942?

texts:
The book is On growth and forms by D'arcy Thompson. It was published in 1942 and Thompson died in 1948. Wikipedia uses the image citing public domain. Can I use extracts and images from the book with proper citation without the problem?

The image I want is Fig. 125 on this page.

The book is also available in archive.org and I think it should be in public domain.

The image itself has a caption and in bracket says (After Rhumbler), I am not sure if it is by Thompson himself.  Rhumbler would be Ludwig Rhumbler who died in 1939. So it should still be in the public domain as far as I get it.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Rhumbler

Do I need a copyright license for the image or it is in the public domain and I could use it without one?

I am in Germany and my thesis will be published in Germany.


texts:
I am developing a website and want to list the logos of the technologies I used in the footer. For this purpose, I am looking to use svg images as it would be scalable at resolutions. I am able to get the relevant logos from the technology developers' press kits but some of them are not in the format I want (like they are in jpeg or png). I can easily convert these images using freely available tools to svg. My question is, am I allowed to do so, or am I restricted to use only those formats that were supplied by them.
The technologies in question are:

MongoDB

Express - note: They don't have any guidelines on how to use their image

Node.Js


texts: I filed for a request for dismissal of an ofp but my offender was picked up for violating it. They said if I can prove that I filed for a dismissal he will be released but I can no longer look up the case file. Does this mean it was dismissed? If so how do I know for sure? I’ve called everywhere in town including the jail he is being held at and no one can give me any answers except for bouncing me back and fourth from place to place.


texts: Can there be a scenario where the use of an IED against an enemy is legally justifiable? (It's for a book, I swear...)

texts:
Before I go any further, let me be clear that this is for a work of fiction.

Doing some research for a story where a military protagonist becomes trapped behind enemy lines, with a plan to have her hold out until rescue against superior forces by adopting asymmetric warfare tactics, including the use of improvised explosive devices. This is an urban environment, but it's a situation where most of the civilians formerly in the area are already gone (either dead, fled, or captured), and she's actively trying to keep the enemy away from a pocket of survivors.

Under standard Western rules of war, is it legal for her to use IEDs in this context? I did a little research already but that article mostly just deals with IEDs being used partially or fully for ideological reasons with no care to collateral damage (and often deliberately targeting civilians).


texts:
Hypothetically if there was a leak during apartment renovations on floor B which damaged the apartment on floor A below, the contractor blames the building and the building blames the contractor.
Is the owner of an apartment on floor B responsible for paying the owner of the apartment on floor A? Or is this between the contractor and the apartment owner?


texts: What does 'a kind of private charter' signify, for the 1st Amendment (US Constitution)?

texts:
Original: Dworkin. A Matter of Principle. p. 385 Top.
First Sighted: Legal Writing in Plain English (2nd edn, 2013). p. 85 Top.

    But there is not much attempt at analysis of the philosophical grounds of
  free speech or freedom of the press, or much effort to find the limits of the
  freedoms and powers Hentoff wants to defend. In this respect he is typical
  of journalists who complain about the fate of the First Amendment in the
  courts, though he writes better and with more enthusiasm and knowledge
  than most. The press takes the Amendment as a kind of private charter [bold mine], and
  attacks more or less automatically every refusal of the courts to find some
  further protection in that charter. The newspapers and networks de-
  nounced the decisions in the Farber and Herbert cases as fiercely—indeed
  even more fiercely—than those in the cases of The Progressive and Snepp.

Am I correct that charter signifies the following?

  A written grant by the sovereign or legislative power of a country, by which a body such as a borough, company, or university is created or its rights and privileges defined.

I don't understand why the press'd regard it so, when they have in-house lawyers who'd disadvise them so?


texts: Creating a contract that will prevent you from amending it

texts:
So the question is, can you create a contract that will prevent you and other persons involved in from amending it?
Let's assume that two parties agree on


texts: Is it legal to patent an idea and then not use it?

texts:
In the HBO show Silicon Valley, a patent describing a technique that could replace paid services with free ones is an important plot point. The patent was never used and seems to have never had an intent to be used.

In the United States, is it possible for a corporation to receive a patent for an idea, so that they can prevent it from going to market and hurting their business?

I'm aware that recent changes have targeted non-practicing entities, but it's unclear to me where the lines are.

Are there any notable real-world examples of this happening?

Edits

I've learned about compulsory licensing, but I'm curious about if those laws have been used to force a company to withholding a patent.


texts: Insurance paid bill outside coverage and sent the bill to collections - Is that debt legitimate?

texts:
Around a year ago, my dad was moving between insurance companies and was on Medicare in the middle. During that time he incurred a medical bill (actually several, but only one at issue) which should have been sent to Medicare and he's confident he gave that information to the provider. Instead, it went to the old insurance company, who paid it even though there was no coverage.

Now, without having received anything prior, he got a notice from a collections agency for a bill from the insurance company for the cost of the bills that they wrongly paid.

Is he legally responsible for this or how can we find out?


texts: Is there a term for using law as the basis of morality?

texts:
Legal moralism is when a society creates laws based on the prevailing morality of that society. Stuff like "we think green houses are immoral, so we made a law to ban green houses".
Is there a term for the opposite influence? As in "if Y is legal, I have no problems with doing Y" as an individual viewpoint for moralism?


texts: Hello I have a question about if game hacking is legal in Florida. What I mean by game hacking is making a software and selling it (not altering the games original code or selling anything with the games code in it, and does not ddos/attack the games servers, however it can be used against other players on their servers but it doesn't attack the server) but the software simply reads certain events in the game and then the program displays information you would normally not have


texts: Unable to afford a lawyer, can I go into court by myself?

texts: A lot of people are unable to afford a public defender, so I was wondering if this is possible.


texts: Who owns an un-documented cellar/bunker? (UK Law)

texts:
A relative of mine purchased a house about 35 years ago. After a few years he discovered a bricked-up doorway leading to what was probably started as a WW2 bunker. It was abandoned and empty, and judging by some of the detritus (old papers, liter and sweet wrappers) it was last used in the 1950's

Over the years this cellar/bunker has been water-proofed, painted, ventilated and converted (to a high standard)  into a workshop, playroom, gym, office and utility room and generally become part of the house.

Here's the problem. The rooms are quite substantial, they extend under two neighbors houses, three gardens, and even under a public road. There's no documentation on the bunker/cellar, they're not mentioned in the deeds or shown on any plans. The rooms make up more than half of the living area of the entire house.

My relative is likely to have to sell up and move into an old-peoples home.

Here's the question, who own these rooms? The only access is through the house, but there's evidence of a 2nd bricked up doorway which probably leads to the cellar of the house house two doors down (the houses are of a similar layout). The house is in an area that's rocketed in value since it was purchased, and if the underground rooms are deemed part of my relatives house then that more than doubles the living space and probably doubles the value of the house.

After having lived in and maintained these rooms for over 30 years can he claim any sort of squatters rights? Whats to stop the person who lives two doors down knocking through the wall into his entrance and claiming ownership of the parts of the rooms under his house?

Update - back when the bunkers were first found my relative did attempt to research the bunkers, but didn't find anything about who/why they were built.


texts: How close can names in the same classification not be in trademark law

texts:
Say you have 'Bag Watcher' that sells business management software, and another company, with the same class, is called 'Bag Overwatch' that is a computer security company. Is it legal and enforceable to register 'Bag Watcher'?
This is in the U.S.


texts: Can I ask for disclosure of CCTV to be used in Appeal against Possession order in UK

texts: A district Judge made an unfair and biased possession order to make me homeless despite I provided large volume of evidence such as digitally dated photos, Facebook photos, over than 8 neighbours written statements...., to prove that I never parted with possession of my only home. A CCTV camera was operating in front of and back of my building for the period in question. Can I ask the Court or the respondent to disclose the recording of CCTV camera as to prove that I was continuously living at my flat as my only home and never parted with Possession. This to contradict that Judge decision that my evidence were not credible was wrong.


texts: Why was he put in prison but never got a criminal record?

texts:
I watched this video about a dare devil climbing to the top of The Shard in London, before being cautioned by the police. The Shard later took out a private prosecution against him.
I am confused though. Why was it a private prosecution, yet in the video he says it was a civil case, which resulted in him getting sentenced to six months, yet he never received a criminal record for his actions. I thought it was impossible to go to prison for a civil offence, and much less end up in a criminal court! I guess there is some trick that is only possible with private prosecutions?
I was also under the impression that there was not a Law against what he did, especially as it was a simple trespass, he left without a struggle when the police came to avoid a breech of the peace etc... Especially when other YouTubers, such as Ally Law, frequently do similar actions and never get arrested.
Lastly, how can one be given a caution and then punished again through a private prosecution, outside of a Civil court? Surely there is a Double Jeopardy protection against this?
I thought I had a grip on the basics of Law before this video came to my attention!


texts: What remedies would be possible/likely in a successful defamation suit?

texts:
This question is related to another one I asked recently: Is it true that a suit of defamation could require "very little effort"?, so please review that one first -- thank you.

Let's say that someone brings a successful defamation suit.  What remedies are possible -- that is, what does the plaintiff stand to get out of winning such a lawsuit?  What remedies are likely?  I suppose monetary damages would be one possibility.  What others could be ordered?  What remedies tend to be ordered when a defamation suit is successful?  If mediation and negotiation might make sense in this context, please cover those thoroughly as well in your answer.


texts: What charges does one risk if they share personal pictures without permission?

texts:
This question was inspired by something I read on another Stack Exchange website.

Basically, Mr. Johnson works at a small company Good Company. His responsibility is to manage and organise the digital files stored on the company's storage devices (be it a server, a NAS, or anything).
One day, while going through the files, he stumbles on several private pictures in some random folders. The pictures are clearly depicting the boss and their partner (they both work at the company), some of which are very intimate pictures.
If Mr. Johnson decided to "teaches them a lesson" and posted their pictures somewhere online without their consent, they found out that their pictures got leaked, and they deduced that Mr. Johnson is the most likely person to have done it, what can Mr. Johnson be charged with?


texts: Corporate responsibility when allowing biometric authentication

texts:
At our company, we are discussing allowing (but not forcing) the use of facial recognition to authenticate on employee laptops (Windows Hello). The laptops are owned by the company, but are for individual use.

Someone is concerned that enabling the feature and collecting the biometric data is not a necessary measure, and is therefore against the data minimization obligation of GDPR. They are also concerned about the obligation our company has with regards to this data once it is collected.

I've argued that this is a feature that employees want, and that biometric data is necessary to use the service. Only employees who consent to the use of their facial data can use the service.

Additionally, the data is collected and stored locally, by software designed by Microsoft. No one can access it. I don't even see how our company could be considered either Controller or Processor of this data.

As a compromise, we've proposed to extensively inform employees about what it means to use Windows Hello in terms of privacy (basically make a presentation from the Microsoft documentation) but this isn't completely satisfactory for them.

What responsibilities does a company have when allowing it's employees to use biometric authentication provided by another company?


texts: subtenant hasn't signed the sublease, has the key and won't sign or move out

texts:
The property in question is a bedroom in a shared 3-bedroom house.

I made the mistake of giving the keys to my not-legally-yet subtenant (n.l.y.s. from here on) and letting him move in, after my landlord acknowledged he had received this month's rent payment from him. After getting some strange answers from the n.l.y.s. when I tried discussing with him the paperwork that needs to be signed, I expressed my concern to my landlord, who sent us both an email explaining to the n.l.y.s. that he is to sublet the room from me, that he is returning payment to the n.l.y.s. (which already happened) and that I'm to present a sublease agreement for him to sign, so that it can all be done properly.

I wrote up a very reasonable sublease, waiving deposit and including some rent prorating, but the n.l.y.s. is ignoring it completely, and won't return any phone calls or text messages. So, on paper, what we have is that the n.l.y.s. has made no net payment, and that I'm still the tenant of the property. But it looks like the n.l.y.s is intending to stay on in the property.

EDIT: he has been in the property for two days (at the time of this edit, 05-07-2017).

EDIT 2: the property is in Atlanta, Georgia.

What can be done in this case?

Thank you.


texts: President promising to pardon people who will commit crimes in the future, at his incitement

texts:
It has been reported that "trump has promised to pardon people who commit crimes".

If this were true, would it be illegal? For instance, is it incitement to commit crime?

If a sitting president could not be prosecute for it, is there any crime which which could be prosecuted after leaving office? Any non-federal crime?


texts: Using US currency within a webpage design

texts:
The only information I am able to find on this topic is under the assumption that the duplication would be in print format:

Some of the most common conditions are (not all apply to every country):

Size - smaller or larger than original, the amount varies by country
Color - black & white reproductions only or the use of distinctly
different colors from original
One-side - reproductions cannot be double-sided
Surface Area - only a certain percentage of the overall
surface of one side of the bill may be depicted
Orientation - currency must be at an angle within the illustration
Labeling - placing the word "Specimen" or "Sample" across the illustration
Material - some types of reproductions can only be placed on materials that are not paper or paper-like
Permission - in some countries you must request permission in writing before reproducing banknotes in advertising or for educational purposes
Creative Materials - disposal of scans, negatives, plates, or other materials used in creating the currency reproductions

I'm just looking to use elements of currency as part of a mobile website theme; there's a very obvious lack of the possibility of mistaking anything as counterfeit. But, I'm aware of the sensitivity of this, so I want to make sure I'm not taking any chances on getting caught up on a technicality; the prison industrial complex is booming business now.

I suppose just using portions of a US dollar bill might be the safest route, but I just need to know what my limitations are before heading down this path.

Lastly, where's a great place to find this type of information without risking a tour of Guantanamo?


texts: In the United States, can a person be convicted of murder if there's evidence that he committed the crime, but the body hasn't been discovered?


texts: Developing software under GPLv3 and selling the source code

texts:
I am a software freelancer (basically, I own a software company which is just myself), so legally, I'm the bearer of responsibility.

Recently, I have been asked to develop a piece of software. However, the deliverable is not a binary file, but source code. This project has been outsourced several times, and I'm at the end of the outsourcing chain.

I use several GPLv3 libraries in this project, and the Qt framework, which has a commercial license, but is free when licensed under LGPLv3. The companies said they are okay with this.

Is it okay to develop the software, sell the source code and not make it available publicly? Or am I legally obligated to make it available publicly? If so, is it okay to wait until the code has been delivered to the initial outsourcing company?

This is in the Czech Republic, by the way. The initial outsourcing company is Italian.


texts: Can a public defender threaten a defendant into signing a plea using false promises?

texts:
Can a public defender threaten someone into signing using strong methods such as this?

"If you don't sign this plea for 15 years, I promise the state will prosecute you for 25 years and win!!!"


texts: Carelessly used Visual Studio Preview to develop an app that I'd like to release; what are my options?

texts:
A game. It started as an academic project, though I've always intended to release it (for free) at some point.

I checked the licence terms of Visual Studio 2017 Community. Happy, happy, joy joy:

  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.

(source)

So I gleefully installed MS VS Community 2017 and started using it.

But, but, time and time again it would happen that I NEEDED a feature (of .NET Core SDK, not VS) that was not yet in the stable version. Firstly, I needed SignalR; so I installed .NET Core Preview. Then SignalR made it into release, so I upgraded to the stable version. I do not remember if I upgraded VS to Preview at that time and I can't check this since I was not using git at that time.

But then the real crap happened: a feature I needed was bugged in release .NET Core and as per the official documentation I had to install the preview version to use this feature. So I did. But then Visual Studio started displaying warnings that Preview version of .NET Core also required the Preview version of VisualStudio. So I installed VisualStudio Community Preview. I caressly assumed that since it was the preview version of VS Community edition the same licence terms would apply.. That was not the case:

  You may not distribute any application you develop with the software, except that you may deploy your applications internally solely to evaluate deployment technologies in the software.

(source)

Perhaps even worse, when VS Preview started displaying warnings that VS 2017 Preview program would end soon I upgraded to VS 2019 Preview which did not distinguish between Community and Enterprise.

My question is: Is there any chance for me to be able to ever release this game? I'm afraid around that time I started using a code repository so it can be easily seen by anyone which versions of VisualStudio were being used.

Can I by any means bring this code to compliance? Would purchasing a non-community licence of VS help?
Or is deleting all code written after upgrading to VS Preview my only option?

Rewriting this code is a daunting task: these are a few months of work at least.
Even if I did rewrite most of the code I would still remember how I did this, so the similarities would be likely obvious. Therefore, would even rewriting the code help, or would ir tarther be considered (mostly) the same code that had been developped with the wrong versions of VS and is therefore precluded from being released EVER?

The ironny is that at the moment I could have just done everything in VS Community Edition without using any paid features, since I think all features of .NET Core I needed already made it to realease version.


texts: Are ASMR Creators and Platforms that show Adverts liable for damaging the listener's health?

texts:
Over the last few years ASMR has become very popular.
If you don't know what ASMR is, it's video/audio content (popular on Youtube and Twitch) where the host whispers or taps on the microphone, usually switching from left to right channel. The purpose of this is to make the audience relax, and often advertised as a sleep aide.

This content must be listened to with headphones for the effect to work.
Users must turn their volume up, as the effect takes place when the low volume sounds are played at a normal to high volume level.
Turning up the volume subsequently increases the maximum available volume for loud sounds to a point where it would be loud enough to damage hearing.

Both the owner of the content and platform can choose (within their control) to place adverts throughout the content. These adverts appear suddenly and play at the full volume available.
Not only is it unpleasant and startling, but can physically damage both the listener's hearing, and the listener's headphones.
I am wondering if either the content creators or platforms can be held liable for damages, given the content is designed to be consumed through headphones at a high volume, without any warning regarding adverts and relative volume level?
Even with a generic advert/volume warning, this wouldn't be sufficient to prevent the user from being exposed to high volume adverts. They would have to manually control volume and predict when an advert begins, which isn't possible, certainly not if they're asleep.


texts: Is it illegal to use an unsupported version of software, without a license key?

texts:
there is this particular computer program, that I [possibly, for legal purposes can't say for sure] may have downloaded, well, "illegally", a.k.a., they require a license key to get the full version, but I (may have) found a hack online that allows me to get a license for the full version for free.

So, this was back in 2014, and I haven't used it in a while. However, now I (may) have felt bad about it, and want to whats legal (if I may have not already), so I looked on their website, and tried to contact them, but it appears the version I had [possibly] illegally, version 8.2, is no longer supported at all, so am I allowed to keep the program on my computer, and continue using it, if there's no possibe way to get the legal version (of that particular version, 8.2, which is the only one I;m interested in) now?

Their terms of service, as far as I could find on their website, doesn't mention a case like this.

Any ideas? Can one continue using a software that was originally downloaded illegally, if at this point in time it is impossible to download the legal version, even if one were to pay? Do software licenses become obsolete when the software is officially unsupported?


texts: Why would a Solicitor Advocate QC still instruct QC and junior barristers?

texts:
In Serafin v Malkiewicz & Ors [2020] UKSC 23 (3 June 2020), David Price QC, Solicitor Advocate instructed two  QC  and a junior barrister for the appellants. But then what's the point of the Solicitor Advocate? Why didn't the Solicitor Advocate appear instead of the junior barrister?
If the Solicitor Advocate felt unqualified to appear at the UKSC, then why hire the Solicitor Advocate at all in the first place?
Solicitor-advocate or barrister? | Opinion | Law Gazette

The role of a solicitor-advocate can depend on the area of law. In family cases, the solicitor who wishes to use their rights of audience will see a case right through to final hearing, preparing the case and cross-examining witnesses. Criminal solicitor- advocates can sometimes do the same, although being a full-time solicitor-advocate in crime can mean you are instructed by a firm in the same way as a barrister. If you work ‘in-house’ you will be kept busy with advocacy if you choose to use your rights of audience. You would therefore not see the case through from beginning to end, but it is more likely you will be involved in every hearing – hence keeping a healthy continuity for the client.

What is a Solicitor Advocate? How Do I Become One? - The Lawyer Portal

A solicitor advocate is, in basic terms, someone who is fully qualified as a solicitor but has gained the same rights of audience as a barrister by obtaining an extra qualification.


texts: Will remarriage affect alimony and child support in this circumstance?

texts:
I'm a widowed artist. I have money in investments as a result of life insurance which I draw from when necessary - which with two kids is pretty much all the time. The investment income is under $10,000 (US) per year. Now, some artists make lots of money, but most make precisely zero dollars.

I'm fine with this. But I can appreciate most women being like "I'm not going to support some guy." Fair enough; I support myself just fine, but whatever.

What I'd like to know, for reference, is whether a woman receiving child support and alimony from a dissolution of marriage would have those sources of income reduced upon remarriage to a partner without an income (US). What about with investment-only income of, say, $5,000 per year?

I realize this might be a case-by-case basis.


texts: I'm 17 years old and I live in Azerbaijan. I've been working as a freelancer for about 2 months. Do I have to pay taxes and do I have the right to work for money?


texts: Is a Washington State tile contractor responsible for failed work installed incorrectly after 2 years?

texts: We had our main floor and 4 showers tiled by a contractor who was recommended by the tile supplier.  Within two years of the tile completion, the shower tile loosed and lifted and water leaked under the tile floor and the floor tile broke.  A regional representative of the water proofing system used by the tile installer inspected the water proofing system and confirmed that the installer had not installed the system properly as the installer left gaps and included improper materials in the showers.


texts: Is the worst version of the accusations against President Trump impeachable?

texts:
Suppose the president of the US demands foreign leader X have X's state conduct an investigation into corrupt dealings of a family member of a former member of the previous US administration (and a potential rival presidential candidate) - and conditions the transfer of military aid on the carrying out of this investigation.

Ignore for a moment the specific details of the current impeachment process and the current composition of the House and the Senate.

Can this be considered a "high crime" or "high misdemeanor" according to prevailing legal scholarship?

I am obviously no US constitutional lawyer, but in many respects this seems to me like a borderline/gray-area request even in terms of legitimacy (seeing how it is not unreasonable to strive for corruption investigations, albeit not by foreign states) - and thus, as a crime, it doesn't seem to rise to being "high".

Note:

I described acts, not intent. Perhaps the president did this simply because s/he wanted dirt on a potential political opponent. Perhaps he was personally curious. Perhaps he actually cared about corruption. Perhaps he cares about corruption, but only in order to present the previous administration in a negative light and not in his own administration. etc.
The answer may include some relevant details from the current impeachment process, but please don't write an answer focusing on President Trump or his impeachment process.
(this comes up repeatedly) No, the Nixon v. US decision (506 U.S. 224 (1993)) does not recognize a power of Congress to impeach arbitrarily or for flimsy causes.


texts: How does GDPR deal with combined personal data?

texts: There is a person named aa 1 where aa is their first name and 1 is their surname. Now some other person makes an email named aa.1@somemailingcompany.com. Whose personal data is this? aa 1's or that other person's? How is a request from the real aa 1 answered then to access the email?


texts: Can a person be "cleared" of a conviction for something that is no longer a crime?

texts:
There may be numerous instances of this sort, but I will ask my question based on the instance with which I am most familiar.
Ten years ago, Defendant was arrested and convicted for possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Recently marijuana use was legalized in the defendant's state. If s/he were to use the same amount of marijuana today, it would not be illegal.
Can the prior conviction/criminal record be reversed, expunged, or at least suppressed in at least some states of the United States because it is no longer a
crime? If so, what is the mechanism?


texts: Is there any way to hold a judge accountable for the harm caused by a bad decision?

texts:
Here's a hypothetical scenario, loosely based on something that actually happened to some people I know.

Bob attacks Alice and injures her.
Bob is charged with assault and battery.
Trial by jury is waived, and Bob appears before a judge for his hearing.
The evidence is clear and overwhelming: he did it, he has no remorse (and appears to be psychologically incapable of it), and he needs to be locked up.
The judge decides to let him go due to what he deems to be extenuating circumstances.  Alice's friends and family quite reasonably disagree on how extenuating they are, given that nothing about them makes it any less likely that he'll do something like this again.
A few months later, Bob attacks Charlie, with a weapon this time.  Charlie survives, but ends up hospitalized.  Bob is currently in jail, awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder.
If the judge had actually done the right thing, the attempted murder would never have happened, because Bob would have still been locked up.

All of the above being true, in the State of Utah, does Charlie have any sort of legal claim against the judge for taking actions that a reasonable person could have foreseen would lead directly to what happened to him happening to somebody?


texts: Is an employer legally required to allow an employee to work remotely if a precedent has been set?

texts: I work in Washington D.C. for the government and travel 3 hours to and from work daily. Once I give birth, I don't want to go in everyday, maybe 1 or 2 times a week and work remotely the other days. Another lady with the same position I have is being allowed to work remotely after she gave birth. We both work for the same employer but have different bosses but I have been there much longer than she has. I currently work remotely when the weather prohibits travel. Are there any labor laws that reference this issue?


texts: Is all ORIGINAL VERSION classical sheet music in the public domain?

texts:
I know that copyright of any musical composition expires 70 years after a composer's death.

Does this apply to written forms of such music, like sheet music?

I find many pieces of classical sheet music are marked as copyrighted.  I know that if a publisher made a new version or arrangement of public domain music, he can copyright it, but how can someone claim copyright of sheet music that is a direct rendition of musical work that is in the public domain?


texts:
An attorney (non-authoritative) opinion, regarding the algebra of calculating financial shares:

  The Association can only disburse the surplus funds to the unit owners
  according to their share of the common surplus (which is 1/25 per
  unit).  The actual costs to make repairs to the unit is not relevant
  as the funds are not disbursed according to how much it costs to make
  the repairs.  Thus, I don't see a basis for the Association to provide
  any owner with more than their share of the insurance proceeds.

Given:

The total awarded by the insurance for repairs is $2600.

Assume the reimbursable repair expenses are:

$25 for shareholder #1 and
$70 for shareholder #2
$5  for shareholder #3
Assume there are 23 other shareholders

There are two diametrically different interpretations of the opinion:

Interpretation #1:  distribution = ($2600/25)-unit's expenses = 4 different distribution amounts
Interpretation #2:  distribution = ($2600-all_expenses)/25 = 100 = same for all

QUESTIONS

Can one of the interpretations be eliminated by the opinion?
Which interpretation is the better fit and why?
What is the meaning of 'common surplus' and how should this be calculated?

I leave it to the wisdom of the crowd to determine best fit.  Thank you


texts: What's the shortest amount of time can someone wait on death row before execution?

texts:
I am a writer where in my spy-novel, a character faces execution in the US, most likely by Lethal Injection, however, there are people in the government that want to speed the date of execution up than wait years that would typically follow for civilian death-row inmates. They would want to do this as 'legal' as possible due to the public nature of the case.
I've been looking around on the internet for relevant and credible information that could help determine minimum time but it's not clear due to state differences of capital punishments and methods. it can be quite contradictive as well since I've read that sometimes, it gets short when the defendant drops the appeals and the execution is carried out within a few months but I remain uncertain on if this is true, as another source said 5 years.
Which brings me to the question here, (not tied to any particular state as I can adjust the story to the answer), what is the shortest amount someone could hypothetically wait on death row before their execution?
This can include the by-request of the defendant, the dropping of an appeal and input of higher authorities.


texts: Inheriting a parents home with a right to use clause in the will

texts:
I will be inheriting my fathers home, which he currently shares with a partner. The original will states that the partner can continue to occupy the home for three years following his death. After the three years, she will move out and I can/will sell the home. I assume she will be paying all the expenses.

He has recently added a twist...he will transfer his IRA to me, and I will share the homeowner expenses 50/50, with her, up until the IRA is exhausted, or she decides to move out. At that time, I will be able to sell the home.

My concern is that none of this is in writing, but an agreement on the honor system. Nothing in writing and no rental agreement. He does not want to change the will.

My concerns:
1. She gets ill, exhausts her life savings, and cannot afford her share.
2. She decides not to pay her share.
3. She does not adequately preserve the home.
4. Who covers major expenses..painting, appliances, furnace, etc? As I am the homeowner.
5. I cannot evict her if needed, as she is a senior citizen, living in my home, with no lease.
6. The potential financial burden in case of a catastrophic loss or my inability to quickly sell the home at the end.

A side note....she would like to remain in the house, but acknowledges that the yearly expenses are too costly to do so without help. I understand his desire to accommodate her request to stay in the house, but, I think it is unreasonable to burden me with this very generous agreement.

My suggestion: sell her the house at a discounted rate and provide her with three years of expenses.....or....give her lifetime use of the home, at her total expense, and the house reverts to me upon her death or abandonment.

Desperately need some advice.


texts: What will a Judge do if a witness refers to an event previously stricken from the record? (USA)

texts:
Some context. Suppose the prosecutor enters into evidence body camera footage from a police officer. On the tape, the suspect makes a lewd remark, and another officer offers a witty comeback. The jury laughs.

The defense objects, arguing the part from the lewd comment is not relevant, and the judge agrees, and strikes the offending material from the record, which is the lewd comment, and comeback.

The next day, the officer who made the comeback testifies, having been absent the first day. When asked to identify which officer he was on the tape, the officer repeats his witty comeback, not knowing that the jury is supposed to be forgetting that part.

What happens now?

Does the judge prod the questioning attorney/witness to phrase/answer the question in such a way to avoid the stricken material?

Does the judge reverse her/his earlier ruling, arguing that if a witness needs to refer to the event, then it is relevant?

Or does the judge do something else entirely?


texts: Can your business have the same initials as a major corporation?

texts: By coincidence, if my company was “Internal brilliance method”(I just made that up) could IBM(international business machines) sue me over trademark infringement? In different industries different look, would they have a solid case?


texts: Are galvanized pipes allowed in residential water delivery pipes in NYC?

texts:
Some residential properties in New York City still have galvanized pipes for the inlet water line.  Since heavy metals from the galvanization can leach into the water, this kind of pipe is no longer specified as an allow building materials according to NYC plumbing code.

§ PC 605 does not specify an allowance for galvanized parts, in
piping, fitting or joints.
$ PC 605.3 has a table that does not specify galvanization as an allowed material.  This is in context to [the containing] Section 6, which regards Water Supply and Distribution.
§ PC 702 does allow galvanization in
drainage.
All other usages in this doc deal with non-water systems, or non-inflows.

But in the plumbing code I cannot find a clause section for grandfathering existing galvanized piping.

Does a grandfathing clause exist in a superseding city code or law?
Where might I find the change in law that first disallowed galvanized pipes in this usage? (Wherein may also have been specified how to handle existing installations)


texts: Is it illegal to misinform someone about the terms of a contract

texts:
I have been in a number of discussions, which the other party described the contract terms verbally in a way to convince me to proceed with the contract. I want to ask if this is not fraud, and how to handle such situations. To clarify the point, what I mean is for one of the parties to state a definition of the terms which is not the same as the intuitive meaning of the definition of the content.

An example would be a number of intellectual property contents I have seen recently. On one occasion, the HR contact told me in email that they forwarded my concerns to the corporate attorney. The person then replied inline to comments stating that the content is meant to protect the information they shared with me. Given that I was not about to work on a research and development effort, this seemed like a lie to me. Can an organization, or an attorney be liable for such action. Given that the email did not contain the person's name, I would imagine this action is not ok at some level; but how illegal is it? And what would happen if such a signed contract is used to force someone to comply? Can a non-attorney claim that they were lied to, and produce the email in support of it?

This is probably an area, which I like to learn more about. That is interpretation of a content. I think is an strength in the legal profession, and I would greatly appreciate any content or keywords you can suggest to me.


texts: Landlord never asked for key back, now saying he will deduct from damage deposit cost of changing locks

texts:
I lived in a shared house but had my own individual lease. I moved out last month. The landlord knew when I was moving out and I sent him a message confirming I had moved out and provided my new address. He never replied but almost 3 weeks latter he contacts me asking for the key to the front door. I can’t recall what I did with it. I may still have it. I was under the impression we would meet to inspect the place to get my damage deposit back. Now he’s saying that he will deduct the cost of changing the locks if I don’t return the key by tomorrow.

This is ridiculous as clearly it hasn’t been an issue for two weeks and in theory I could have made a copy if I wanted to sneak back in anyway.

To my understanding where I live it’s the landlords responsibility to make time to do a move out inspection. I took pictures of the place to ensure I have evidence no damage was done. Also the landlord failed to do a written report on the move in inspection.
Does the landlord have anything on me? Can he charge me for not returning the key? What if I find it latter?

From https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/ending-a-tenancy/moving-out

  It’s the landlord’s responsibility to schedule the condition
  inspection (or “walk-through”)

What should I reply to the landlord?


texts: Is it legal to have a opt-out of marketing emails checkbox under GDPR?

texts:
As soon as GDPR came into effect I noticed all of the registration forms suddenly changed all of their e-mail marketing checkboxes (all of the "Send Newsletters", etc.) from the previous opt-out or by-default-clicked opt-in checkboxes to something where the user actually has to physically click the box to receive any e-mails. This led me to believe the previous practice was outlawed by GDPR.

But was it? I still sometimes rarely find a form that requires user action to unclick newsletter during registration and I wonder if what their doing is illegal, they are just being sneaky about it.


texts: Can I use the government's seals and logos without its permission?

texts:
Is it permissible to use a governmental seal for editorial purposes in a magazine?
For example, in a news story about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, could I use ATF's logo to accompany the story?


texts: Is it legal to flee the scene of an accident to get help?

texts:
Let's say that I'm in an car accident in which the driver of the other vehicle is injured.  I originally stop to render aid and do what little I can to help the other driver, but they appear to have suffered serious injury and I'm afraid to attempt to render further aid for fear I may cause more harm then good.

The accident happened in the middle of the night on a remote mountain road where there are no witnesses, and I currently don't have cell phone reception.  If I were to get into my vehicle and drive away in hopes of finding either an residence with a landline or a location where I have sufficient reception to call for an ambulance would I still be guilty of fleeing the scene?

Does it matter that I first stopped to render aid before leaving?  Would it matter rather or not I return to the original scene of the accident after calling for help?

I'm looking for US perspective.  I'm in Maryland if specific jurisdiction matters.


texts: What is the concept of by enforcing the law a person cannot be forced to break the law called?

texts:
I remember long ago I was watching one of those judge Judy type shows and an interesting case came up. Two roommates came to court because they had a valid rent agreement but the one housemate was smoking marijuana. The other one left the house and refused to pay his part of the rent for which he got sued.

The jist of the ruling was that if the judge enforced this valid rent agreement, he would force the defendant to be an accomplice to drug usage. If he would then fail a drug test his chance at gainful employment would be greatly diminished which would also be unfair to him.

It was a loophole and he found it. The judge remarking that if you want your roommate to pay his rent, don't do drugs. I would love to know what that legal principle is called.


texts: Protecting myself against my future self

texts:
There is always a grey zone between being 100% mentally operational and the beginning of, say, age-related dementia.

Before a physician can declare that someone is not able to make clear, rational decisions anymore, there is always a more subtle decline that affects e.g. one's ability to manage money and properties, and often the decision to place someone's finances under supervision/trusteeship requires their mental state to be quite degraded. Before that happens, a senior is sometimes susceptible to suggestion by unscrupulous people and/or family members, or may simply make gross mistakes.

Is there any process, in any country, through which one can make a decision that they cannot undo later?

A (theoretical!) example: if I decided to disinherit my child because they've been really, really awful, is there any way to protect myself from, say, them convincing me to undo my decision when I'm older and emotionally more vulnerable (especially if there's nobody else to control whether I am being influenced by other people)?

Another example with an imaginary horrible heir: could I specify, while I'm mentally OK, that I want to spend my money going into private retirement home XXX rather than public retirement home YYY, even if it is more pricey and my child tries to "force me" to go to YYY because they would inherit more money this way?

I'm curious to know if there is such a thing as a "non-modifiable will".


texts: Before the 13th Amendment, could people sell themselves into slavery in the USA?

texts:
Classical (non-racial) systems of slavery in Western civilization, such as Greco-Roman, Celtic, etc. typically included provisions for selling oneself into slavery. This might be as a way to escape crushing debt, or done as a matter of honor to serve a benefactor. These methods existed in addition to other ways that one might become a slave, such as being taken as a Prisoner Of War or being convicted of certain criminal offenses.

Did this principle apply, at least in theory, to slavery as practiced in the USA before the Thirteenth Amendment? I recognize that there were debt-based servitude arrangements not amounting to total, lifetime enslavement (e.g. Indentured Servitude) that were used primarily by white immigrants, but was legally enslaving a free, willing US resident or immigrant legally impossible by any means or was this simply something that was not done for social or practical reasons?

If "The United States" is too broad for such an analysis, we can limit ourselves to the state of Virginia, which had some of the earliest legislation surrounding the "peculiar institution".

For the purposes of this question, colonial-era law (pre-independence) may count.

This question has nothing to do with unlawful human trafficking, nor does it have anything to do with BDSM-culture "slave contracts" and similar phenomena.


texts: What are the rights of the client when buying online and receiving a broken product?

texts:
I live in Brazil and I bought an electronic product online and it came broken.
I contact the guaranty, but they said that the guaranty is not valid, because the product is broken. The store that sold me the product doesn't want to give back my money, because they said to me to contact the guaranty.

What can I do in this case?

I wrote a complaint at PROCON, but I it didn't work. I wrote a complaint at Reclame Aqui too (Brazilian site that contains many complaints and problems about stores), but it didn't work either.

I'm going to search JEC (Juizado Especial Cível) now. We don't need to hire a lawyer for that small causes and I think they can help me to get my rights.


texts: Do I need to include the full text of the MIT license in the UI of my app?

texts:
We're using an open-source software library which is distributed under the MIT license. The key line of the license is as follows:

  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

I know that if we were to use their source code in our app, and/or if our app was open-source, we would need to include the MIT license text file along with the source code we got from them.

However, our app does not use their source code. Our app uses the pre-compiled version of their library, and our sources are not available outside our company. Do we need to provide a way for the end user to read the full text of the MIT license?


texts: What is the justification for curfew laws?

texts:
It's Halloween, and some municipalities are creating curfew laws intended to prevent people under 18 from being in public during the late night hours, for example South Brunswick, NJ.

It seems like this apparently common sort of ordinance could be considered unconstitutional on multiple grounds, in that it is restricting free movement as well as targeting only a specific demographic.

Here is the actual text of one such ordinance.

So here are my questions:

Are this and similar ordinances constitutionally valid?
What defenses could a government make if challenged? Further, based on precedent, would they likely be successful?


texts:
This question is purely theoretical, I promise.

Let's say a person signed a Non-Disclosure agreement under certain terms, and then, somehow, they witnessed an illegal act but were forbidden to report it to the police by the agreement. If they reported the act, could the other party of the NDA take legal action?

The general question is, when, if ever, is a person legally protected to reveal information directly violating an NDA?


texts:
My partner recently started trying to sell her crafts through Facebook and through a website (that i am in charge of), she hasn't sold much but it has only being going a month, so we weren't expecting anything spectacular!

A few days ago an 'internet celebrity' posted a picture of her daughter wearing one of our items (because we had sent her one as a gift) and we have been getting a lot more interest (cannot complain), but as a result of this we received an email from a vaguely similarly named website asking us to stop selling immediately as it would be 'diluting' their brand and they were 'registered', but i cannot find any proof of this apart from a flashy website with their name 'copyrighted' (i didn't think you could copyright a name usually).

This has worried us and now we are having to look at trademarking and registering, all very expensive! (compared with the minimal income), we would obviously register with the 'Tax Man' but i think we have up to 3 months from starting to sell (and i wanted to see if this business was viable).

Please could i have some advice on what legally we need to do to prevent us from getting into 'hot water' as we are an honest couple just trying to make something out of nothing, and hopefully enjoy the journey!

Thank you in advance.

Andy

P.S. we are based in England.


texts: Is a software developer responsible for source code they give away for a tutorial

texts: If a software developer produces a YouTube video covering a programming subject as a tutorial and gives the code away at the end are they responsible for what someone does with the code? For example, if someone decides to use the code for a production purpose and the code does not perform as expected does the user of the code have any right to try and prosecute the developer of the code even though the page where the code was made available for download says it is available as is with no warranty?  Also, does the developer need to put that disclaimer on every source code page available for download?


texts: Can i create a software which can store doctor prescription?

texts:
I have developed a software which can store doctors prescription digitally. wondering if there would any legal complications on it. Any laws preventing that sort of software/practice in united states.

the user basically would manually re-enter what is in prescription into this app.


texts:
Florida HOAs are required to provide access to "written" request for HOA recrods.  The link states:

  Florida Statue 720.303 (5) states that official records must be
  maintained within the state for at least 7 years and be made available
  to parcel owners for inspection or photocopying within 45 miles of the
  community or within the county in which the association is located
  within 10 business days after receipt by the board or its designee of
  a written request.

The statue indicates conditions willfull miscompliance:

  (a) The failure of an association to provide access to the records
  within 10 business days after receipt of a written request submitted
  by certified mail, return receipt requested, creates a rebuttable
  presumption that the association willfully failed to comply with this
  subsection.

If an email request for specific record receives a response from the association representative indicating that they will provide the record when they reopen their office (Florida is not under orders to close businesses), does the reply start the 10 day clock?

Assume access is not provide within 10 days of the reply to the email (which confirmed that original message has been received).

QUESTIONS:

Is the email reply (which confirm receipt of the request) enough to confirm miscompliance?
Does Florida Law recognize email as the equivalent of certified mail, when there is a reply to the email?
Does certified (snail) mail confer anything beyond proof of a message sent?

I would like to understand if it is necessary to send certified mail to "start the 10-day clock": or does Florida recognize a response to an email as the equivalent to certified mail.


texts: Does Evidence Have to be Legal in Both the State Where it is Created and Where It is Adjudicated?

texts:
Suppose Suzie in Alabama calls Bonnie in Arizona, and records the call without telling Bonnie. Alabama and Arizona are both one-party consent states, so this recording is legal.

Suppose that for some reason, this phone recording becomes a critical piece of evidence in a case that is being heard in California. California is a two-party consent state, so it would have been illegal to make the recording there. But since the recording wasn't made in California, would the California court allow it to be used?


texts:
Let's start with person A.

Person A wants to write a will leaving "everything" to their partner, person B. They are not married, or in a legal partnership of any kind.

Person A would prefer that their only sibling inherit nothing.

And that a child born out of wedlock, but acknowledged on their birth certificate (foreign, but not UK) , living overseas, receives a share, despite the will, as a gesture, stating that person B inherit "everything".

Given the will, does person A's sibling have any claim? Their child?


texts: Can I host copyrighted content until I get a DMCA notice?

texts:
The content is subtitles in my case. Can I host it until I get a DMCA notice? Or can I not even host it?
Can copyright holders cause trouble without first filing a DMCA notice?
Most creators wouldn't care about subtitles, this is to handle odd cases where they do.
Edit:
The subtitles are generated using AI/ML for movies that do not have any.
This seems to be relevant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fansub#Legal_and_ethical_issues


texts: Why are the promises President Trump made on the travel ban not relevant to determine whether the executive order itself is constitutional?

texts:
Today (26th of June 2018), the SCOTUS decided that the Sept. 2017 Executive Order banning travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States (the "Travel Ban") does not violate the 1st Amendment of the US constitution. Notably, the SCOTUS declared that the campaign promises that the President made during his campaign rallies of banning all Muslims from entering the country (paraphrasing here) should not be taken into account when deciding whether this order is violating the 1st Amendment.

As someone who doesn't live in the USA and isn't a constitutional lawyer, I don't really understand that. If I say "I'm going to kill the guy who slept with my wife" and 3 days later I jump out from behind a tree and kill him, that's considered premeditation, which increases the severity of the murder charge. However, if the President says "I'm going to ban all Muslims" and then a year or so later does something to that effect, why is it not taken into account?


texts: Are my tenants entitled to stay beyond their lease period on a month-to-month basis or are they required to leave by the last day in their lease term?

texts:
This is for the state of Colorado.

My current tenants' lease expires on 6/30/2016. I informed them on 4/20/2016 that I was planning to sell the house, but that the terms of their lease would not be affected unless they wanted to move out early, which I even offered them money for doing so.

Since then, they have been very difficult regarding granting me access to the property in order to assess/plan renovations before listing it. They have also asked to use their security deposit as last month's rent to ease some of the financial strain of moving. Although I fully recognize this strain and can empathize 100%, I denied this request as I am aware of quite a bit of damage and unauthorized modifications that will require that security deposit to repair.

I have tried to contact them to see how the new-house-hunting was coming along and mostly to get a good sense that they will in fact be moving out on or before 6/30. Responses have been very vague and from the latest one, it does not sound like they have found a place yet and are planning to be out at the end of their lease.

Here is the language from the lease regarding the matter:

  NOTICE TO QUIT AND HOLDOVER. At least 30 days prior to the expiration
  of the Agreement Term, Tenant shall provide Landlord with written
  notice of Tenant’s intention to vacate the Premises by the end of the
  Agreement Term. If such notice is not timely given, Tenant shall be
  liable for the rent due for the following month, if the Premises is
  not rented to another tenant. If Tenant continues in possession of the
  Premises after the expiration of the Agreement Term, Tenant shall be
  deemed a holdover tenant and the tenancy shall be month-to-month.
  During such holdover tenancy, the monthly rent shall be $3500 and all
  other terms and conditions of this Agreement shall remain in effect,
  and Tenant must provide Landlord with 30 days’ written notice of
  Tenant’s intention to vacate the Premises. Landlord may terminate a
  month-to-month tenancy by providing 30 days’ written notice to Tenant.

Edit
And here's how the term of the lease is defined:

  AGREEMENT TERM. The term of the Agreement begins on 07-01-2015, and it ends at 11:59 p.m. on 06-30-2016 (“Agreement Term”).

A couple questions:

was the notice I gave on 4/20/2016 sufficient for informing them that they would not be given the option to renew their lease and that they may not stay on a month-to-month basis either? or can they get away with claiming they were not given proper notice and and stay an extra month, requiring me to give 30 days notice to terminate their month-to-month stay?
the rental market here is seriously booming... and the "hot" season for selling is all but completely wound down for the year. I am having serious thoughts about aborting the plan to list the house for sale and continue renting. Even if I do continue to rent, I do not want to rent to the current tenants, as they have been quite deceitful/dishonest, broken many of the "house rules" and have not kept the house in an acceptable state of repair. Will this cause a problem since the reason I gave for them having to move out was my intention to sell the house? or am I free to change my mind at will?

Thank you all in advance for any wisdom/insight you may have to share.


texts: If a user of my site gives me info of a third party they claim to be affiliated with, am I allowed to contact that third party to check?

texts:
I am developing an app where a part of the on-boarding process requires users to enter the email / company name of the agency that they are affiliated with (the 3rd party). I need to confirm that they really are a member of this 3rd party agency, to prevent fraudulent use of my app.
Am I allowed to use the email / company name they enter, to contact this third party to ask if the user is a member?
If I am, what considerations would I need to make regarding GDPR (Europe) and general data protection?
I would already tell the user that I'd use this info to contact the third party.
Notes: This would be my system automatically contacting this third party, not me, myself.
Cheers


texts: Can a landlord ask me to see my luggage when moving in?

texts:
I am moving into a new home where landlord is living close by.
I paid the rent and when I was about to move in, I came to get the key and the landlord told me that I cannot get it because I did not bring the luggage with me.

The landlord told me that he cannot give me the key because he has to see my luggage. first. To me that sounded like a very weird request, but I had no choice but to except it. I would not get the keys otherwise.
I do not want to move in the exact day when the rent starts, but a bit later though.

What should I do in this case? This sounds very weird to me. I do want to have good relations with my landlord, but when I saw this I can't help but get suspicious that I will always have troubles with this landlord. Also is it even legal that my landlord is withholding the keys from me?

All this is happening in Germany, so German laws apply here.


texts: What are customary items for an hourly lawyer to bill?

texts:
This question presumes the hourly billing method and the lawyer's perspective. To avoid broadness, I restrict this question to the UK (but please advise whether I should remove this).

I already know of the following:

expenses incurred for a client's case (e.g.: fees for court, experts, and other lawyers; travelling)
meetings
reading, preparing, negotiating and working on notes and documents (e.g.: of meetings, of telephone calls and of proceedings)
research;
composing and receiving correspondence (e.g.: letters, faxes, email, telephone calls)
attending court or other formal proceedings, including waiting time;


texts: Could double jeopardy protect a murderer who bribed the judge and jury to be declared not guilty?

texts:
Assume the following hypothetical case: a well-known multi-billionaire is holding an event with lots of invitees, (so there is no doubt about his identity), then in front of many witnesses and live cameras takes out a gun and murders several people, while saying that he is of sane mind, and intended to do this because they annoyed him.
It seems like a clear-cut case, his guilt is beyond all reasonable doubt. But at the trial, he is declared not guilty. Everyone is horrified, but he goes free.
Much later it comes to evidence that the judge and jury received ludicrous sums of money, and disappeared in a country with no extradition treaty.
Can someone be protected by double jeopardy in such a case?


texts: Remotely (off-premises) recording my girlfriend's office via a WebRTC webcam chat service

texts:
My girlfriend A suspects her office is being searched for confidential information on a regular basis by a former colleague X who moved to a different department.

I am not going to act on this, so save yourselves from all the 'I am not a lawyer' phrases - this is purely to understand how people around the world would answer the following questions.

I ask her A to chat with an accomplice B (B is also being unwelcomedly frequented by the same person X) using a WebRTC video chat service for which their company firewalls do not auto-issue a fake TLS certificate for MITM-ing.
I join in on their chat room. They are both aware of and welcome my intentions.
I ask them to:

leave their web browser chat windows open all day long and also 'forget' to close them when they leave the office
hide their browser windows using a simple application

and remotely record all privacy violations by X in offices of A and B (again by complete consent of A and B) outside the company of X, A and B

in video
in audio.

Please state your country of workplace(s) and comment on which points listed above you think is within limits and also answer the below questions:

What could be done with the recordings?
If the recordings are not permissible as evidence, how else would you prove the wrongdoings by X?
In the worst case, how strong a legal defense would it be for A and B to

deny they were aware I was even there in the chat room with them or operated the WebRTC service
claim they cannot be held responsible for a third party's actions
claim they were not even aware their chats could be remotely recorded
claim they were just chatting because it was fun and saved them from leaving their desks

with concrete references to relatable lawsuits, news articles, legal cases and own experience.

Please assume there is no-one in the company of X, A and B that would believe A and B over X! So contacting people in the same company is a losing bet.


texts: Is online gambling illegal in the United States?

texts:
In the case of United States v. Scheinberg, against the founders
  of the three largest online poker companies, PokerStars, Full Tilt
  Poker and Cereus (Absolute Poker/Ultimatebet), and a handful of their
  associates, which alleges that the defendants violated the Unlawful
  Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and engaged in bank fraud
  and money laundering in order to process transfers to and from their
  customers.

Does this mean that gambling online is illegal in the United States?


texts: Speed bumps on public ways illegal in Massachusetts?

texts:
I had the recollection that it was illegal in Massachusetts to have speed bumps in public ways, however, on searching the laws today I could find no statute to that effect.

Is there such statute? Am I misremembering it? Was there once such a statute and now it has been removed?


texts: Consumer protection laws regarding products never delivering promised features

texts:
Note: this is not about any specific product, but a general pattern that I've observed.
It's alarmingly common, especially with tech-related products, to over-promise and under-deliver. Consumers buy products based on either:

A feature which is promised to be available in the near future (and subsequently never added), or
A feature which is supposedly available now but for some reasons not functioning properly/at all (and never fixed by the manufacturer).

What connects these two is that consumers pay for something which ultimately doesn't work. I saw the former with Apple HomeKit capability in smart-home devices, and the later with "smart" TVs.
I would like to deliberately exclude here a case where some feature is misleading/misunderstood like Tesla's FSD, as this seems completely different (feature is present and working, but its capabilities are over-advertised).

The question here is: what protection do consumers have in such situations?
Does consumer have any legal ground to challenge the manufacturer?
Logically products which were in use for months cannot be returned to a distributor, nor should the distributor be responsible for the manufacturer's under-delivery.


texts: How can I have legal employees under an LLC without paying them?

texts: I'm currently a college student (US) for computer science and a few of my friends and I are going to develop a few games for PS4, Wii U, 3DS, and possibly soon the Switch. We're all fine developing these games for free, at least until we get a couple games released to bring in some profit, but we want to do it legally under a business. It's kind of iffy with the NDAs for gaming companies like Nintendo, Sony, etc to sign separate NDAs as individuals and work together (not to mention tricky to accomplish). I was going to make an LLC that we could all work under, but it's obviously not that easy. From my research I've found that I would need worker's compensation insurance and I'd obviously have to pay the employees. Is there any way to have like minded people working without pay under a single legal entity?


texts: Why are "over-the-air" TV channels considered more important to regulate compared to cable and satellite TV?

texts:
I've always heard this legal talk about "over-the-air" television. That is, TV channels that you get into your TV through having a once-ordinary (not sure people still have such things at all) antenna, either inside on the TV or outside on top of your house, which picks up "normal radio signals".

Basically, these TV channels seem to be much more regulated and a much bigger "deal" in most places compared to "satellite TV" and "cable TV".

Why?

As I understand it, "satellite TV" is just like an antenna except the signal comes from a satellite in space rather than a tower standing on the ground. So maybe I can understand that, but still, you need a decoder to decode the signal, and that decoder has to be sold and owned by the person viewing satellite TV, so why not include that in the law?

Why specifically "over the air" TV? Is it because it's always unencrypted/unscrambled? (I'm not even sure that's always the case...)

In the case of cable TV, I assume that this means that you physically have a cable going under the ground all the way from the broadcasting station to your TV. Why is this less "regulated" than over-the-air TV? Seems to me as if cable TV is even worse than over-the-air TV in terms of requiring the local authorities' blessing, since you need to dig down cables and still use a decoder (maybe). Whereas over-the-air TV is literally invisible radio signals requiring no digging of any cables whatsoever.

This has always confused me both on a legislative and philosophical level. Please explain.


texts: In Oregon what is the statute of limitations on legal action regarding a residential seller's failure to disclose?

texts: My house in Oregon had water intrusion this winter. We later learned from a neighbor that this had happened several times to the previous owner who never told us anything about this. We are wondering if there is any basis for legal action, since we bought the house three years ago.


texts: What state is the most friendly to consumers of long term care insurance?

texts:
Some states in the U.S. allow for the insurance company to raise the premiums on insured customers.  Which states are the most consumer-friendly for long-term care insurance?

By consumer-friendly, I mean "overall favorable to the insured."  Some states allow large premium rate hikes to happen immediately.  Some states offer market-protection that gives consumers excellent options to lock in an affordable rate.


texts: Buying a house that is in violation of a local setback ordinance?

texts:
I am in the process of purchasing a house in Ohio. It has passed inspection/appraisal and we were waiting for closing. The title company ordered a land survey and it was found that the house is over a building line setback by about a foot. The sellers claim they did not know about the encroachment and the house has been sold several times since it was built without issue.

My question is two fold:

What can the sellers do to remedy this and how long would that process take?
If I decide to take possession of this home what kind of risk am I opening myself up to?

Finally, if the answer is to confer with a lawyer on this, what should I be looking for? My understanding is that there are lawyers that specialize in property issues. I am just unsure what to plug into google to get what I am looking for.


texts: Is it possible and how to get all the information on a corporation in Canada, BC

texts:
There is a super long story of how we ended up in this situation (in fact too long to describe here), but at the end of the day, one of the contractors who started doing renovations in our apartment caused a lot of damages and disappeared without even returning a deposit.

After many months, the insurance company decided not to pursue them and we are currently on our own on this case.

My question is, is it possible and how to get all the information regarding the subject company?
All I have right now is business number, corporation name, and potentially the address.
I want to figure out is:

who are all the owners, partners, etc...
What are their assets if any?

That is for the start.


texts: Husband and his parents causing problems for a family member. Options?

texts:
Before I go see a lawyer regarding this I want to know what her options are. This is regarding a family member of mine. Her husband (and his parents) start arguments over small things. All 3 of them gang up on her accuse her doing things that she's not doing. They are basically mentally torturing her. Also they keep track of her (everything that she does), and this prevents her from getting any help. I know all this because she pulled me aside at a large family event and told me all this. They all live together in one house and my family member has 2 children.

They keep track of all phone calls from the cell phone and home phone. The parents don't work so they are always home. They don't like her talking to anyone, and so she's trying to respect their wishes and doesn't call anyone in the family, and she has no friends. Because of their over-controlling nature she doesn't work.

This has been going on for over a year or two. What legal recourse does she have? Is what they are doing to her a criminal offense? As far as I know the husband hasn't hit her, so it's can't be a domestic violence case. But can mental torture count as something? And even though she is respecting their wishes of not talking to anyone, can that count as being held against her wishes?

She wants to make it work because our families are very traditional and divorce is considered very taboo. I don't think at this point she will ask for a divorce, so I'm wondering what other options are there. I told her to call the police the next time they do it and file a complaint. But how far can that go? I know very little about law, but I'm aware laws can vary by state, but for now I want to leave that out.

Thanks


texts: Corporation files ch. 7 but wholly-owned subsidiary LLC does not file - how does this happen?

texts:
I have an interesting situation. I’m a customer of a US corporation through its wholly-owned LLC subsidiary (one of several). The entire corporation (including the subsidiarys) shut down operations and the parent corporation filed chapter 7 bankruptcy a few weeks ago. However, the subsidiary LLCs have not (yet) filed bankruptcy.

I am a small creditor of the subsidiary and I personally don’t expect to see any money in any case but I’m just trying to understand how this works. I know there are many creditors of the LLCs who are left hanging. The LLCs seem to have just disappeared. The US trustee for the parent corporation bankruptcy has announced that we are not creditors in that case.

Can anyone provide any insight into how this works or any speculation as to what will happen?


texts: My boyfriend and I have a long-distance relationship for a while now. I visit him in Japan, and he visits me in New York, but we are separated by a huge distance. I want to propose to him so he can live with me here in New York. My question is, if I marry him, what happens with his status? Does he become an illegal immigrant after his visa expires, or does he obtain legal "residency" status in the US?


texts: Rights of access to a landlocked plot - le droit de désenclavement

texts:
I have a question about Rights of Access in France.

I've read that landlocked land can be accessed via 'the shortest possible route' but I'm not clear whether that always means 'shortest distance to public highway', or whether it can mean 'shortest distance from another (non-adjacent) parcel of land under the same ownership'.

Any thoughts?


texts: Was it illegal for Nancy Pelosi to tear up her copy of the State of the Union address?

texts: President Trump has claimed it was illegal for Nancy Pelosi to tear up her copy of his State of the Union address, as it was an official document. Is there any law stating that it is illegal to tear up official documents, and does this qualify under that law as an official document?


texts: False written accusations not made public - is there law to cover this?

texts:
If a person makes a false accusation against me in written, but not a published form, such as email, is there a legal process I can enact which would force the accusing party to either retract the claim or prove it?

posting using a dummy account to protect myself and all concerned.

Background.

As the DPO in my company, I'm handling the SAR of a former employee. It is a sensitive subject, as the employee has started process against the company against their treatment during their employment. To ensure data privacy, I've been in contact with the person by email to ensure they understand their rights under GDPR and explain why some data regarding other people is being redacted from the information requested.

In response, the person has insinuated that the information they received has been edited in a way which harms his defence in his case against the company. If this insinuation becomes an actual accusation, what legal recourse do I have on this?

If the accusation is printed publicly, libel laws would come into force. Since it is not public, I'm not sure if I am protected by law from this outright lie.


texts: Is it legal to rent exclusively to members of a religious college?

texts:
According to the Civil Rights act, one is not allowed to discriminate based on religion when it comes to housing.

What about one who wants to rent only to members of a certain religious institution (such as students in a religious seminary).


texts: Special leniency conditions for a U.S. female spouse residing abroad with children or pregnant to bring her foreign male spouse into the U.S.?

texts:
Are there any leniency conditions for a U.S. female spouse(U.S. citizen) under the following condition to bring her foreign male spouse into the U.S.?

Conditions

Currently residing in the foreign country
Does not have a job in the U.S. or anywhere else.
Either pregnant or has a child/children.

So basically she is in a condition where having a job is nearly impossible due to either pregnancy or children.

As far as I could search for, the U.S. citizen has to either

prove 125% of the poverty line income(depends on the State?)
or
prove 5 times of the 125% of the poverty line income in cash or real estate value.

How would a pregnant woman or a mum bring her husband into the U.S. ?


texts: Could a webpage about a fictional character, that reveals no detail about said character, be considered fair use?

texts:
It is my understanding that since fictional characters generally belong to copyrighted works, revealing details about a fictional character on a for-profit website falls outside of fair use and makes the site owner vulnerable to a lawsuit.

My question is, would it be considered fair use to have a page for a fictional character, where no details are listed other than the character's name? The point would be for users to simply rate the character.

One concern I have is that perhaps the name itself could be considered "details" of the work, and therefore might not fall under fair use.

Important: Pages may also have a user-added image of the character. I profit by selling adspace through AdSense.


texts: If a law or state constitution is struck down as unconstitutional, is there an obligation for the legislature to repeal it?

texts:
When a court strikes down a federal/state law or state constitution as unconstitutional, can the legislature just leave that unconstitutional provision on the statute book as long as the executive does not enforce it, or is there an obligation to repeal the unconstitutional provision? I have been reading US state constitutions recently and noticed many have provisions barring same-sex marriage, which are obviously unenforceable following the Supreme Court decisions on the matter.  Can the states just leave these provisions in their constitutions indefinitely
?


texts: Must I pay counter claim award if less than original claim award?

texts:
I won a claim in small claims for $2405. The defendant submitted a counter-claim and won $205. I received two separate letters in the mail, one for each claim.

Must I send the $205 to her for the counter-claim regardless of whether she pays the $2405? If she owes me money, why would I pay her?

Information for the jurisdiction of San Francisco, California is most desirable.


texts: Can an Indian Deemed to be University suppress the fundamental rights of a student?

texts:
I am pursuing a BTech mechanical degree from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. I will point out  the rules here:

-Students cannot go out of the campus for first three months.
-Only handshakes are permitted between opposite sexes inside the campus.
-Students have to take permission of a 'proctor'(mentor) before exiting campus.
-Even if they permit to go out, it is for just 4 hours on week days, 6 hours for weekends. For girls, it is even worser, they are required to call their parents to talk with the proctor before going out.

Student unions are strictly dealt with by the management, they expel any students who rebel against the rules. A student was expelled just for taking a survey about the rules there.

Is their practice acceptable by the law?

PS: I am new here, sorry if I posted at the wrong place


texts: Does an email constitute a binding contract with regard to LLC Ownership Transfer?

texts:
I'm one of three cofounders of an LLC incorporated in Delaware. The LLC is very much a startup and has not been profitable nor has any assets. Because of lack of sales, one of our founders told us that he didn't want to continue working on the business and we parted ways. It was very informal, and we didn't go through the process of getting him off the LLC.

Later, the other remaining founder and I started working with a friend and wanted to bring him into the company as a replacement for the founder who left. We began a long chain of emails with my friend and the ex-founder and eventually agreed to pay a certain price for 1/3 of the company. The conversation ended by him accepting our price in exchange for a transfer of 33% ownership of the LLC. We told him next steps were we would set up a time to meet, sign the necessary documents and transfer the money.

About a week after that, the business lost our most valuable account whom was responsible for ~90% of the sales. That combined with some other factors led to my friend deciding that he didn't want to pursue ownership in the company and walked away from the potential transfer. The ex-founder is understandably upset, considering he thought he was about to get a nice payday from this and is now threatening legal action against us. I'm assuming he means to file a civil lawsuit to get the agreed upon sum for his shares of the company.

I'm wondering if he actually has a case here. Are we legally obligated to pay him and force the LLC transfer even though we no longer want it? No documents signed or filed and no money has been exchanged. I have read that in certain situations, email correspondence CAN BE interpreted as a binding legal contract. I'm unsure if that applies to this situation. Interested to hear what you all think. Thanks!


texts: What bar ethics restrictions are there on lawyers commenting on current legal cases?

texts:
In the United States, what bar ethics restrictions are there on lawyers publicly commenting on ongoing legal cases in which they represent no parties?  Since different state bars might have different rules, my question could be expanded to:

In general, what are the restrictions?
Which states have the most extreme restrictions, and how do they differ from the general restrictions?
Which states have the most lax restrictions, and how do they differ from the general restrictions?

EDIT: At what point does an uninvolved lawyer's public commentary on a case constitute a legal opinion which, according to ethics rules, requires due diligence to be done by the uninvolved lawyer?  At what point does the due diligence needed become so great that it can only be done someone with access to non-public information, and thus the uninvolved lawyer is certainly violating ethic rules?  [NOTE: This isn't my understanding of bar ethics rules, but that of someone I'm arguing with.]


texts:
I know nothing about law (or economics) and have recently tried to understand (personal curiosity, not a homework) the basic laws concerning the separation of goods in case of divorce.
Scenario

Alice and Bob got married. Bob had absolutely no private property before the wedding and Alice has a private property of P dollars from her parents before the marriage.
During the first 15 years of their marriage, Bob and Alice worked hard and in between both of their income (and eventually the income from Alice's private properties), they manage to spare some money. With it this money, they bought together (under both of their names) an apartment for y dollars.
After buying this apartment Alice and Bob felt like they have enough goods and money to stop producing wealth. They diminish their income and increase their expenditure. In 5 years, they consumed the extra money they managed to spare together plus a ratio r of the private property P. As a consequence, at the term of these 5 years, Alice and Bob only have (1-r)P dollars and an apartment worth y dollars (assuming no loss/increase of value through time) left.

Question
Bob and Alice decide together to divorce!

Who gets what?
Does the answer to this first question depends on whether Bob and Alice's acquests were equal or higher than the value of the appartment (y) or not?

Simplifying assumptions
We will assume for simplicity that y > rP so that y + (1-r)P > P. In words, in between the appartment and what is left from Alice's private properties exceeds Alice's private properties before the wedding. We will also assume Alice and Bob are both residents of Canada!

My thoughts
I can think of two ways things may go.
First possibility
Alice must receive the private properties she had before the marriage plus half the acquests.

Alice gets P + (y-rP)/2
Bob gets (y-rP)/2

Second possibility
Alice gets back whatever is left from her private properties plus half of the appartment.

Alice gets (1-r)P + y/2
Bob gets y/2


texts: Is it Mandatory to have same Name ( Word-to-Word) on all your Identity Documents ( India)?

texts:
I have an issue with my PAN and Aadhar Card with both having Either Initial or Full Middle name difference. My Question Specifically is , when Government of India has taken pains to maintain Biometric and Eye Scans , specifically to provide each and every individual a seperate identity ,

Why do some government Organisation ( Like UAN ) mandate the name to be Exactly same ? ( Word to Word )
Is it illegal to have different names with minor difference ( e.g 1st letter of middle name on one PAN Card and Full Middle Name in Aadhar Card )
Why cant Organisation verify persons identity using e-aadhar or Biometric rather than Matching names  ?
Is there an Indian Penal Code who do not follow rules to verify Aadhar using government guidelines ?


texts: Are there legal obligations when giving rewards?

texts:
I have a website where i would like to offer an incentive for people to contribute content. Once you reach a predefined amount of content that has been approved and added to the site you can earn a reward. For example, submit 10 guides that get approved, you earn X amount of dollars toward your total earnings. Once you reach a threshold of say $20 you unlock the ability to claim the reward.

Is this ok to do or do i need to declare this somehow? If i just offer something like a paypal transfer of money is this considered employment?

If the above is true, would it be negated if i offered a gift card? For example, one you get to $20, you can claim a $20 amazon gift card. Being what they are a gift card is a gift. Of course in this case you must earn your gift, but is this a legal way to get around things?

I run this website as a hobby. These rewards will be coming from my own pocket and not a registered company.


texts: Do I have legal rights against a company that offered me a raise to not leave, and then promptly fired me after turning down the other offer?

texts:
I was just informed of this situation that occurred somewhere by a co-worker, and was wondering what the legal ramifications are (U.S. Law). To be clear, the scenario is as follows:

I tell my boss I've been offered a position at another company.
My boss later comes to me with a counter offer of a raise, if I choose to stay with them
I accept the counter offer, and inform the other company that I have chosen to stay with my current employer
After a week, my boss then informs me that I'm being let go, and that this should serve as a lesson to not mess with him.

For the above scenario, regarding U.S. law, do I hold any legal grounds against this? What options would I have to defend myself (and my family) from being blatantly told that I was fired because I was willing to accept another offer without some other counter-offer from my current employer?

  As for the chap this did happen to, I'm informed that he contacted the company who originally gave him the offer, and they were still willing to bring him on-board. So, yay (somewhat) happy ending to an otherwise terrifying situation. However, I'm specifically asking about the scenario in which he was forced to be unemployed for some period of time, while looking for another job (i.e., the other company no longer had the position open)


texts: Are lawyers allowed to come to agreements with opposing lawyers without the client's knowledge or consent?

texts:
Through his lawyer, a client asked for, and received a professional courtesy from the opposing side.

The opposing counsel had attached a condition to this professional courtesy that the client didn't know about (only the two lawyers discussed this matter). The client now finds the condition more of a "give up" than the original favor.

Is a lawyer allowed to make such a deal without consulting the client? And since it is a matter of professional courtesy as opposed to a legal right, does such a deal even have any meaning?