texts: Is a touch screen signature considered an electronic signature?

texts:
I am dealing with an entity that is insisting that I need to print out a document, sign it, and then scan the signed document to get it as a PDF. Initially, I had pulled the document up on my tablet, signed it on the screen with a stylus, and had sent it back, but they insist that this is an electronic signature and that they need a real one.

Is there any legal backing as to why they need a convuluted physical signature when they are not recieving the physical document? Does a signature on a touchscreen constitute an electronic signature? The touchscreen version is still my signature, and looks like my physical signature. It is my understanding that an electronic signature is a symbol of some sort from the computer, like when you type your name in a styalized way.

This is in the United States and is a FERPA disclosure form.


texts: Is someone employed by a Channel Islands based company covered by UK employment laws?

texts:
My wife is employed by a company based and registered in Guernsey. The company is also registered at Companies House (in the UK). I know generally the Channel Islands adopt UK laws, so is she covered by UK employment laws such as TUPE and those that govern things like statutory redundancy pay? Does it matter that they are also registered in the UK?

She is a UK citizen and resident. She works from home most of the time. When she does have to go into the office, it is their office in Bristol.


texts: Are bylaws required to be given First Reading as a minimum?

texts:
In Alberta, municipal bylaws must be given three readings before they can be enacted. Typically first reading is to introduce the bylaw, second is to consider any amendments, and third the final reading enacts the bylaw.

There have been occasions where a bylaw has been introduced, but the Council takes immediate issue with it and refuse to give it first reading. But if first reading is supposed to introduce the bylaw, how can the Council know they don't want to pass it without acknowledging they've at least read it?

If a new bylaw is introduced, are Council required to give it first reading so they can later discuss and debate it, or at least show in the minutes that they properly examined it?


texts: Do You Need a Permit to Cook Free Food on the Sidewalk?

texts: I'd like to open a food stand in Los Angeles to cook food for homeless people. Do I need a permit of some sort to cook food and give it away free of charge?


texts:
I live in PA and we recently completed a will. The lawyer who drafted our wills stated that my wife and I could witness each other's will. Because his office is small (two lawyers and a paralegal), there weren't enough witnesses to go around.

I searched on Google and it looks like PA doesn't require witnesses to a last will as long as the person signs at the end of the document? I assume he knows what he's doing since his practice does a lot of estate planning. Should I be worried that my wife and the lawyer signed as witnesses?


texts: Is it legal to open a museum of certain a brand?

texts:
My wife is a big fan of a certain toy company and has a huge collection. She is toying* with the idea of opening a small museum showcasing her collection.

Is it legal to name the museum "The [Toy-Company] Museum" ?

If the name is illegal, what about naming the museum something generic like "Retro childhood toys museum"  and showcasing an section devoted to this company? would this be legal?
(the section would be named using the company name)

Thanks!

* - pun intended


texts: Can I charge fees for teaching songs I do not own?

texts: I want to teach songs (the songs are around 1 - 25 years old) I do not own to private students online. My concern is that if I charge a fee for these classes, would it fall into an illegal activity?


texts: The "compact" in "Agreement or Compact" (U.S. Constitution): legal terminology

texts:
The word compact is used in the "Compact clause" of the Constitution of the United States: "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress [...] enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State [...]" (U.S. Constitution, article one, section 10, clause 3) and a few questions refer to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Is there case law discussing whether the Compact clause wording construes the compact as the equivalent of an agreement or something different and if so what does it essentially say?
Is the dictionary definition ("a formal agreement between two or more parties, states, etc.; contract", Dictionary.com) too precise or too generic to accurately represent what the compact is in article one, section 10, clause 3?
Is the word compact typical 18th century legal terminology in the U.S.?


texts:
We are running an online game server and use an automated system to detect cheaters. When a cheater gets banned a log will be saved containing the names of the algorithms that detected the cheater.
We also save a recording of the match the cheater has played. The recordings only consist of ingame coordinates.

It is not possible to identify a user only using the coordinates or anticheat logs, however the coordinates and anticheat logs are linked to the cheaters ingame username and unique id.

The EU-GDPR says that only up to 9 people are allowed to handle personal data (without a dedicated data protection commissioner). Are the recordings and anticheat logs personal data?


texts: is there any legal precedent for using Android GPS information to battle Traffic Citations?

texts:
While I'm still a novice Linux student, my travel time for work had increased dramatically in the last year as an IT installation tech. I've noticed a great deal of discrepancy between my GPS speed readout and the speedometer on my car. This has in general been a positive for me as I have some shall we say "rapid deployment issues" historically.

Since I drive a lot more, I've been working on changing my driving habits and on highways I often use cruise control. I'm wondering (with the understanding that Android version as well as software and software iteration concerns will effect the actual validity of the argument) has anyone tried introducing data from GPS software to battle traffic/moving violations in court? If so, in what states, and what have been the outcomes?

If this HASN'T happened yet, then I guess I better take this post down quickly and get my butt in gear learning to code:)

..but I would imagine that somewhere, there must be instances of this.

@bobbymobetta


texts: How did John Marshall utilise "the trick of first announcing a novel rule in a case in which he concludes that the rule does not apply?

texts:
Source: Richard A. Posner, How Judges Think (2008), pp. 363 Bottom - 364 Top.

  Yet without a secure constitutional basis, Barak created a degree of judicial power undreamt of by our most aggressive Supreme Court Justices. He puts Marshall, who did less with much more, in the shade. (He
  borrowed from Marshall the trick of first announcing a novel rule in a
  case in which he concludes that the rule does not apply, so that people
  get accustomed to the rule before it begins to bite them.) [emboldening mine] Among the
  rules of Israeli law that Barak's judicial opinions have been instrumental
  in creating are that any citizen can ask a court to block illegal action by a
  government official even if he is not personally affected by it (that is,

  even if he lacks "standing to sue" in the U.S. sense); that any government action that is "unreasonable" is illegal ("put simply, the executive
  must act reasonably, for an unreasonable act is an unlawful act"58); that a
  court can forbid the government to appoint an official who has commit-
  ted a crime, even though he has been pardoned, or is otherwise ethically
  challenged, and can order the dismissal of a cabinet minister because he
  faces criminal proceedings; that in the name of "human dignity" a court
  can order the government to alleviate homelessness and poverty;59 and
  that a court can countermand military orders, decide "whether to pre-
  vent the release of a terrorist within the framework of a political 'pack-
  age deal,'"60 and direct the government to move the security wall that
  keeps suicide bombers from entering Israel from the West Bank.61 These
  are powers that a nation could grant its judges. For example, many Euro-
  pean nations and even some U.S. states authorize "abstract" constitutional review—that is, judicial determination of a statute's constitution-
  ality without waiting for a suit by someone actually harmed by the
  statute. But only in Israel (as far as I know) do judges confer the power
  of abstract review on themselves, without benefit of a constitutional or
  legislative provision. One is reminded of Napoleon's taking the imperial
  crown out of the Pope's hands and crowning himself.

The emboldening hints to Malbury, right? But doesn't it misrepresent Marshall? Wikipedia outlines Marshall's answering 'yes' to these first 2 questions:

  Has the applicant a right to the commission he demands?
  If he has a right, and that right has been violated, do the laws of his country afford him a remedy?

Marshall bifurcates the original 3rd question:

  If they do afford him a remedy, is it a mandamus issuing from this court?

into

  He is entitled to the remedy for which he applies. This depends on:

  [3.]1. The nature of the writ applied for, and

  [3.]2. The power of this court.

Marshall answers 'yes' to 3.1, but not 3.2. The "novel rule" referred by Posner is:

  If, then, the Courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the Legislature, the Constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply.

But how's Marshall's announcing this rule a "trick"? Marshall can't be blamed for the Judiciary Act of 1789's unconstitutionality ? If it were constitutional, then Marshall's rule WOULD apply. Thus this trick doesn't depend on Marshall.


texts: Can a litigant in person prepare the bundle?

texts:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/practice_directions/pd_part_27a

Responsibility for the preparation of the bundle
3.1
A bundle for the use of the court at the hearing shall be provided by the party in the position of applicant at the hearing (or, if there are cross-applications, by the party whose application was first in time) or, if that person is a litigant in person, by the first listed respondent who is not a litigant in person.

I'm the applicant litigant in person and previously the solicitors of the respondent have breached the protocol. I have brought that to the attention of the Court and also reported the issue to the SRA (Solicitor Conduct Authority).
The most recent Court order says:

The Applicant's solicitor to prepare the hearing bundle for the next hearing.

I do not have a solicitor.
I would like to know if the Court order has more importance than the Practice Direction and as a litigant in person, can prepare the bundle myself?


texts: Do I Owe the Apartment Admin Fee if I don't Sign the Lease

texts: I applied (I didn't actually fill in every field, but they still performed a background check) to an apartment where they charge both an administrative fee and application fee. I decided to sign a lease with a different apartment and consequently didn't sign one with the apartment that charges both administrative and application fees. The apartment is asking me to pay both fees, but won't tell me what the administrative fee covers that the application fee doesn't. Additionally, I was told that I could pay electronically, but once they realized I'm not signing a lease they will only accept a money order or check. I haven't paid either fee yet, but the apartment manager said he will contact a collections agency if this isn't taken care of within 30 days. Do I owe the administrative fee? This is in Texas, United States. Thanks!


texts:
When looking at Wikimedia, they say they would forbid certain licenses.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Licensing#Well-known_licenses

They list the CC-BY-NC-ND and the CC-BY-ND-NC licenses seperately.
Why ? Is there a difference ?


texts: Do the Postmaster's actionsviolate 18 U.S. Code § 595. Interference by administrative employees of Federal, State, or Territorial Governments?

texts:
According to the US Code Title 18 Section 595:

Whoever, being a person employed in any administrative position by the United States, or by any department or agency thereof...uses his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

I'm not a legal expert, but as far as I can tell, Postmaster DeJoy is a person employed by the United States government, is using his official authority as leader of the USPS, for the purpose of affecting the 2020 presidential elections by reducing the capabilities of the USPS to process mail-in ballots. Am I missing something here, or are his actions indeed a violation of federal law?


texts: Why couldn't this character in 'Better Call Saul' be a paralegal or take a similar role?

texts:
In Season 3 of Better Call Saul,

   Jimmy McGill receives a one year suspension from the New Mexico Bar Association. During this time, he does various odd jobs but what he doesn't do is help his (romantic and law) partner, Kim Wexler, who is buried under a mountain of legal work.

Could this character have helped that person with the legal paperwork in the same capacity as a paralegal -- filing documents, proofreading, etc. could?  Or would the situation prevented them from doing this type of work?


texts: What are the historical reasons that France adopted civil rather than common law?

texts: The story I heard is that revolutionaries thought that judges were corrupt and thus should be left to interpret the law, and thus should closely follow codified rules. Is that historically accurate?


texts: Parody or Infringement? (United States of America)

texts:
I am struggling with the difference between these definitions.

Q: Is this a Parody or a Copyright Infringement?

In a proposed  pilot for a TV/Web show aimed at children for edutainment,  one of the characters sings a parody of a popular song. It will not be the full length of the original song, just a musical intro and 1 verse.

If this goes forward, there are plans for  song parodies in the episodes. Can the writer be sued successfully for doing this?

Does it matter if the production company is  a non-profit?

So, my question:
Is this a parody, covered under Fair Use, or does the show need to pay a licensing fee?

Since the song itself will be used in a video production, would this require a sync license?


texts:
Can a police officer authorize the sale of a pharmacy's drugs to a suspected criminal without paying for the drugs first?

Does this violate the United States or State Constitutions?


texts: How does paying income taxes work in the US?

texts: I don't have a well defined idea on how the tax system works in the US, the few things I know is that they are paid to the IRS every amount of time (yearly probably) that there's an interest/additional fine after retarding a payment and there's a difference between active and passive income (e.g salary or bank interests, but I know whether there's a distinction in terms of percentage imposing). How does it work for a normal working layman that is, for example, an employee? How often should he pay the IRS? Does he have to pay each month a portion of his salary in taxes or does he have to gather the money on a yearly basis in order to have the fixed percentage of his annual reported salary (which is the sum of the 12 monthly salaries)?


texts: Lawmakers and practicing medicine without a license

texts:
Again and again we see lawmakers pass laws (generally in the context of abortion) that direct doctors to provide medically incorrect information or engage in acts which are medically unsound, or to not provide medical information beneficial to the patient.

How is this not engaging in the practice of medicine?  Why are they not prosecuted for such behavior?


texts: Why US apostille is not valid for use in US?

texts:
I've got an apostille and bottom line says:
"...this apostille is not valid for use anywhere within the United States of America..."

What was the reason for this?

Is it applicable for all countries signed the "Apostille Convention" or just US?

upd: The document is a birth certificate. Apostille was done in Georgia US.


texts: Can a co-tenant sublet in LA without permission from other tenants?

texts: I am a co-tenant on a lease in LA. I want to sublet my room. My lease says a subletter can move in upon landlord approval, but it does not say anything about co-tenant approval.  I’d like to sublet to someone my co-tenant approves of, but I want to know if my co-tenant can obstruct me from subletting completely.


texts: When can a civilian refuse to assist a police officer?

texts:
Situation: recently, I was asked to open a locked apartment building (inside are tenant's apartments) by a police officer. I was standing outside of my apartment next door. I do have a key for that building and stated that I did but when he asked me to use it, I refused stating that I am not supposed to. He stated that I could be cited for refusing to assist him. He said he was there to talk to a sex offender. I did not ask if he had a warrant and he did not say he had one. I left after providing the contact info for the building's landlord.

After some googling I found that it is a crime to not assist an officer but it seems to be limited to when that officer is making an arrest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refusing_to_assist_a_police_officer#Colorado

Country: United States
State: Colorado
City: Denver

My Question: since the officer did not state he was making an arrest and did not provide a warrant, was I legally required to assist him in opening the door?

Side Note: the officer was nocking on several people's windows and even tried to jimmy the lock with one of his keys. I also looked at the sex offender registry afterwards and did not find anyone in that building or near by. He also asked for my name and apartment number and wrote them down. The situation seemed shady.


texts: Is it legal to avoid Google Play and Appstore 30% fees using a website?

texts:
I want to avoid google play and appstore 30% fees the following way:

1.I have a website which sells codes to unlock some app content.

2.Users enter the code inside an app to gain access to content.

3.There will be no links leading FROM the app to a website.

4.The content is a room quest: user scans printed QR codes to start interaction with game object(npc). Inside app are dialogs, inventory, profile and so on. So, it's somewhat mixed, but mostly digital product.

My questions are:

Since there are no purchase IN app, does it count as a InAppPurchase? :)

Is this legal?

If not, will I be catched? As far as I know, google play doesn't rely much on human checks rather than automated checks by neural networks. Apple, on the other hand, does check apps, but since there will be no references to a website (all users are gonna go from website to an app, not vice versa), what's a chance they will find a website itself?

What if I offer the same content inside apps at increased by 30% cost additionally? Will it make it legal?

Apple's official guidelines state that:

  If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by
  way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access
  to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app
  purchase. Apps may use in-app purchase currencies to enable customers
  to “tip” digital content providers in the app. Apps and their metadata
  may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that
  direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

So, no metadata, buttons, external links or calls to actions included.


texts: Legal consequences to asking questions about specific illegal activity?

texts:
Say I were to make a website that consisted of short survey like questionnaires. For the purpose of this question lets say 1 question per survey, 1 survey per page.

Can legal issues arise from asking specific "yes/no" type questions about illegal activity. The first thing that comes to mind is threat type questions. When i say specific I mean what if the question involved names, for example "Would you kill the president?" or "Would you kill Obama?". I wouldn't think this is inherently a threat from the askers point of view but the fact that you pointed out this person in particular seems sort of threatening. Would there be legal ramifications for asking that in a public forum.

What about repercussions for people who respond, keep in mind this would be primarily anonymous. I doubt any legal body would take the time to actually care about these types of things but if for some reason they wanted to persue it could the web host be forced to provide what ever details they do have on people who respond?

What if the question is no longer "would you" but "have you", insinuating this person has already committed a crime?

This is asked using the example of threat because that's the easiest for me to think of but I want this to cover any type of "yes/no" answer questions.


texts: What exactly triggers the condition of "being under arrest"

texts: The Chicago police used to (or perhaps still do) take detainees to a site at Homan Square, question them, take them a different police site and then arrest them.  Or at least that's what they claim.  Can a LEO actually move a detainee miles from the point of initial detainment without arresting them?  My intuition says that a LEO moving a detainee that far implicitly puts the detainee under arrest, even if the LEO doesn't make it official until later.


texts: Could an employee be fired as they are about to quit in order to pay them severance?

texts:
In series finale of The Office, Jim and Pam are about to quit their jobs in Scranton to move to Philadelphia.

As they are about to quit, their manager, Dwight, fires them, and tells them that they will be paid severance.

Assuming that their severance payments are provided for in their contract, is Dwight likely to be successful in terminating them in this manner in order to pay them severance? Would the company be likely to succeed in a suit for costs against Dwight?


texts: Why would someone get a fine when using a disabled parking space when the disabled person is not in the car?

texts:
An article in LA Times about someone parking on a disabled parking space without the disabled person being in the car:

  (...) I saw a woman pull into a disabled parking space and begin to
  exit her car.

  Two men in plain clothes flashed badges as they approached the car.
  One of them asked to see the registration slip that went with the
  disabled placard that hung from the driver’s rearview mirror.

  It turned out that the placard was in the name of her son, but he
  wasn’t in the car. So the officers confiscated the placard, which her
  son will have to reapply for, and wrote her a citation.

I have a hard time understanding how one can get a citation for this? My wife is disabled (in France, so the laws may vary) and I sometimes park, alone, in the disabled spot in order to bring her to the car (or wait for her to come).

The disabled parking space is there to help disabled people, when they arrive to the place, but also when they leave from it. Both do not always happen in sequence (I can drop someone off, or wait for someone to get to the car).

I would be ideally interested in a French (or EU) perspective (but still keeping it open as the article is from the US)


texts: Which EU-related jurisdictions in Americas apply the GDPR regulation?

texts:
According to some information, a person will need to be a resident in an EU country in order to be protected by the GDPR regulation.

Are there jurisdictions in North or South America where residency similarly conveys GDPR protection for EU citizens?


texts: GDPR - Is having a PDF with fields to fill out classed as data?

texts: I have a website which has a link to a PDF form which users can print out and fill in. I'm wondering if somewhere I need to a statement in my privacy policy which justifies this?


texts: Appointment and Elected Offices of an Assembly under Robert's Rules

texts:
In most assemblies following Robert's Rules, there are elected positions, such as members of the executive board, chair and vice-chair of the assembly and so forth.
Now for this question, assume that an organization has two assemblies. Call them assembly A and B. All members of assembly A are also members of assembly B by virtue of office. However, there are also members who are just members of assembly B.
Assume that a member, C, of assembly B is the elected chair of assembly B.
Before the next election of members to assembly A, a vacancy is created in Assembly A. Member C receives a vacancy appointment to A.

My question is:
Does C continue to be the chair of assembly B or does the assembly need to hold another election for chair?


texts: Why was an American who overstayed in Singapore not caned?

texts:
The US citizen Kamari Kenyada Charlton overstayed his visa while in Singapore. The law is that this shall "be punished with caning with not less than 3 strokes".
However, according to this story, he was jailed 18 months for his telephone scam and seems to not have received any punishment for overstaying. Why?
More background:

WSJ, "U.S. Man Faces Caning in Singapore", Oct 20 2010
WaPo, "U.S. citizen faces possible caning in Singapore", Oct 22 2010"
Gopalan Nair, "Singapore. One law for some and another for others. The case of American Kamari Kenyada Charlton", Feb 21, 2011

The caning punishment is regularly enforced for overstayers from poor Asian countries (and also any who aid such overstayers):

Channel News Asia, "Foreign inmate diagnosed with COVID-19 had arrived on Jan 10, sentenced to jail and caning on Jun 12 for overstaying", 20 Jun 2020 (Sri Lankan)
Yahoo News, "Vietnamese man who overstayed in Singapore for over 10 years gets jail, caning", 2 April 2019
The Straits Times, Indonesian gets two years' jail for attempt to sneak overstayer out of Singapore, Jul 8 2016
Today, Man convicted for helping Bangladeshi overstayer: ICA, 28 March 2017


texts: Where is Arizona's [and other states] timezone defined?

texts:
Where is the timezone defined for Arizona? Is it in the Arizona constitution? Is it in Arizona Revised Statutes? Is it in the United States constitution? Is it in the United States Code? Where is Arizona's timezones legally defined?

What about other states? What about other non-states, like Washington D.C., and reservations? Are there any laws governing timezones federally? Is every state legally required to establish a timezone? It the timezone based on UTC, GMT, or any other time standard? What is the history of legal timezone definitions? Do Indian reservations have to define a timezone?

EDIT: If federal law governs timezones, is it within their constitutional powers to do so, or could libertarians (or other party) argue otherwise? Could a state use their 10th ammendment rights (along with any other state rights) to override any federal law or standard?


texts:
I am having an Android App which uses certain service such as Analytics, Ad Networks.

I am taking the consent from the user at when the app starts, i.e. before collecting any info.

But there are some services that I need in order for the app to function properly without which my making app is of no use, such as Ad Networks.

If I mention in my privacy policy  that "If you want to revoke your consent then your right to continue using the service ceases", will this be a valid option to revoke the consent? Or is there anything wrong if the users has to delete the app from his phone to revoke his consent?


texts: Is marriage automatically cancelled for immigration violation?

texts: I met my husband in Laos when I was traveling there in 2017. We got married and he came to the U.S. K-1 visa  in 2018. He got his temporary green card in 2019, which is good for two years. In the year 2021 things didn’t work out between us, and we separated. I did not file an application for his green card extension, so his green card expired already. Now he’s technically on no visa and no green card. He’s going back to his country. Does this mean our marriage is automatically cancelled? Once he goes back to his country, he can’t come back because of this visa violation.


texts: Would showing code in a book which was written with a student or personal license not be allowed?

texts: I was writing a book which I'm considering publishing in the future, but I realized that there was some code I wanted to include that might be an issue.  I wrote it with a student license, so would including it in a book technically be commercial use?  The defense I think of with this is that in that case, would you not be allowed to use or show anything from any program for which you don't have a commercial license for?


texts: Stealing or obtaining ownership by fraud?

texts:
Scenario:

John Doe goes to a car dealership and arranges to buy a car.  He pays with a personal check, and the dealership accepts payment and signs over ownership to Mr. Doe.

Mr. Doe goes a few miles to another dealership and uses his authentic paperwork to sell the car for cash.  This new dealership in turn moves the car several hundred miles and resells it.  The car eventually winds up in the possession of Joe Smith, who has paid a local dealership for it..

Unfortunately, that personal check that John Doe wrote bounces.  The dealership contacts the police, who eventually trace the car to Joe Smith.

Can the dealership recover the car from Joe Smith on the basis that it was stolen property and no one else ever had ownership?  Or is their only claim one of fraud against John Doe, since they did sign over the ownership?

I would be most interested in the law in Canada, and major US states...


texts: Unscheduled exterminator attempted to enter my unit without notice or invitation

texts:
Yesterday there was a knock on my door and then I could hear my door being unlocked. Someone was attempting to enter my unit, he had keys so he unlocked the door and deadbolt, but I had the security latch on the door locked so he could only open the door an inch. I asked "Can I help you?" and he said he was an exterminator here about the roaches. I have none and have had no communication from my building about a roach problem and/or an exterminator visit. I told him he had the wrong apartment. He said he was spraying everyone, and I told him I didn't want it and he left.
Had I not had the latch in place and he did enter the apartment, I would like to know if his entry would have been a violation of my lease. My lease says:

14. Right of Access by Landlord. Tenant shall permit reasonable access to Landlord, and any of Landlord’s invitees, agents, or contractors, in accordance with local statues and ordinances, upon receiving 2 days’ notice by mail, telephone, written notice or other means designed in good faith to provide notice. Landlord shall have immediate access to the Premises in case of emergency and where repairs or maintenance elsewhere in the building unexpectedly require such access. Landlord shall give Tenant notice of such entry within two days after such entry.

For the bottom part, do imaginary roaches count as an emergency? Not sure if I should complain about this, if it's not a violation I'm at least irritated about it.


texts: If a doctor orders a Genome test from a patient

texts: Does a patient have the right to obtain any data collected from a genetic test in the state of California?


texts: What is the company structure that will effectively limit liability to the parent company, and not any of it's subdivisions?

texts:
I'm exploring different kinds of corporate structures. I'm in a unique situation where I have a very specialized construction industry but can operate under the blanket term "General contracting".

In my line of work I have a use for "masonry", "carpentry", and other trades. I would like to somehow create a parent company that can assume all liability while simultaneously providing insurance, and other benefits to the subdivisions.

So I'm thinking about it as a Parent company, with child companies owned by the parent company, I'd like to protect my "masons", and "carpenters" without having them be subcontractors.

Does anyone have any clue whether this can be done legally, or what type of similar corporate structure should I study?


texts: Would it be legal to eat cultured human meat?

texts:
A common trope in science fiction is that in the future meat is grown as a tissue culture in vats rather than as part of a living animal. This is obviously more humane as nothing with a brain has to be slaughtered.

This is now moving out of science fiction, with some laboratory demonstrations of vat-grown meat. At present this is very expensive, but the hope is that industrialisation will bring the price down to something comparable to in-vivo meat.

From this its an obvious small hop to the idea of growing human meat by starting with a small biopsy from a willing volunteer. Two works which include this are the short story The Food of the Gods by Arthur C. Clarke (in which a meat manufacturer reveals the dark secret of his competitor's hit product) and a passing reference to the "Morningside Cannibals" in Rule 34 by Charles Stross (in which the police had busted a group of friends who dined on cultured meat grown from each other, but then couldn't figure out what to charge them with).

So the question is: would it be legal to eat cultured human meat produced in this way? And if so, would it be legal to sell it?

I'm not including a jusridiction here, so feel free to describe the law anywhere.


texts: Do I require a UK casino operating licence to run a promotional tournament on my website?

texts:
I have for several years operated a website on which enthusiasts can play a niche boardgame against one another. The boardgame in question has recently been the subject of a Kickstarter campaign for a reprint with various bells and whistles; the company running the Kickstarter campaign, and marketing the new edition of the game, has got in touch with me asking me whether I would be willing to collaborate in promotional activities for the launch, to raise the profile of the new edition of the game among the site's userbase.

One of the proposed activities is a knockout tournament, the winner (or winner and some runners-up) of the tournament to receive prizes in the form of a copy of the Kickstarted product. There has been discussion of also giving a cash prize to the winner of the tournament, in addition to the copy of the game. I am unsure whether in order to run this activity I would require a UK "casino operating licence". I consulted this page and my concerns are primarily with the paragraph about halfway down the page, headed "Is the competition gaming?":

  If a skill competition involves "playing a game of chance", it will be
  gaming – and so require the appropriate licence, usually a casino
  operating licence –  whether or not any payment is involved. A game of
  chance includes a game involving elements of both chance and skill
  (and even if the chance element can be eliminated by superlative
  skill) other than a sport; it no longer matters whether there are any
  other participants. The key questions here are probably whether the
  competition involves "playing" a "game"; the pre-Gambling Act 2005
  case law is likely to be relevant in deciding this.

Details which may or may not be relevant:

The board game in question is primarily a game of skill, but does have elements of chance, in that (for example) card draws can affect a player's available moves. As such, it appears to fall under the definition of "playing a game of chance" as given in the quoted paragraph.
There is no charge for registering on the website or for playing games. There would be no charge for entering the tournament, if it were to go ahead.
I am the owner and operator of the website. I live and work in the UK and am a British citizen.
The website is a .com domain. It is registered through a US hosting provider, and hosted by the same company. I understand that the server is located in a US data centre.
The company that is running the Kickstarter campaign, and is paying for my time and would be paying for the tournament prizes were it to go ahead, is based in Canada.
The website is not a profit-making operation, but I am receiving compensation (on an informal basis) from the company for running promotional activities.
If a "casino operating licence" is indeed required, then the contest cannot go ahead, as even the lowest "fee category" detailed on this page is prohibitively expensive.


texts: Am I bound by "this letter is confidential" boilerplate?

texts:
In a lawsuit in the UK small claims court I've been sent an offer by the defendant's solicitor. I want to communicate this information to others who have the same claim. However at the bottom of the letter is a standard boilerplate text, obviously appended to every letter they send, saying that "This letter contains confidential information". They don't say anything else about confidentiality.

I never agreed to keep anything confidential, and in their letter they say they will tell the judge about this offer if I still insist on going to court. Am I bound to keep their offer confidential?

Edit Perhaps I should have said that this was an offer made "Without prejudice, save as to costs". It sounds like that has a bearing on the confidentiality, which I did not appreciate before.

Also, I am accepting their offer, so this won't get to Court.


texts:
(This is inspired by and a generalization of the firearms ownership question). Many laws in the US restrict acquisition or possession of a thing. One can have legal title to a physical thing whose possession is restricted in the person's jurisdiction, where the thing is located in a jurisdiction without the restriction. In that case, one would own the thing, but not be in possession of it in the restricted jurisdiction.

I have never seen any US law that specifically restricts ownership, and I suspect that there are none (possibly for constitutional reasons). Is it a fact that there are no such laws? (If there are any such laws, what interests me is whether "ownership" can be construed as an "act"). [An earlier version asked about 'addresses', not it seems clear that it should be narrowed to 'restrictions', since various laws incidentally mention ownership].


texts: In the USA, are their laws about what you can claim is "included for free" with some product?

texts:
Let's say I go to an art store and they have a easel for $50 and it says "includes free brush". Is there any law about whether it's legal to claim "easel $50 + free brush" vs just "easel and brush for $50"
In other words, by some argument the brush isn't really free.
Other examples:

Car for $15000, includes free seats, wheels, and steering wheel (the standard ones, not extra)

Pants for $100, includes free cuffs and pockets

Windows laptop for $500, includes free notepad and calculator apps (the built in apps, not extra)

My gut would say, you can't call it free unless you can normally purchase the product without it. I can't generally purchase a car without seats, wheels, and a steering wheel (though I could purchase upgrades and those upgrades could be free). I can't generally purchase pants without pockets. I can't buy a windows laptop without notepad. So I'd guess I shouldn't be able to claim those are free but, is there any law regarding this?


texts: Can I quit claim deed my property to anyone I want?

texts: I would like to transfer my property to a random person I do not know by quit claim deed. Can I do that?


texts: What is the difference between a "Natural" person and an "Artificial" / "Legal" person?

texts:
I generally understand that 'natural' people are living human beings and 'artificial' / 'legal' people can be private entities / corporations. I know artificial people can be given some of the same rights as living human beings.

What rights are corporations actually given?
What was the purpose and law that created this concept?
Is it possible for a 'natural' person to get the benefits of an 'artificial' person?


texts: Can I make fun of VW car company in a game?

texts: I'd like to make fun of a company in a computer game (obvious parody/satire/etc.). Let's say I change the logo, so it's a "WV" in a rectangle instead of a "VW" in a circle and change the companies chief executives name from "Matthias Müller" to "Matty Mule R.", is this legal or not in a computer game? Also, what are the boundaries (how far can I go) and what should I keep in mind to avoid doing something illegal?


texts: Is imposing taxes on WhatsApp use legal or not?

texts:
I hope this is the right SE site to ask this question.

Recently, in Lebanon, the government decided to impose a daily tax on the first call made using WhatsApp call feature, equal to 0.2$.

Now people are debating whether this is legal or not.

Some of them are using this script (emphasis mine):

  Fees and Taxes. You are responsible for all carrier data plan and other fees and taxes associated with your use of our Services. We may charge you for our Services, including applicable taxes. We may refuse or cancel orders. We do not provide refunds for our Services, except as required by law.
  Source

to claim that this is legal.

Others are using this (emphasis mine):

  Harm to WhatsApp or Our Users. You must not (or assist others to) access, use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, sublicense, transfer, display, perform, or otherwise exploit our Services in impermissible or unauthorized manners, or in ways that burden, impair, or harm us, our Services, systems, our users, or others, including that you must not directly or through automated means: (a) reverse engineer, alter, modify, create derivative works from, decompile, or extract code from our Services; (b) send, store, or transmit viruses or other harmful computer code through or onto our Services; (c) gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to our Services or systems; (d) interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of our Services; (e) create accounts for our Services through unauthorized or automated means; (f) collect the information of or about our users in any impermissible or unauthorized manner; (g) sell, resell, rent, or charge for our Services; or (h) distribute or make our Services available over a network where they could be used by multiple devices at the same time.
  Source

to claim that it's illegal.

My simple question is if imposing taxes on using WhatsApp call is legal or not (with the explanation between the different part mentioned above). If not, could WhatsApp sue the Lebanese Government?


texts: When commercial filming is taking place inside or outside, can a member of the public be forced not to record it?

texts:
Generally speaking when is it allowed to photograph people? When does someone have the authority to tell you not to? Does anyone have the authority to tell another person not to photograph them, or is it more that they can kick you out of the building?

I work in the film industry and (understandably) this is a huge concern. Once I was working in a casino where we had rented a lobby. When people on the upper levels tried to take pictures of famous people, a member of the crew would stop them. Since the general public never agreed not to take photos, was it legal to prevent them? Could he have kicked them out of the building or was the most he could do just ask them not to do it? Could he stand in front of their camera to block it?

If the filming is happening outside on a public street, can anyone (police officers or the crew to the film) do anything to stop a person from taking pictures? I have seen signs saying "filming is taking place in this area and if you are here you consent to having your appearance recorded". If this is legal, is some sort of the opposite true where "if you are in this area you agree not to take pictures".


texts: ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio - deregistration

texts:
I am a student and I am going to complete my studies this April and I will go back to India permanently. I live in a shared WG and we are paying the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice fee from my reference number. I want to de-register from ARD. I will de-register from the city hall by mid of April as I will leave by end of April to India.

What is the procedure to de-register from ARD. Can anyone please guide me through the same?

Will a flight ticket to India suffice as proof that I am moving out of Germany? Or what else is required? I will not be here from 1st of May. I guess I have to move out from Germany within 15 days of my de-registration from the city office. So, I don't know if that period is sufficient to de-register from ARD.


texts: What are standard statements when presenting a contract

texts:
I signed a contract with an attorney in the past and remember (vaguely) he made several standard statements. I want to remember what they are (I understand practices will vary.) I think these were to ensure the contract was enforceable. Here are the ones I remember:

There is no hurry, we can do this later.
Do you have any questions?

Are there other standard statements when presenting a contract? I want to follow best practices when I present others with something to sign.


texts: When is linking to copyrighted material illegal?

texts:
If Alice is a photographer, she takes a photo, owns the copyright and posts it on her public website, then Bob links to that photo on his public website, is he infringing on her copyright? Does it matter if the link is an <a> vs an <img>?
To be clear, his server is not serving the image, only HTML that directs browsers to the image.

Alternatively, consider the following cases.

Clickable link to a page on Alice's site that contains the image
Clickable link directly to the image
Clickable link directly to the image with a note suggesting that users use a plugin like Hover Zoom (this allows the user to hover her mouse pointer over the link and see a preview of the image without leaving the current page)
Clickable link to the image and Bob makes his own plugin that changes the link into a displayed image
Embedding the image so that it displays on Bob's page, but is still served from Alice's server
Embedding the image and serving it from Bob's server

I am pretty sure that the first scenario is okay and that the last one is not, but at what point does Bob cross the line?

This question is very similar, but is more focused on iframes and does not quite address my question:

Can you be accused of hotlinking/copyright violation if you use an iframe?

What if Bob only posted a thumbnail version of the image? Is that fair use or does he have to be a search engine? If it is fair use, how much smaller does it have to bee?

Can Google legally host images for its search results without permission?


texts: Why shouldn't a bank robbery without threats be legal?

texts:
So say a bank robber walks into a bank and hands the teller a note saying simply "please give me $1,000" (or maybe even just verbally saying "I need $1,000 please") and if the teller accepts, which they probably would because they're supposed to comply with the robber, he takes the money, otherwise if they refuse, he leaves.

How is this different than say people asking for charity donations in the street? He just politely requested money without making any threats.


texts: Could vigilante anti paedophile sting operations actually result in a conviction?

texts:
There is a lot in the news in Ireland currently about vigilante groups posing as children online in order to catch paedophiles "grooming" and ultimately meeting with the fictional child, which turns out to actually be the group at which point they can confront them.

To me this sounds a bit like entrapment, if that's even a thing in Ireland...

My question is, is there a crime actually being committed here? Is it enough that the perpetrator thinks they're committing one?

And would the evidence end up being rendered inadmissible anyway considering it wasn't Gardai but untrained members of the public who were collecting it? Not to mention the possibility of entrapment as I mentioned earlier ( I.e. a crime might not have been committed if the vigilantes hadn't set it up in the first place)

The question is about Ireland but I world be interested in answers about other jurisdictions also if that's allowed on the site...


texts: How should code produced by automated tools be licensed?

texts: Say a tool that does some sort of automatic code generation or modification, like a formatter or linter, is run as a service that automatically creates pull requests to projects on Github. Who owns the copyright of those changes? What license restrictions would it have? Could the tool creator say "all changes made by this tool from now until the end of time are my intellectual property" even though they weren't involved in making the individual changes? How might a more conscientious tool creator properly declare that their tool's contributions can be merged in without licensing and IP problems?


texts: How can an allegation of NOT having an affair be a defamation?

texts:
Yesterday, 3/27/18, it was reported that the porn actress Stormy Daniels sued President Trump's lawyer Mr. Cohen for defamation because he alleged that Stormy Daniels did not have an affair with Mr. Trump.

If not, then how can they argue a defamation?  Even if the allegation of the affair never having taken place is false, it is a lie which does not damage anyone's reputation (ie, it does not "defame" anyone).  In fact, even if it is a lie, it seems like it is a lie which can only serve to improve someone's reputation.

Is there any precedent or law which recognizes a claim of not having an affair to be defamatory? Is there any law or precedent to make a claim that someone lied publically (but not under-oath) a defamatory claim?

Edit: this answer below shows that the claim of defamation stems from allegation that Stormy Daniels was called a liar rather than from the allegation that she did not have an affair.

In a similar vein, hypothetically, if Mr. Cohen made a public statement that Stormy Daniels was lying about being or having been an adult movie actress, would that be defamatory?


texts: Is it theft if you take money (with out permission) but return it the next day?

texts: I used this ladies credit card to buy a $1 pregnancy test (without permission) while I was doing her shopping but I returned the money. Now she is claiming it is theft. I was wanting to know if it is so?


texts: What are EU requirements for listing VAT on receipts?

texts:
I'm working with a U.S. dot-com that sells around the world.  A lot of corporate customers, especially in Spain and Italy, insist that they need their VAT number listed on all receipts for payments they make to the U.S. company.  Is this correct by law or regulation?

Is there any guidance that makes it clear whether they can just print the receipt and write their company's VAT number on it?  (Customers I've asked say that they can't do that.  So our current solution is to give them blank letterhead and tell them to put whatever they need for their books on it.)


texts: Citation of newspaper articles for inclusion in a legal exhibit

texts:
I am preparing my exhibits for a special education impartial hearing.  The requirements are less stringent than for a court case.  If I can satisfy the requirements for a court case, I will be fine.  Problem: I'm not a lawyer and have no experience with court cases.

I want to include a newspaper article in my exhibits.  This particular newspaper has its archives freely available on the internet.  Shall I just print out the article, and put the url a little bit below the text?  Or is there a special way of citing a newspaper article?

Edit 9/27/16:

What I ended up doing was just printing the article (to a pdf) from the website.  Didn't have any problems doing it this way.


texts: Legality of scraping data off of various public directory sources to create a new website based on it

texts:
I want to create a review website for a specific sector where visitors can browse through the different businesses, get information about them, rank and write reviews.

As for the business model, it'll focus on affiliation, lead generation and listing charges.

My plan is to "scrape" contact data (as in businesses names, web addresses, emails and phone numbers and not sites' generated descriptions or visitors' generated reviews ) and create my own dataset that I will use as a starting point for a new website.

It's going to be a one-time process to create an initial dataset, which will be later filled with an original content.

My own business is registered in Israel but the websites are US based. They contain information about businesses all over the world.

My question is whether this is considered legal, as I'm only going to use contact info (so called- factual data) that is publicly available.

Furthermore, the data will be collected from various sources meaning the collection itself will be original, or is it?


texts: My mother was convicted of something nearly 20 years ago in the UK, but since it was not worthy of prison forgot about the details soon after. I need to know about it in order to fully disclose information about everyone living in my house for an application I am making, but I don't know how to find out about details about this conviction. Is there an easy way to find out about someone's (or in this case, one's own) convictions?


texts: Can a township be at fault for damaging property?

texts:
This involves the neighborhood I grew up in, and where my parents still live. Its a small exurb of NYC. The development my parents live in is about 200 houses at the base of a steep hill. In the past 5 ~ 10 years, there has been extensive development at the top of the hill: destroying acres of forest and cutting into the steep hillside for more housing.

The result has been increased flooding to the houses at the base of the development. In discussions with my parents, I know that most or all of the houses near my parents have had french drains and/or sump pumps installed. Many have had to do extensive renovations due to new flooding.

For it's part, the town has attempted to install storm drains on some properties, and in select locations on the road at the base of the hill. However, reports from neighbors, and a simple walk around the block, reveals shoddy work. In some cases, the storm drains are 5 inches above ground level, negating any water management benefits.

I know my parents and all of their immediate neighbors have spent thousands of dollars on storm damage repair, water proofing, landscaping, and more, as a result of the new flooding. It would be extremely difficult for anyone to sell, as many yards, my parents included, now have a near-permanent water feature on their property.

The increase in flooding could easily be proven with documentation of repairs done over time, and it corresponds pretty directly to deforestation done at the top of the hill. More recent documentation has been via Facebook, as neighbors have gotten together to share stories.

Does the town have any responsibility towards the direct and indirect damage done to these properties? What can be done to hold the town responsible for potentially lost property value, and direct property damage?


texts:
On workplace.stackexchange.com, a question was asked where someone had worked for a company, the company apparently asked him to sign a contract that he would do additional work for them for free, which he obviously didn't sign, and he says their "lawyer" (in quotes) told him that the contract was valid without him signing it since it was handed to him.

Question 1: What would be the consequences of falsely claiming that you are a lawyer, and telling an opponent something blatantly false about their legal position?

Question 2: What would be the consequences of truthfully claiming that you are a lawyer, and telling an opponent something blatantly false about their legal position?


texts: Can I re-distribute public domain work from a copyrighted source?

texts:
I've seen many books and apps meant to teach the teachings of Person X, who died centuries ago. I have a book by Party B called "Life according to Person X". This book says "All Rights Reserved" and it also says

  Under the Indian Copyright Act, all rights of the contents and photographs of this book are reserved by Publisher B, B Address. Therefore, no part of this book including the name, title, design, inside matter or photographs be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means, in full or in part, in any language. Breach of this condition is liable to legal action and fine.

Can Party B have the exclusive right to distribute this content? If Party A makes an app almost entirely based on Person X's teaching, can Party B accuse Party A of violating any sort of law? Could Party A then monetise this app?

Is it legal for Party A to use Person X's quotes/teachings souced from Party B's book? Why, and under what circumstances?


texts: Who is responsible for posts on Internet forums, particularly in Russia?

texts:
Are users or is the site owner responsible for posts on the forum?

Could it be different:

with or without a license agreement available on the site?
with or without a registration?

My concern is about Russian law primarily.


texts: Has a verdict of 'not proven' ever had a different effect to one of 'not guilty'?

texts:
In Scotland there are three verdicts available in criminal trials: guilty, not guilty, and not proven.  In modern use there is no practical difference between not guilty and not proven: the defendant is acquitted in both cases.

Has there ever been a case where a verdict of not proven ended up having a different practical effect on the defendant than if he had been found not guilty?


texts: Arizona form to allow victim to speak to defendent

texts:
Upon an accidental argument/fight in which the husband is being told of assault for pretrial and if the wife which is the victim is wanting to talk to the husband (defendant)  then the victim should be able to request a form to allow the wife to talk directly or indirectly with husband.

How does the wife go about getting the prosecutor to have a signed form which allows consent of talk of see each other.   What is this form called?


texts: Is the output of a generator tool copyrighted? [GPL3 and CC BY-SA 3.0]

texts:
I am developing a game right now and wanted to use character sprites created by a generator under a GPL and CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

In my understanding the GPL license does not cover the output of the program, but the program itself. But I can't really tell if the Creative Commons licence prevents me from using the generated images.

I'm not planning to publish my game anytime soon, but I don't want to regret using open source software later on. I don't want to be forced to publish my whole game under the same license, just because I use some generated images.

Is that possible?


texts: Does a prosecutor have any legal resource to avoid aplying a law which is unconstitutional?

texts: Recently in Argentina a prosecutor suggested that even if she doesnt like a particular law (which might be unconstitutional) she has no choice because she has to apply it. is this so?


texts: Is it legal to sell food or supplement products online in unlabeled packaging?

texts:
As I understand it, the FDA requires labeling with specific information for food and supplement products in most cases, and steep potential penalties for "misbranding" if required information is missing from the label. When food is sold in bulk in grocery stores, the required information is (in my experience) posted on or near the bin. However, I have seen cases in which bulk food or supplement products are sold online and arrive in simple ziploc bags or other unlabeled packaging. Provided that required label information is given in the online product listing, is this legal? Or are these vendors skirting FDA regulations?
In other words, what counts as a "label" for the purpose of FDA labeling requirements? Could it be e.g. the product page on an e-commerce platform?


texts: Are US banks required to notify users of debts before passing them to collections?

texts:
Say a customer of a large American bank, let's call him Paul, overdrafts on a debit card from said bank, let's call it ABC Bank. There is no notice of an overdraft at the time the money is withdrawn, and so Paul has no idea that he has just spent more money than he has. Seeing as he has accounts with Big Bank and Amazing Bank as well, he doesn't use ABC Bank much. A few months later, he receives a letter from a collections agency demanding payment for his debt to ABC Bank, and Paul, besides not being aware of his debt up until this notice, is worried the collections will hurt his credit.

Is this legal, considering he wasn't notified of his debt before it was sold or passed to collections?


texts: If I wanted to save money by living in the floor above a restaurant I opened, would this be legal? A friend brought up the problem of districts (commercial, residential, etc)... would this prevent me from doing this?


texts: Is hospital ER liable for an injury of a deranged untestrained patient?

texts: A stroke patient who is clearly deranged due to the stroke arrives to ER. The patient is not listening to instructions and acts out. The patient is told to stay on the bed and not to get up and left unattended. The patient gets up, falls face down, and breaks her nose. The broken nose weeks later complicates treatment. Is the ER liable?


texts: Using international waters to provide illicit activities near a country

texts:
Let's assume I have a ship flagged in a country where certain activities are legal but are not in most of other countries (like, for instance, drug use or prostitution are in Netherlands). Let's assume again that I fullfill every aspect to lawfully carry on with those actions in the country's flag. Can I anchor the ship just outside some other country's territorial waters and provide a mean of transportation from that country to my ship? Would that be illegal?

This is just a theoretical question, so if that helps, answerers may assume any specific country where this ship could be anchored near.


texts: What rights go with a paid subscription?

texts:
When a platform has the right to kick you out as they deem fit, without any evidence why they did it, does that change if you have a paid?
Because this is going on with me. I'm on a platform where you can post stories. I'm fully aware of the rules and I feel like I haven't posted any content that violated the rules. The platform is free but if you don't want ads and stuff, you can buy a subscription to be a member - and I paid 40 dollars for that. Almost 2 weeks ago, I got an email saying that they took down my work but nothing further. My account seemed to be lost as well but I never got any emails about that. When I asked what I did wrong, I never got an answer. It's been 2 weeks now and I've been ignored or asked to send in a ticket for my problem. I obviously already did that, but the tickets stay unanswered and all other company help options send me to open a ticket again, which gets me back to the beginning again. If I truly have other opinions than they have, and I have violated the rules in their eyes, I feel they can show that to me. But right now, I don't know anything about why I can't log in. The autoreply email only says that I MIGHT have violated the rules and therefore MAY not be able to log in. I don't know what to do and I feel it's all very unfair.


texts: Under California Health and Safety Code 11361, what constitutes "inducing a minor to use marijuana"?

texts:
In California it seems like marijuana is legal for adult recreational use, but that does not extend to minors.
Under California Health and Safety Code 11361 there's a section about "Inducing a minor to use marijuana which makes it a felony.  My question is about what that would constitute.
Hypothically, if a 21 year old, has a 16 year old buddy, and they regularly hang out and use together, would that like constitute inducement by the 21 year old?  Or, would it that require more overt acts, or pressure?
Under the the same section there is an alowance for minors to use medical marijuana, under the same scenario, would it matter if it's claimed that the 16 year old has permission from thier parent to use to use for a medical condition?  Would it matter it the 16 year old had a "recomdation from a doctor"?
Even if the 16 year old had a "valid recomendation"  and permission of thier parent, would it change character of the act if the 21 and 16 year old were using together a third parties house, or away from the supervision of the 16 year olds parents?


texts: How to postpone a hearing? First appearance. (NY) (Family Law)

texts:
Would you please inform me of the/a proper and respectful procedure for having a hearing postpones or rescheduled? I would like more time to prepare for a family court case in which I intend on representing myself. Can you recommend any links/articles/cases/books?

Is a "hearing" and a "case" the same thing? Does case refer to the docket number of a hearing?


texts: Trademark: software company with computer hardware shop

texts:
I thought of a business name, and bought the domain name for it (both .com and .net), and I plan to use it to for a software business online.
I then noticed a computer shop in the Philippines with the same name.
Could this be a trademark infringement?


texts: Can I legally sell merchandise with the face of a celebrity without their permission?

texts: My friends and I want to start selling merchandise of pictures of two celebrities. The pictures are of two celebrities. We want to make sure that we won't have a lawsuit on our hands if we start selling. The pictures we want to use are available and posted publicly by them. The pictures are not copyrighted. Is this legal?


texts: Is it possible to sue a UK based company from the US regarding debt collection?

texts:
I have a US-based LLC. The LLC is a service oriented company as opposed to product oriented. And all work is performed in the US. A UK-based client is delinquent in payments.

The amount in dispute is under $10k.

Is it possible to effectively implement some sort of debt collection from the US for a UK-based company (with no US offices)?

Given the value of the claim, is it worthwhile to pursue any formal legal action (small claims)? If so, what country would the legal action need to originate from? Would one file in the US and note the foreign defendant or would one file, as a foreigner, in the home country of the defendant?


texts:
So there are some similar posts but not really with answers that fit to my problem. I run a site posting about newest announcements, let´s say Nike announces a new pair of shoes.

Now I want to write about this, but I can't find images anywhere except from Nike's announcement or other websites writing about it. Now these other websites seem to rely on the doctrine of Fair Use.

I live in Europe, Germany and we do not have fair use here, that's why I read a bit more and thought about if inline linking, lets say a img tag referring to the src on Nike's media servers instead of copying it to my own server and showing it from there. This seems like a borderline topic but I do not want to take a big risk that's why I am asking for a opinion/answer here.


texts: Do I need an active consent according to GDPR?

texts:
If I have a form on a website where people fill in their personal details and credit card information to subscribe to a monthly delivery of apples, do I need an active consent (e.g. checkbox) from the user in order to store his or hers data?

The personal data will only be used to deliver apples and nothing else. Do I still need an active consent from the user? It would seem to me that the user already understands that the personal information is used to deliver apples, and an extra checkbox would seem superfluous?

Or would I only need an extra consent if the data is used for something non-obvious?


texts: Is it a myth that a single owner LLC protect the owner's personal assets?

texts:
I own 100% ownership of an LLC. I started this LLC because everyone gave me advice that if the company is sued, the banks won't go after my car, my house or etc.
As I dig deeper into the legal framework I realized that in many cases the directors are always being personally implicated in tort law suits. Some have to pay the lawsuits for the rest of their lives. Some have their assets confiscated.
A company always acts on the direction of it's directors and a tort lawsuit can be filed on the directors. It becomes more incumbent if there is only one director of the company.


texts: No reimbursement for job interview travel expenses

texts:
I have already asked on the workplace about how to ask for reimbursement that was agreed on before a job interview. I'm gonna briefly summarize here what has happened so far.
After applying for a job in another German city, the company offered to pay for my travel expenses. I submitted a form that they provided along with the original receipt for my ticket. After a few interviews with the company (both on-site and later online) I decided that I did not want to work for them any longer and therefore withdrew my application via email. They did not reimburse me or reply to an email I sent recently regarding the reimbursement. The email was along the lines of:

  Hey, I haven't heard back from you regarding the reimbursement. Could
  you give me an update on that matter?

I would like to get reimbursed for my travel expenses (close to 200€). What further steps can I take now?


texts: Is a high % agent commission contract clause fraud in your jurisdiction?

texts:
Say you are offered investments that look like regular mutual fund investments.

You ask how much money is invested.

The sales people say, all funds are invested.

You read the contract and found nothing suspicious.

Turns out, you overlooked a verse in the 20 page contract that states that 50-70% of the money goes to pay the agent commission; only partially % is invested. The very important term is well hidden within those 20 pages.

You confront the sales people and they say that all of the money is invested. If you let the investment grow, in 1000 years you'll get your money back if the market is good. So the whole thing is "long term investment".

Is this fraud?

What does the law says in say Indonesia, USA, or anything?

NB: If it's a fraud, is this a crime or still just purely civil matter?

Update: In Indonesia many insurance companies charge high acquisition costs. So 100% of premi is gone to pay for the acquisition costs. Actually the total amount gone is about 230% of yearly premi.

Things get interesting because in some companies, even when the insurance benefit only worth $10, an agent can set premi to be very high (thousands of dollars or even more) and claim that all money are "invested".

So basically customers put $5k on "investment". Agent says "all are invested." Customer thinking that all are invested put huge money only to see all those money are gone for fees.

Customers got

Nothing. All money are gone for acquisition fee. About 50% is to pay insurance agent.
Insurance protection worth $10.
An option to "continue" the "investment" where customers will lost even more money for insignificant insurance cost.

Basically customer miss the part where it says that 100% of premiums are gone for acquisition fees. It's written in contract but quite well hidden among terms that's not important due to low insurance portion of the arrangement (like how to file a claim).

Note: If you said that this is fraud in your own jurisdiction, please tell what exact laws/court case a person can use to sue the agent or companies. In Indonesia, for example, there is law that customer have right to get information that is honest, clear, and correct. However, the company can says that the information is there in the middle of the contract that the customer have agreed. The company can also says that they have paid agent to "explain" the contract to customers and if anything goes wrong, it's "agent's" fault.

Basically this question relates to When a contract is being analyzed in court, is it the understanding of the parties or the written contract that is to be established?

Basically the customer miss some important term of the contract. However, the contract is written in such a way that most people would miss those terms.


texts: Do non-citizens in France need a notary or lawyer to draft a will?

texts:
I am looking legal information that applies to "Next of Kin" and wills in France:

My clients are an unmarried couple who are living in France; they are not French citizens. They have a current issue of inheritance. If they cannot hire a notary or lawyer to take care of this issue, what will happen if the husband passes away?

Situation:

The husband has a will which states that 50% of the inheritance will be given to his son (in fact, he has a daughter, too) and 50% to his wife;
They both are living in a camp site and will move to a retirement place;
They are not married, although have been in relationship for quite a long time and have no children;
The husband is a British, and wife is an Asian.


texts: California Recording Law - Do recordings need to be used as stated?

texts:
In California, two-party consent recording law requires that consent be obtained by all parties before recording phone calls. I've pasted relevant parts of this law below.

Further, subsection (d) of the same law establishes that any evidence obtained without such consent is "not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other proceeding" except when used as evidence for violations of this law. But given the wording of the law and precedent established since (Flanagan v. Flanagan, California v. Gibbons, and so on), does stating a strict purpose of the recording preclude later use of the recording for unrelated legal evidence?

When you call a corporate customer support line and hear, "this call is being recorded for training purposes", can the company then use the recording as evidence in court, with no relationship between "training" and the use of the recording?

  California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 632

  (a) A person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication, uses an electronic amplifying or recording device to eavesdrop upon or record the confidential communication, whether the communication is carried on among the parties in the presence of one another or by means of a telegraph, telephone, or other device, except a radio, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per violation, or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or Section 631, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

  (b) For the purposes of this section, “person” means an individual, business association, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity, and an individual acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of any government or subdivision thereof, whether federal, state, or local, but excludes an individual known by all parties to a confidential communication to be overhearing or recording the communication.

  (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication” means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.

  (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other proceeding.


texts: Usage of song snippets in a prototype app

texts:
For a project at university I design and implement an android application. In this application, I would like to present the user snippets of famous songs which they should then recognize. The application will NEVER be published in a play store or similiar and will only be used by participants of my user study and my supervisors.

Is it allowed to use songs, if I will not make any profit out of that?


texts: What action USA's IRS is likely to take for failing to respond to audit?

texts:
Assume a person earning $120k makes $40k charitable contributions and has all proof of contributions.

IRS suspecting high charity, sends out an audit.
The person has relocated and never receives an audit.

What would IRS do.

Civil or criminal penalty ? ie is there possibility of issuing arrest warrant ?
Figure out new address and send same audit next year to new address of filing?


texts: Can I use race track information in my application?

texts:
I`m developing a comercial app and I'm going to include some information about racetracks to it. I'm going to use follow information: a name of racetrack, a distance of one lap, names of turns. The app isn't a game.

I couldn't find any rules for using racetraks names. Some racetrack like Nürburgring belongs to commercial firms, so it names can be trademarks. What about are racetracks belong to goverments? Should I ask about licens for it?


texts: Can a California living trust give the trustee authority to distribute assets to beneficiaries on an as-needed basis?

texts:
I am the trustee of two California trusts: the first has 5 beneficiaries and the second has 8 beneficiaries.

Both trusts grant me the power to withhold distributions to beneficiaries prior to their reaching specific age milestones.

The estate attorney I've retained strongly suggested that I divide the trust assets of both trusts into separate sub-trusts for each beneficiary and that each sub-trust have its own federal tax ID number.

I objected to this idea primarily for the following three reasons:

That would be 13 tax IDs and 26 tax returns per year (13 federal and 13 state) and I don't want to use trust funds to pay for all the additional CPA fees this would incur.
To continue investing trust funds in the manner they had been invested prior to the death of the trustors, I would be purchasing certain financial instruments that have a minimum buy in that would be too large for any single beneficiary to own (i.e. it would limit the diversification of investments for each beneficiary and force me to provide different beneficiaries with different investments -- a real problem if one investment does well while another does not).
The trusts own interests in small, private partnerships that would not be willing, nor obligated under the terms of the partnership agreements, to further sub-divide these trust interests into smaller interests for each beneficiary.

The attorney asked how I would track all of this if I didn't split everything up into separate sub-trusts for each beneficiary.  I responded that I would keep a running percent-ownership of each asset based on the distributions made to each beneficiary.  The attorney suggested that that would be very challenging, but gave no legal reason why I couldn't do that.

So my question is, can a trust be written that grants powers to a trustee that are sufficiently broad to allow the trustee to make distributions of principal and interest to beneficiaries on an as-needed basis?  Of course, that would require that exquisitely detailed records be kept to track the percent ownership of various assets, but is there anything in estate law (or IRS rules) that precludes this?

It seems this would be a good way to preserve the corpus of the estate rather than making a distribution to beneficiary X just because I made an equal distribution to beneficiary Y (and where X doesn't even need the distribution).


texts: Why are judges allowed to read news and media opinions?

texts:
I find it interesting that apparently judges are allowed to read news and opinions about the litigation in front of them, whereas juries would not be.

Why is there such a distinction, and are there any limitations to ensure fair rulings?

For example, this is regarding Citing previous Malibu Media’s sheer abuse of court process, New York judge denies early discovery (via DSLR: King v. TWC), where the judge apparently cites some industry study about copyright trolls, and explicitly names the plaintiff as such, denying its motions and dropping the lawsuit.


texts: Can states regulate the tint of rear side windows and rear windshields on a car?

texts:
There is a list of North American tint laws over at International Window Film Association (IWFA) (also html).

It is understandable why states might be interested in regulating the Visible Light Transmission of the tinting on the front windows -- to make sure the driver could be identified in case of accidents / hit-and-runs / other issues, by both the general public and the police.  This is, apparently, why some states, like California, dictate that VLT of the front side windows must not be below 70%, whereas all other windows -- back side and the rear one -- could be as tinted as one pleases, e.g., even limo-style 5% or below is acceptable.

However, other states seem to regulate all windows -- front side, back side, and the rear one -- and many mandate at least 35% VLT on all of the windows, whereas some north-east states like New York even go as high as 70% VLT on all windows, which, frankly, doesn't seem reasonable at all.  This is especially interesting in light of some vehicles not having any back side windows, nor the rear window.

What legitimate interests do the states have in regulating back-side and rear windows?  Are those laws enforceable?  Especially, as potentially a special case of the Window Tinting rules and laws in visiting jurisdictions question, would someone with a 70%/5%/5% tint and California or Texas licence plates, where such tinting is legal, can be legally forced to pay fine and/or remove the 95% tint from the back-side and rear windows in a state where it's supposedly not legal?  What if it's a local vehicle?


texts: Are tenants responsible for ensuring their guests follow the terms?

texts:
Are tenants responsible for their guests violating terms in the lease? For example if a lease says "no smoking in the building" and an invited guest smokes, could the tenant be held responsible?

What should a contract contain to show that any guests are the responsibility of the tenants? I've seen "tenants are responsible for their guests actions" but I'm not sure if this is enough as couldn't a tenant argue "I agreed to follow the terms in the lease, but my guest never did, therefore no violation has occurred." Could a contract say "guests are not allowed to smoke" and still be enforceable considering the guests never signed the contract?


texts: Is it legal to use corporate public information in an (mobile) app?

texts:
I don't know how to ask my question correctly so I'll try to give you an example of what situation I'm unsure about.

An Organizer is holding an event (e.g. a conference) and distributes tickets (maybe for free) but available to the public.  He also publishes a timetable for the event on his website so everybody could check what is going on at the event.

Am I allowed to use this information in my application along with the
name of the event (just the information not the given representation) or do I have to ask the organizer if I can show my users this information?
What if I sell the access to view this information in my
application?

By "information" I mean dates/calendar entries (e.g. Event "A" is happening on dd/mm/yyyy at hh:mm:ss in "City"), not editorial content.

I'm located in Germany but the app would be accessible "worldwide".


texts: Is Microsoft breaking any laws by forcing upgrades to windows 10?

texts:
For a while, now users of older versions of Windows have been seeing frequent prompts to upgrade to Windows 10, and many users have been rejecting the offer.  Now those computers have begun to automatically upgrade themselves to Windows 10 against the wishes of their owners.  This strikes me as a clear case of the common understanding of unauthorized access, but I don't know if it meets the legal criteria for unauthorized access.

Is Microsoft breaking any laws by forcing computer owners to upgrade to Windows 10 against their will?

I'm in the U.S.A., so I'm primarily interested in U.S. law but curious about other jurisdictions.

Some related articles:

Microsoft Denies That It Has Made The Windows 10 Upgrade Impossible To Block
Don’t blink, or your PC might upgrade itself to Windows 10
Microsoft’s Windows 10 push comes to shove for some angry users


texts: Is it legal for banks to transfer money without account holder's permission

texts:
Suppose someone takes a personal loan from a bank and defaults on a payment.

Can the bank unilaterally take money from other accounts he may have at that bank to make the required loan payments?

Can the bank take money from the accounts of blood relatives (e.g., spouse or child) to satisfy the loan?


texts: Free, conditional permission/service: contract or not?

texts:
This can be seen as another "is a free licence a contract?" question (inspired by this and this), but it focuses on the very basics of the underlying relation between parties.

Alice and Bob do not know each other but sit on adjacent seats on a plane flying internationally. The flight attendant hands over immigration/customs cards. Alice digs out her pen and fills in her form. Bob carries on with his meal in not so tidy way: his hands clearly become fat smeared.

Alice finishes with her form, and Bob finishes with his meal. Now Bob wants to fill in his form but he hasn't got a pen. He asks Alice to borrow hers.

Alice doesn't want her pen to be held by Bob's fatty hands but she doesn't want to appear rude either. She says that she will let him use her pen provided that he first goes to the lavatory and washes his hands with soap.

Setting aside the apparent absence of intention to create legal relations, and the obvious de minimus, does this situation otherwise satisfy the legal requirements for a contract? Is the act that Bob washes his hands valid consideration on his side?

If the answer to the above is Yes, is there any line dividing contract and mere permission to use things subject to certain conditions?

Answers for any jurisdictions are welcome, though mostly interested in common law ones.


texts: Does the owner of a foreign company need to pay taxes in the country of residence, if he does not receive any money from the company?

texts:
Imagine someone in Austria, let's call him Franz, registers a company in another, non-EU country.

He sells some services in the name of the company. The company gets paid by its customers (the money goes to the bank account of that company).

Franz does not pay himself a salary, nor does he take money out of the company in any other way.

The company pays all required taxes in the country it is registered it. Also, Franz puts money into the company.

Franz has a job in Austria and his employer deducts all required taxes and fees from his salary. Whatever money Franz receives from his employer is already after-tax.

Does Franz need to pay taxes/fees in Austria for the earnings of his company, if he does not get any revenue from it (neither salary, nor dividends, nor other money flows from the company to him)?

If yes, what taxes or fees does he need to pay?

Note: If you don't know the Austrian regulations, but know German ones, please provide the answer for Germany (as the laws are similar in both countries).


texts: Legal Liabilities as a Landlord if Tenants have committed assault?

texts:
As a landlord, are there liabilities if one of your tenants in one of your owned properties assault, sexually or not, a fellow tenant living in the same property?

What about if there is assault by a tenant on your property against someone that isn't your tenant? Are there connected repercussions as the landlord of the victim or assaulter?

Edit to provide more detail:

If say the landlord is seeking a new tenant, and after adequate background checks, the new tenant is welcomed and joins an existing tenant in the property. However, assume at some point during the contract, the new tenant comes back to the property intoxicated, and assaults the existing tenant on the landlord's property.

Is the landlord liable, or is the victim tenant able to sue the landlord, given that the property itself did not play a role in the crime, and that the landlord did not have reasonable grounds to believe the new tenant had tendencies to commit assault as background checks were done? Since it is a completely behavioral act on the incoming tenant's part, surely the landlord is not responsible?


texts: Is it legal to record a phone conversation if you pretend to be someone else?

texts:
In a recently published video, Alexey Navalny calls one of the FSB's operatives who participated in Navalny's poisoning, and, pretending to be his colleague, manages to record some evidence about the operation.
Now, Russia apparently is one of the one-party consent countries, where secretly recording a conversation you hold with someone is not illegal by itself. However, I would expect that to change is the other party is led to believe they are speaking with someone else.
I understand the circumstances are quite extraordinary, however, I think the legality of the recording is still a crucial aspect. Could Navalny face charges for releasing it, and would it be admissible as evidence in a court case?


texts: What might be an "analog" for "frustration of purpose?"

texts:
In a contract, frustration of purpose occurs when "unforeseen" events prevent the operation of a contract from achieving its intended results, even if it can technically be fulfilled. For instance, someone hired a caterer for an event, and COVID-19 prevented the event from taking place on the target date. I would guess in this case that the client (who hired the caterer) would be able to cancel the contract because people couldn't attend the event, even if the caterer delivered the goods.
Suppose, instead, the contract was derailed as a result of the actions of one of the parties. E.g. the hiring party tore down the building where the event was supposed to take place in order to build a new one, so there were no "facilities" for it. Is there a name for this analogy to "frustration of purpose" when it was due to the actions of one party rather than "act of God"? Would the rights of the caterer to do the work and get paid differ from the first case?


texts:
Can I legally register my own surname as a trademark?

Supposing my name is Jeck Galifianakis, can I sue by law all the business entities (or maybe individuals too) that hold name Galifianakis in its name or merchandise but don't posses trademark for this name?

Will I have right to sue them if their name is Galifianakis LTD or Galifianakis GMBH or maybe Galifianakis Family LLC and I hold only trademark for Galifianakis word?

What about websites and domains? Will I have priority right when resolving disputes with cybersquatters for domain galifianakis.com or galifianakis-is-shit.com?

UPDATE: I was suggested that I can register trademark only for certain business activity code. OK, I conduct consulting services in EEA area, is it enough to register trademark in US or worldwide? What about geographical coverage for my trademark? How to make it worldwide?

Answers for all jurisdictions you are competent with are welcome (US, UK, EU, etc).

P.S. I saw this question but I want quite an opposite thing. I want to prevent businesses from using my name first served, until they don't realized they have no trademark for it ;)


texts: Does the concept of fairness and due process apply only to the defendant or to the prosecution as well?

texts:
"Fairness" isn't mentioned in the constitution but due process is and I would think typically applies to a defendant - someone who has been accused of a crime.

But is there a concept where the prosecution can say the process wasn't fair to them??

Case in point - the impeachment of Trump by the House of Reps. Pelosi is saying she won't send articles of impeachment to the Senate until she can be convinced that there will be a fair trial.

BUT - in the trial, she and company will be prosecutors. The defendant will be Trump. Is it Trump's constitutional right to demand fairness or the right of those who want to prosecute him?

In short, you should be awarded fairness when you are defending yourself or when you are prosecuting someone?


texts: What if a US dual citizen gets a US visa stamp on his foreign passport?

texts:
I was born in Canada but became a US citizen through my US citizen father at birth. My father lives in the US, so I came down here to acquire proof of my US citizenship (which of course I now have!)

I have now noticed DHS put a stamp in my Canadian passport with a date I have to leave (this is the first time I have ever gotten a stamp!) so I assume it is a Visa stamp, although I was never asked about my US citizenship or went through any application except a question on why I was coming to the US, in which I said "To stay with my father."

This date has now been overstayed.

Now I want to apply for my US passport, and have all the necessary documentation proving my US citizenship, although my only photo ID will be my Canadian passport with an HSC stamp with a date that I have overstayed.

Will this stamp somehow affect my application process? The passport website says nothing about valid visas for US citizens born abroad, but I have read that a US citizen MUST enter the US with a US passport. What is the best way to go about acquiring my US passport?


texts: What if police find a dead body during an illegal search?

texts:
Suppose police conduct an illegal search of a residence (no warrant, no consent, no probable cause) and find a dead body. There is plenty of evidence in plain sight that it was a murder and also evidence of who the killer is: he is standing next to the body with the murder weapon in his hand.

The murderer, being a smart lawyer, keeps his mouth shut.

Would all of the evidence found during the search be excluded under the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine? If so, how could the murderer be prosecuted?


texts: When are NYC "Bus Only" lanes restricted to buses only?

texts:
Here is a video of a NYC taxi driver going up on 1st Ave catching green lights at every intersection from 1st to 125th St.*  The driver spends a significant amount of time in a lane marked "BUS ONLY" which it seems buses sometimes use (e.g. see early in the 9th and 10th minutes), though they sometimes use the other side (e.g. third quarter of 2nd minute).

NYC's page on these lanes states "If you drive, park, or stand in a bus lane during hours of operation you face fines ranging from $115 to $150" (plus possible points against a license) and describes even automatic video enforcement, but the cab driver seems quite comfortable driving there.  This video was taken on a Sunday night, so maybe the cab driver knew of an exception, which the rule statement seems to allow for (via language restricting the offense definition to "during hours of operation.")

How does one find out what hours those restrictions are in effect?
Even the Bus Rapid Transit page for the First Ave route does not seem to have an answer.

(*): Audio NSFW, and there is an odd jump in the video at 11:38.


texts: Commercial/free third-party application to browse/watch YouTube, is that legal?

texts:
Let's say there is an internet browser that allows browsing/watching content from YouTube while blocking their ads. Also the browser can be a free or paid application, or can show ads from a third-party, and it's distributed through digital stores like the Apple's AppStore or Google Play. It doesn't allow downloading, sharing, or storing of videos nor any content, but only allows watching the content while the application is online.

Would this application be legal?


texts: Can a single false statement give rise to two separate causes of action i.e. counts in a lawsuit?

texts:
Is it possible under US libel for a single false statement to give rise to two separate causes of action (i.e. counts) in a lawsuit?

If the answer is yes, what would be some examples of this?


texts: Can police refuse criminal case about stolen mobile phone? How can such crimes be investigated?

texts:
Mobile phone and some precious things were stolen from my friend, but the police refuses to start a criminal case (proceedings) to investigate the crime. They are saying that the thief cannot be detected. There is no lower limit on the amount of theft in our country (Baltic country, European Union). The crime obviously had been done, so - obviously the criminal case should be opened and investigation started. But the police refuse to do this. Is there case law to appeal such decision?

My friend does not know the IMEA code of this phone. But I have heard that police can request (during the investigation in an open criminal case) the call history from the operator and the IMEA code is certainly there. So - the remaining steps for solving the crime are simple - locate the current location, e.g. in pawnshop and then request documentation who has made it a pawn. And the case is solved! So - can police refuse to investigate a crime that can be solved so simply?

The case happend in a Baltic country but the practice from the any other EU country is welcome, especially from Germany as it belongs to the continental law and the legal systems of the Baltic countries have borrowed a lot from German law.