texts: What does non-commercial use cover when included in the license for hardware drivers?

texts:
I have an Intel wireless adapter in my laptop and I went to their website to download an updated driver. In order to begin the download, I was required to agree to the Intel Software License Agreement, a section of which contains the following statement:

What does this mean when applied to software necessary to make a piece of hardware function correctly? If I conduct business over the Internet (using the wireless adapter) am I violating the license?


texts: Can my boss promise a job to someone before posting it?

texts:
I work in California. I'm due for a promotion for a supervisory role. Before the more senior employees were considered and one was promoted.
I got word that my manager promised the job to my coworker before he even posted the job for interviews.

There is a history of favoritism at my job. A coworker and I competed for a supervisor job and that's where my manager promised the job to him.

However an even more senior Caucasian applicant got that the job. Since my manager broke his promise to my coworker now he has promised him this other job that again we are both competing for.

My manager had told me that I was a "front runner" for the other job during my interview, knowing full well that he had already promised the job to my coworker. To me that seems dishonest and deceitful.

I'm a minority while my coworker is Caucasian and the manager is Caucasian as well. I'm wondering if this is all murky from a legal stand point. During my interview I'm going to ask some questions to see if the manager is dishonest about it. I'll ask him what my chances are or something along that.


texts: When is pseudonymization insufficient in terms of GDPR compliance when storing and processing data for research purposes?

texts:
I am working on a project where data needs to be stored and kept for further processing. It's primarily for research purposes. I know that in order to be GDPR compliant, this data has to be anonymized.

Furthermore, I know the difference between pseudonymization (the data is anonymized but the process can be reversed, e.g. encryption and the corresponding key is kept elsewhere) and anonymization (data is anonymized and there is no "direct" way to infer the initial state from the end state). However, what I have yet to find out is when to use which. Since the latter most likely yields greater information loss I am more inclined to use the former. However, if pseudonymization is sufficient then why would one use anonymization instead?

I have a suspicion that it may come down to whether a company has the resources to put additional effort into making sure that, in case of the example above, the encryption key is well protected. When it does not it might just want to anonymize the data and "be done with it".

Unfortunately, I am not sure whether I am on the right track so I would appreciate some insight.


texts: Is it legal for civilians to pull (point) guns on each other?

texts:
This answer from a guy who often has to visit private properties in the rural US has made me wonder what, if any, offence a regular civilian (not a policeman etc.) commits by pulling (that is pointing) a gun on someone they see for the first time and who does not appear to have any weapons and does not appear threatening to a reasonable person.

To begin with, let's assume that the gun holder:

Stands on his own backyard or driveway (i.e. not inside his house); the target stands there too; and
Does not say anything when pulling the gun, or simply demands the target person to leave.

Variations:

The gun holder verbally threatens to injure or kill;
Target is on a public road;
Both the gun holder and target are on a public road.

If the answer varies from state to state please focus on Tennessee and North Carolina, but it would be also interesting to hear of any edge cases.


texts: What should I do when the landlord asks you to pay utilities when they were all included in the rent?

texts:
I am a student and I have rented a room with all utilities and internet included in a 4 bedrooms house in Canada. My rent is going to expire at the end of April. Before the COVID outbreak, my landlord wanted us to move out as he wanted to do a renovation. So he sent us a paper-based evacuation notice. However, due to COVID, he changed his mind and he said that we can stay longer. So we all decided to stay in the house. He just texted us this through phone.

Yesterday he sent a message to one of my roommates and said the internet belongs to and x-roommate who is moved out and it is going to expire at the end of April and each of us has to provide our own internet.

My question is that when I was renting the house he promised that all utilities are included in the rent and now he is asking us to pay for the internet. Is this legal or illegal? How can I deal with this issue?

Edited: in his text, he said that he is not selling the house for at least a year and we can keep renting the house. I assume it is with the same agreement.

To be honest I am a bit worried that he takes advantage of us in the current situation and increases or asks us to pay all utilities. What would be the wise thing to do? How should I ask him to sign a new contract? In my agreement, it isclearly mentioned that the internet is included.


texts: Fair use of text snippets in a dictionary

texts:
If a dictionary (about the use of scientific terminology) includes snippets from several sources, would an authorization be needed from each copyright holder?

Each entry in the dictionary would include several quotes. And multiple quotes would come from concrete copyright holders. However, no entry would include multiple quotes from the same source. And no quote would be longer than 2-3 sentences. More than 80-90% of the dictionary would be quoted material.


texts: Why aren't athletes charged with assault?

texts:
Athletes get into brawls and whatnot all the time. Mike Tyson even bit a guy's ear off. Why aren't they charged for assault and sentenced to jail time?

I understand that athletes might get hurt within the context of the game, and that they can't sue anyone for that (because they knowingly take those risks by playing the game). But punching someone or biting their ear is clearly outside the context of the game – why no criminal charges?

Edit: This is a good example.

Clarification: I'm asking whether or not it's technically legal to do these sorts of things. Not whether they are or should be enforced.


texts: Do I count as a non profit and not need to comply with COPPA?

texts: I have a website for a fan game. We do not profit from it in any way. We don't even have ads nor donations. Do we count as a non-profit and are therefore exempt from complying with COPPA under Section 1302(2)(B)?


texts: Giving free tax advice to a friend. Can this get me in trouble?

texts:
Let's assume I am helping a very close friend of mine who owns a small family restaurant. She has 2 people working for her and she treats them as independent contractors. Under current conditions I am quite sure IRS would reclassify them as full time employee's and fine her (sole proprietorship). AFAIK, IRS does not know about this yet, but if they wanted to find out they easily could by expanding the audit.

I am giving her tips on what options she has and what would be pros&cons of each option.

Also I helped her to talk with IRS over phone to solve the other tax audit. IRS agent over phone wrote down my name while I represented her - I guess this is standard procedure.

Can I get into trouble for giving tax advice to a friend (e.g. there is this dreaded Trust Fund recovery Penalty)?

Things to consider:

I am not getting paid for explaining things or giving a tip to her.
I am not licensed and I am not lawyer.
Her business does not make enough money to afford real legal consultation.


texts: Legality of using a business's information

texts:
Is it strictly legal to post a business's information on your website?

If the answer to the above is yes, then I guess I don't really have another question; however, if it is no, on what circumstances does it depend?

I've seen this post: Is it possible to legally prohibit someone from linking to specific pages on your website?
and the answer states: "use of information is not infringing".

But, I'm still not sure from that single line that my use case would be fine.

The use case for me would be posting a business's specials on my website: this could range from free entry to a paintball park to happy hour at a bar.  Does it matter how I get this information? What If I copy pasted their specials from their website? Must I paraphrase their information? Does it matter if I didn't post this information and other people were allowed to post it?

This is really almost free advertising for these restaurants/bars/businesses and I don't expect to have a problem, but I want to make sure that it isn't illegal.


texts: Therapist-Client Confidentiality and Limits

texts: Is the Therapist-Client confidentiality valid even after the passing away of the client? Also if not what repercussions could a Therapist face for revealing such details after the said person had passed away?


texts:
In Arizona, there is red light / speeding cameras. When you are caught on one of the cameras, they send you a ticket via mail. Since the ticket was never 'served' to you, it is not enforceable, and after a time period it drops off. Now they will send someone to serve you, and at that point you are responsible for the ticket in question.

I was walking down the street, and saw a officer giving out tickets and leaving them on the windshield of the cars. I was wondering if someone were to not receive the ticket because it was placed there (e.g., really bad rain storm, or some punk kid removed it) and was unaware of a ticket being issued since they were not 'served' the ticket, how are they liable, or does it fall under the same guidance as the cameras?


texts: Is it possible to sue a hacker based on his mail?

texts:
Some friend of mine got his mailbox hacked yesterday, meaning his entire contactlist received mails from him saying something like:

  I'm in a bad period in my life, I really feel sad, please mail me back.

So he got warned by some of his contacts, and therefore changed his password asap.

Today, he was surprised to receive no mail at all, even when specifically trying to send himself a mail from another mailbox.

I immediately suspected that the pirate could have redirected his mails to another mailbox, so I checked in his parameters and found that it was indeed the case.

So now we have a presumed adress of said pirate as it was written in clear in the redirection params, and the question comes:

  Would this be sufficient to sue the pirate for intruding my friend's mailbox ? And if so, how should he do it ?


texts: Is a 60 day move-out notice on month-to-month lease legal? (Texas)

texts:
My 6 month lease ends July 15th and I want to move out as soon as possible. My lease agreement specifies:

  "After that (July 15), this lease will automatically renew month-to-month unless either party gives at least 60 days' written notice of termination or intent to move out"

So say I don't give them a move out notice, and my lease renews month-to-month. Then, I give written move out notice. Can they legally make me pay 60 days worth of rent? My pay period is once per month, and the following implies that 30 days is the minimum notice required, provided I myself don't give a longer notice.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm

Am I thinking about this correctly? Or is it within their right to keep me on the hook for at least 60 days' rent?


texts:
I work for a company where we take credit card payments for the services we provide.

As per the Card Scheme rules, the cardholder can request a charge-back up to (in the case of Visa) 13 months after the transaction, at which point we are required to provide any data we collected about the transaction to prove that the cardholder initiated the transaction (data that, by definition, personally identifies the individual).  If we are unable to satisfactorily prove that the cardholder was involved, we are considered at fault and the price of the sale is refunded to the cardholder.

I have recently been reviewing the EU GDPR regulations to determine what we need do in order to become compliant.  Article 17 covers the "Right to Erasure", requiring us to remove data about an individual on request.

My concern is that someone may invoke the GDPR "Right to Erasure", then initiate a charge-back on a sale.  This will leave us unable to provide any information on the sale and so we'll be automatically at fault.

The GDPR states (Article 17, Paragraph 3):

  Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:
  ... (e) for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal
  claims."

Except at the point the right to erasure is invoked, there is no legal claim to be established or defended.

Is the possibility of a charge-back at some point in the future (and therefore the defence of a legal claim in future) sufficient to reject an individuals "Right to Erasure" under the GDPR?


texts: Can all members of a group be civilly liable when some are provably innocent?

texts:
Scenario: A crime involving property damage is committed. Suppose that it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that of a group of 3 people, 2 of them were involved and one was not. However, there's no evidence as to which one exactly is innocent and which are guilty. This makes a criminal prosecution unlikely as there's no way to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. However, could a civil action instigated by the property owner succeed?

The standard in civil trials is "on the balance of probabilities" or "more likely than not." This is often expressed as "more than 50% likely", but this question is meant to provide an edge case to this standard of proof. Despite one person being provably innocent, could all 3 people be found civilly liable for 1/3 of the damages, since each individual has a 67% chance of having committed the crime?

Assume there is no other evidence tipping the balance of probabilities one way or the other. Answers from any common law jurisdiction are welcome, especially citing case law.


texts: Website using Phonenumber, frequently getting phone calls from strangers

texts:
A website is using the mobile/cellphone number of a relative in their contacts. He's getting phone calls from strangers multiple times a week, sometimes even multiple times a day. He's not to familiar with the internet and asked me about what to do. I don't know whether the entire website is a scam. So contacting them might not work.

Considering the frequency of the calls and how often they call even after declining the call it might be that their website is no scam. But this going on for months and at some point you have to notice that you have the wrong number in the contact.

So what can one do about this misuse of a phone number? Are there any laws I can mention when trying to contact them? Are there any other options besides contacting them by myself or hiring a lawyer?

Changing the phonenumber is not an option.

EDIT: He already contacted them and they didn't reply.


texts: When does it become illegal to exchange bitcoin for cash?

texts: I've read several "stings" and raids for running unlicensed money transfer businesses for people buying and selling bitcoin on localbitcoins. All of the articles are extremely vague and don't explain exactly when it becomes illegal. Is there any direct source or any laws with numbers? Is it one transaction over $10,000 that's illegal, or anything adding up to $10,000 or just whoever the police feel like arresting that's selling a lot.  1 2 3 4 What about when someone buys with stolen money or money from illegal proceeds. Did you commit a crime if you sell bitcoin to someone and the money is stolen, or the gift cards are stolen?


texts: Can I get sued when using an opt-in (prompt the user to accept before starting the miner) crypto miner like coinhive or mineralt on my website in the US/EU?


texts:
I was referred to here from workplace, needing legal advice (I understand it is not replacing a lawyer- I'm working on that).

I was recently fired from an employer in Texas, US (after 9 months) due to retaliation. I prepared a small summary below. The bigger problem is that instead of severance, they are asking some money back after all these problems and intimidation.

I was under various hostility and jealousy by two of my colleagues because of my progress and recognition. The manager was their friend, they were a) harassing me through various means including shutting down my PC when working remotely, deleting my data, b)  restricting my hardware access, c) stalking me, violating my privacy, and share my data with them, d) deceiving me with dishonesty, e) discriminating me over them and friends from his country, f) all of them were threatening and bullying not to talk about my solution which was better than them, g) He was rejecting my paper and accepting their paper, and many others.

When I raised these ethical violations to HR, simply asking I just need to change my group (and I had offer from the manager), she retaliated and banned me from changing. Later, they teamed up together, and fired me suddenly in a discussion meeting with no reason. They gave a fake performance rating in spite of my excellent achievements, and robbed my annual bonus also. They falsely said I have two weeks to leave the country to further diminish my mood. I guess one reason could be because I told the HR that "I'm uncomfortable and I might get external help". Or maybe "I don't care what they do. Please let me change my group". It was a dirty workplace, and they suspect I have many bugs from them.

The bigger problem is that, now after after all these retaliations and firing me and ruining my whole career, they are asking to pay back around 30K for the relocation, sign on bonus, and other fees. The employment form where I signed was deceiving for the job termination. I am even suspected because they had a lay-off plan, but "fired" me to avoid those fees.

Here is the piece of offer letter:

Probably after all these hostilities, instead of severance, I have to even pay them money?! Alternatively, what are my options? Should I negotiate, or lawsuit?


texts: Uploading images of music notation: Do we violate copyright laws?

texts:
As I have noticed, it is rather common on music.SE to post a photo of a few bars and ask for help how to play it, e.g. fingering, how to play ornaments, etc.

Is that according to copyright laws?

My assumption is that

posting 1 or two bars could be ok and within fair use
posting the whole piece is not ok.

Is that correct? And if so, is there a strict borderline (e.g. a number of bars or a fraction(%) of the piece)?

This came up with this question, where a user was asking about an 8 bar piece.

Since one comment mentioned that copyright laws vary between different jurisdictions: I was assuming that the US laws apply here, since StackExchange is located in the US. However, it would be nice if you could confirm this as well, since other options could be that the jurisdiction of the poster or the publisher would apply.

PS: The only related post I could find so far is about copyright violation when transcribing notes, but that is not exactly the same.


texts: Can women also go shirtless in public legally?

texts:
Do women have the same rights as men to walk on the beach or sidewalk topless where men are also walking bare-chested without being discriminated against? If a woman is arrested or asked to leave by enforcement, but not the men, is that blatant sexual discrimination? Would that be a lawsuit that can be pursued?

Let us say this issue does go to the Supreme Court. Would women be allowed walk half naked, men to not be allowed to walk with their breasts out (yes some men do and lactate) and/or allow some public places made acceptable like half nude beaches or areas of town where men and women can enjoy the freedom to be shirtless together? How would this play out?


texts:
Would this situation be a counterclaim or a different claim? If a landlord sues a tenant for damages done to the apartment. The tenant has been wronged by the landlord because the landlord has unlawfully charged multiple security deposits, and the tenant wants to get his security deposits back.

Is that a counterclaim to the 'damages done' claim? Or is it a whole different claim. I suspect it's a different claim because both issues are not related, but I wanted to get a professional information

Edit: I'm in Brooklyn, New York


texts: Can a minor request a copy of a contract parents signed on their behalf?

texts: Can a minor get a copy of a contract parents signed on their behalf and if so, how can the minor get it (in New South Wales, Australia)?


texts: Attributing Wikipedia articles in a book

texts:
I have written a book. It is a collection of texts copied from Wikipedia articles. Then I attach multiple-choice questions for checking students' reading comprehension.

Is it enough if I state that texts are taken from Wikipedia.org at the end of the book, or do I have to provide the URL after each and every article?


texts: Much of what I have read gives the impression that Judges expect the parties in a divorce to lie.  But if the lie is persuasive, it prejudices the Court.  I do not see pointing this out to a Judge would be helpful.  If perjury carries a sanction or charge of a felony, surely the Judge will think it is relevant. As the trier of facts, how can this be ignored, especially if it can be proved?


texts: dental clinic - horrible service overcharged

texts:
In May this year I went to a dental clinic to put a dental crown in Anchorage Alaska USA. The dental clinic told me that the total cost for the crown would be US$2300. US$1300 would come from my pocket and the 1K from my health insurance. They also told that it would take 3 weeks to have it finished.

It took instead 3 months, as they made several mistakes, e.g. they made the wrong crown as full yellow gold (cheaper and they tried to convince me to accept that one) instead of porcelain fused metal (more expensive, which it was what I paid for); so, it had to be redone again. Also, their lab catch on fire, causing some delay, etc etc.

They also billed it in the wrong date, as end of August, although it was supposed to be billed as early June. Because of that, I needed to contact my health insurance. Then, my insurance contacted them to investigate what was going on... So, the dental clinic admitted that they billed in the wrong date, fixing it, and also the clinic admitted to have overcharged US$500 extra, $400 from me and $100 from the insurance. So, the dental clinic refunded me $400 and $100 to the health insurance.

Noteworthy to mention that the crown they put in my mouth was unleveled and was giving me pain. When I went to complain, they said that it was right and nothing was wrong with my new crown. Thanks God I changed the dentist, and the new dentist find out 4 months later that the pain I was having was caused by the new crown that was uneven... so my new dentist was kind enough to fix the troubled crown from the bad clinic, making it leveled at no extra charge.

Now in December, 6 months later, the dental clinic sent me an invoice, charging me $260 saying that it is related to that crown treatment, and that I still owe them. They say that dental clinic was expecting to receive more from the insurance, and the calculation was done wrongly and thus I still have to pay this extra bill. I explained that I have not been in their clinic for 6 month, that their service was horrible, I paid the bill in full, they overcharged, and they refunded it.

Do I still need to pay anything for this odd and unprofessional dental clinic whenever they decide to bill me - 6 months later? What if even latter this clinic decides to keep sending my other invoice charging me for their horrible service.

The bad dental clinic keep arguing that I still have to pay them another $260. Which in my view is totally odd.

Any thoughts or comments? All suggestions are highly appreciated.


texts: Why do passport applications ask for the information they ask for?

texts:
In the U.S., the passport application asks for:

A contact and their information
Intended destination for the first use of the passport
Details about one's parents

Why is this information part of the passport application?

(In my opinion, these questions leave the applicant open to being put in touch with people they'd rather not be in touch with or having the parents learn about the applicant's travel plans.)


texts: In UK Law what items can you carry to defend your person?

texts:
What items are legal under UK law to protect yourself?

Can you carry pepper spray?
A baseball bat?

If there are no police about how is one supposed to protect themselves from harm?


texts: Questions about private mailbox address used for LLC in California

texts:
I recently created an LLC using a private mailbox to keep my home address private in public records (in California). I work from home so using my home address is not an option due to privacy concerns. The LLC has been filed and currently active so the Secretary of State allowed the private mailbox.

What's troublesome for me is when opening a business checking account I am not allowed to use a private mailbox address (according to Capital One) and instead I have to use my home address. Not only that, EDD (for state-level taxes in California) also did not allow private mailbox as the address so I had to use my home address there. I am okay with that since these are not being put to public records but I feel during tax season it will get very complicated as some documents will be using my home address and others the private mailbox address.

Capital One asked for my SS-4 which I provided but when I setup my EIN, I used my private mailbox as the business address so they are asking for other documents.

What should I do to open a business checking account? I was asked to provide 1 of these documents for proof:

  Articles of Organization with members
  Secretary of State filing with signer information
  Operating Agreement
  Articles of Formation

  Additionally, in order to verify the business address, we will also need one of the following documents:

  Utility Bill
  Proof of Insurance OR
  Business License

Problem is, the first four bullet points uses the private mailbox address. The Utility Bill uses my home address but it doesn't have my business name just my full name. Not sure what to do here.


texts: Paying for a housemate's share of utilities when we are unable to

texts:
Currently I live in a a housing situation where we have four housemates (counting myself.) We split the utilities bill four ways.

Recently one of the housemates quit his job and decided to pursue post-graduate education. That housemate is related to the land lady (I think he’s her nephew or son.) As of last month, the utilities have been split three ways rather than the typical four as I'd except. I haven't made a fuss of it just yet as I'm asking around for advice on what to do before doing anything.

Is there anything I can do in this situation, besides move out? I'm under a lease agreement so I can't do anything for a few months time. I'm wondering if it's possible for me to be kicked out because I'm speaking up and the housemate is using his advantage being related to the land lady.

Context: This is in the United States, specifically California. I recall signing papers for the lease but I do not recall there being something specific about paying utilities or how that is split outside of a verbal agreement.

While the amount difference is not large, I'm asking mainly on principle since I feel it is morally wrong.


texts: I know an Ambassador who committed a crime and fled abroad on diplomatic immunity. Will he be able to return to his native country in the future under statute barred or statute of limitations rules?  He would have been jailed for five years if he wasn't a Diplomat.


texts: How does discovery work for financial crimes?

texts:
There is a case in the news at the moment about the post office securing 736 convictions for false accounting and theft that later some were overturned on the basis of an accounting error made by an internal computer system.  The High Court described the computer system as not "remotely robust" for the first 10 years of its use, and still had problems after that.
What I would have expected to happen in this case would be for the accused to request the data on which the decision was made during discovery, with an accountant compared this to their own records and demonstrated an error.  It appears this did not happen, though it is hard to find what actually did happen.
Do we know what happened here?  It it possible for a party to such a suit to bring evidence to the court without providing the underlying data to the other party?


texts: How to correct an LLC Entity Name in California?

texts:
I recently purchased an LLC via LegalZoom and they made a mistake by adding a comma in my LLC Name. I was told that I had to cough up over $150 just to get it corrected through them so I wanted to do it on my own as the filing fee is only $30 or $45 if I wanted to drop it off.

The form is located here: http://bpd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/llc/forms/llc-11.pdf

My issue is that I don't know what some of these fields are for. What do I put in "4. Parties to the Document Being Corrected" and in "Document Provision"?

For the parties to the document being corrected, I assumed it would be LegalZoom, Inc. but maybe it's the Secretary of State? Not sure what to put in that field and if I am even allowed to correct it.

Current LLC is "Company, LLC", want it corrected to "Company LLC".


texts: Why was the Armenian assassin of Talat Pasha acquitted for murder?

texts:
The Armenian assassin of the ex-Ottoman Grand Vizier Talat Pasha, Soghomon Tehlirian was acquitted of murder in his trial. His defence was that he was killing Talat Pasha in retaliation for his crimes in orchestrating the Ottoman Armenian Genocide.

  Tehlirian was tried for murder, but was eventually acquitted by the
  twelve-man jury. His trial was a rather sensationalized event at the
  time, taking place shortly after the establishment of the Weimar
  Republic, with Tehlirian being represented by three German defense
  attorneys, including Dr. Theodor Niemeyer, professor of law at Kiel
  University. Priest and Armenian Genocide survivor Grigoris Balakian,
  German activist Johannes Lepsius, and German commander of the Ottoman
  armed forces during the war General Liman von Sanders were among
  several of the prominent individuals called as witnesses to the trial.

  The trial examined not only Tehlirian’s actions but also Tehlirian's
  conviction that Talât was the main author of the Armenian deportation
  and mass killings. The defense attorneys made no attempt to deny the
  fact that Tehlirian had killed a man, and instead focused on the
  influence of the Armenian Genocide on Tehlirian's mental state.
  Tehlirian claimed during the trial that he had been present in
  Erzincan in 1915 and had been deported along with his family and
  personally witnessed their murder. When asked by the judge if he felt
  any sort of guilt, Tehlirian remarked, "I do not consider myself
  guilty because my conscience is clear…I have killed a man. But I am
  not a murderer.

However, murder in retaliation for crimes the victim committed is often not considered a legal defence to the act of murder. For example, this 2013 Baltimore case resulted in the sentencing of the killer to 30 years in jail.

Similarly, the Lillehammer affair involves Israeli Mossad agents sent to assassinate a (mistakenly identified) mastermind of the Munich attacks on Israelis. The agents were arrested and convicted by Norwegian authorities.

A final example was the case of Vitaly Kaloyev, who stabbed to death the air traffic controller responsible for the Überlingen mid-air collision in which his family was killed. He was also convicted for murder in that case and sentenced to prison.

What differences in law in that time in Germany led to the acquittal of Soghomon Tehlirian for murder?


texts: Can I start a mobile recycling business in California?

texts: I had the possibly unprofitable hypothetical idea of starting a mobile recycling business where a truck comes to you and pays you door-to-door for your recycling at below market prices. Can this be done legally in California?


texts:
Recently a flier was placed on my vehicle windshield whilst at work.  I arrived back at my vehicle in the evening and drove away not realising the flier was on there.

While driving the flier blew off the windshield onto another car blocking their vision.  This resulted in an accident.  Am I negligent for not removing the flier, or does negligence lie with the company who placed the flier on the car.


texts:
So I'm 17 and for the past few months I've been working on a programming project. My intent is to use the code for profit in the future, and because of that I've been reluctant to recruit others to work on the project. Before vacation my Entrepreneurship teacher told me something about a Non-Compete Clause, a document that if I get someone to sign online offers me legal protection from them stealing my code.

I'm not sure how to set one of these up though, and if I screw this up I could potentially lose months of hard work? Any advice for confused teenager?


texts:
I want to know if it is presumably/presumptively/normally illegal to barter using firearms. Is it illegal to barter one firearm for another firearm? Can services or goods other than firearms be rendered in exchange for firearms when no money is exchanged?
I'm not concerned with the tax implications here, just for the sake of simplicity. I'm also not concerned with the precise definition of money, for the same reason, unless everything is money in a legal sense once a barter happens. For a concrete example, could I legally manufacture and exchange a firearm with another adult for furniture, routinely or even once?
This all assumes:

No party is a known criminal
No party inspects the ID of the other or performs a background check
Each party is known to be or appears to be old enough to own a firearm legally
One party barters regularly in this manner using firearms and firearm components
No party is licensed to sell firearms

If this is legal only under narrow circumstances, I would appreciate knowing the nuances.


texts: Can I use the EPL-licensed library (Paho) for a commercial project and NOT disclose the source code of the project?

texts: Can I use the Eclipse Paho library (licensed under EPL) for a commercial project and NOT disclose the whole source code of that project? I'm not going to make any changes to Paho code, I just want to use it as a library in an Android app. Are there precedents? I could not find the exact answer on the Internet.


texts: Citing a country's constitution in OSCOLA style

texts: How do you cite a country's constitution in the the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) style?


texts: Do I have to declare my cameras to the CNIL?

texts:
Do I have to declare my CCTV system to the CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, which translates to "National Committee for IT and Liberties") if they are placed on a private property which is also the HQ of a company?

This web page indicates you have to declare any CCTV system that meet the following conditions: the cameras are recording a place not opened to public AND you're recording on some digital hardware.

On this web page, the penultimate line indicates you don't have to do anything if this is your home, but the last line says you have to declare it if you're having employees on the house.

The company HQ is the house of the company owner's parents. The house is fully owned by his parents. The company is fully owned by the owner.

So, the employees are not the house's owner's employees. Does it still qualify for the last line?

This is a contractor company, so the employees are not working all day long on HQ, they are just loading/unloading trucks.


texts: What is the worst scenario if I stop paying the last four months of rent?

texts: So here's my situation. I have signed a pretty standard rent contract saying that I would rent an apartment in Atlanta for 12 months (August 2019 to July 2020). Because of COVID, I have vacated the apartment and will not be returning. So, the apartment is empty and noone will be living in it, yet I still have to pay $XXXX/month for the next four months. Does anyone know a way around this? What is the worst thing that could happen if I just don't pay my rent?


texts: How is this Swiss university job application not age discrimination?

texts:
I see a reference to age discrimination under Swiss law which says:

  The prohibition of age discrimination is a fundamental right guaranteed by the
  Swiss Federal Constitution (Article 8, paragraph 2: No person must be
  discriminated against due to their age).  As a fundamental right, it
  binds the state and the authorities towards individuals.  It thus
  applies to employment relationships governed by Swiss public law (e.g.
  members of the civil service).

I also see on their website that the university in question (below) is a public university in Switzerland (so I would assume Swiss public law would apply):

  USI, sometimes referred to as the University of Lugano, is one of the
  12 certified public universities in Switzerland coordinated by
  swissuniversities.

So, how could it be that this job add is not a violation when it starts with the following text:

  The Faculty of Informatics of the Università della Svizzera italiana
  (USI), located in beautiful Lugano, Switzerland, invites young
  researchers to apply for an Assistant Professor position.


texts:
I'm aware of a relevant law discussed in a related thread, but the law is not clear to me still.
It's not clear to me by the language of the law whether "consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote" regards voting per se, or voting a particular way/for a particular candidate. Is this open to interpretation as to this question? For instance, could a restaurant owner offer discounted prices only to people who voted, regardless of the candidates and proposals voted for? Could a person in NH pay someone to vote or not vote regardless of the details of the vote?
This seems to be legal to my untrained eyes because government employees commonly give small in-kind payments to people who vote, for instance pens, masks, and stickers, but perhaps that would be a crime if instead the amount of money equal to a pen, mask, and a sticker were given.


texts: UK: Can someone record or broadcast over the phone a private conversation from outside of the room where this conversation is take a place?

texts: By the UK law can someone record or broadcast over the phone a private or business conversation from outside of the room where this conversation is take a place?


texts: Prosecution in a case of diplomatic immunity

texts:
There's been recent publicity about an American diplomat in Britain responsible for a car accident that killed someone. She claimed diplomatic immunity and left the country.

Could the victim's family sue her in an American court?

Could she be criminally prosecuted in America because of what she did in Britain?


texts: What would happen to Hobby Lobby under Medicare For All?

texts:
The Hobby Lobby SCOTUS case, if I'm not mistaken, says a company can manipulate the nature of their employees' health insurance, justifying it by the idea that since they're providing it, they should be allowed to demand that it falls in line with their opinion of religious morality, and can thus place prohibitions on certain aspects of it to achieve this end.

Given this, if the justification is based on whom is providing the insurance, wouldn't that mean that, at least with regards to the employer's ability to manipulate the coverage of their employees' insurance, that this power would be stripped from them under a Bernie Sanders style Medicare For All system?

Wouldn't an automatic/assumed form of Medicare not based off an employer's financial burden, mean that only the executive branch would gain the right to dictate the nature of coverage due to religious objections (and then promptly lose this power due to the separation of church and state)?


texts:
Youtube allows youtubers to mark videos as made for kids. There the United States COPPA is cited  The age of a kid here is  thirteen . In U.K. it is 16 and some country it may be else if they wish to maker such a law. So what is the standard to be followed for a kid ? Are videos for collected and uploaded for college students or of general appeal of all ages " for kids " ? Lastly if a video for kids is labeled as "Not for kids " are they punishable in India or U.S. ?

A basic summary of what doubt led to this question:

Different countries have different ages for kids so it is unclear who is a kid or not.
If a video which does not feature any violence or impolite content but education content that kids ( in some jurisdictions kids but not in COPPA ) may like ( age 16 + ) or of appeal of all ages is marked as not for kids is it illeagal ? ( I cannot as of writing find a wrong in it morally .).


texts: Guilt of a character in a convoluted murder from a whodunnit movie

texts:
In a movie I recently watched, a rather convoluted murder took place. As a matter of fact, it was so convoluted that I have no idea if the character was guilty or not. I'll try my best to keep the details vague so as not to provide spoilers.
Person A is a medical professional, caring for person B. In A's medical bag there are two different flasks of pills; one that helps treat B's condition and one that would kill B. After administering the pill, A takes a look at the label on the flask and notices that he accidentally gave B the lethal pill, not the beneficial pill. Apparently, B is not very concerned with his own death, and moreover believes that A made a honest mistake and is fond of A. Hence, B comes up with a plot to make his death look like suicide and A reluctantly agrees to participate. The plot involves B commiting suicide, and A going through a number of deceptions in order to secure an alibi, but nothing else that would normally be illegal (at least with B's permission). The plan is put into motion, and B indeed dies by his own hand.
The big twist is that the main villain has, unbeknownst to A and B, mislabelled the two flasks with the intention of killing B. The pill that A gave B would not have caused any bad effects, and B would have lived if the cover-up plan was not executed.
Clearly, the villain is guilty. But what about A? Has he committed any crimes? Is he guilty of accidenatally causing B's death? Or possibly obstruction of justice?


texts: Can I legally make a real mobile app based on a fictional app from a TV show?

texts: There's a fictional mobile app in a Netflix TV show that I'd like to make a real thing. I'm an independent developer, I don't plan on monetizing it in any way, and it's going to be open-source. Is it legal for me to use the name, the logo and the color scheme that appear in the TV show? If no, how much of that can I use as-is and how much do I need to change so no one sues me?


texts: Google Translate Voice/Speech used for Youtube Tutorials (TTS)

texts:
I have made a video tutorial using Google Translates Voice/Speech-functionality to explain what the user should do. It works really good compered to other free open-sorce programs I have used.

Can I upload this to Youtube without legal consequences?

I am counting on earning a few bucks on the video so it's commerical use.


texts: Can an employer change its pension for existing employees?

texts: Can an employer change the terms and conditions of benefits, vacation, or pension after an employee accepts an offer in which those are listed?


texts: Agreement with family member who wants to pay for home modifications

texts:
I have a family member who will live with me in a house I just purchased. They want to make a bunch of modifications to the property and have agreed to pay for these modifications with their money. Some modifications will include things that are physically tied to the property (paint, faucets, ceiling fans, light fixtures, etc).

Should I have them give me the money directly or pay for the items/contractors themselves? And should I have an agreement that states that these purchases are indeed 'gifted' so that there are no disputes about equity/ownership of the property and assets therein?


texts: How does one meet the "serious harm" threshold in libel cases (UK)?

texts:
I'm trying to sue someone in the UK for libel. (I'm in the US.) I've had some UK attorneys willing to take my case, but not on conditional fee. I recently contacted a pro bono organization there, and they declined to assist on the basis that I did not meet the "serious harm" threshold.
The content has the potential to cause me "serious harm" (I was accused of committing a crime and subjected to much online harassment because of this post), but I was unemployed at the time it was posted (still am) and have not yet applied to graduate programs. So there hasn't been any economic loss, but there may be. For example, I could be rejected for a job/grad. school if the employer/people on the grad. admission committee believe the post and associate it with me. (I was doxxed bc of it.) Again, however I haven't actually pursued employment or grad. school yet.
So how much could I sue for if a post was defamatory and has potential to cause damages but hasn't due to lack of pursuing employment/school? (If I cannot find legal representation, I'll probably represent myself. So I want to get an idea of how much I could sue for.)


texts:
Considered posting on skeptics or politics, so please let me know if this should be moved.

Donald Trump Jr. recently posted the email exchange between him and Rob Goldstone to his twitter feed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/russia-trump-emails.html

However, my question concerns something brought up by the Times.

  Told that The Times was going to publish the contents of his emails, he went into damage-control mode, hastily posting photos of the email chain, along with a statement, minutes before The Times published its story.

Assuming that the Times didn't obtain the emails from any of the parties involved (Rob Goldstone, Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner), how could they have legally obtained the emails? I understand the idea of anonymous sources, but would an aide or some other person with access to this account not be breaching some sort of privacy laws by sharing emails like this? Are there laws protecting journalists that obtain information illegally?


texts: Can I use `© 2019 My Name` in a application created by me without registering for official copyright in India?

texts:
Indian gov copyright site

Ques: Is it necessary to register a work to claim copyright?
Ans: No.
Acquisition of copyright is automatic and it does not require any
formality. Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created
and no formality is required to be completed for acquiring copyright.
However, certificate of registration of copyright and the entries made
therein serve as prima facie evidence in a court of law with reference
to dispute relating to ownership of copyright.

Do I need any legal document to display that copyright or just that the work is created by me it is sufficient?


texts: Are newspapers' quotes of other people protected by copyright?

texts:
I recently came across a New York Times article about Peter Thiel which contained several quotes by him. The quotes seem to have been from comments Thiel made directly to a New York Times reporter.
I then came across this USA Today article, which contains those same quotes. The article mentions that Thiel was speaking to the New York Times and links to the NYT.

My questions are: Are those quotes covered by copyright? If so, does Thiel own them? Or the NYT? Or both? In other words, was the USA Today's use of those quotes legally-protected? Or is it more of a "friendly arrangement" between the two news organizations?


texts: Correct places of service for companies in England and Wales

texts:
Civil Procedure Rule 6.9(2) states:

Subject to paragraphs (3) to (6), the claim form must be served on the defendant at the place shown in the following table.
(For service out of the jurisdiction see rules 6.40 to 6.47.)

Nature of defendant to be served
Place of service

1. Individual
Usual or last known residence.

2. Individual being sued in the name of a business
Usual or last known residence of the individual; or principal or last known place of business.

3. Individual being sued in the business name of a partnership
Usual or last known residence of the individual; or principal or last known place of business of the partnership.

4. Limited liability partnership
Principal office of the partnership; or any place of business of the partnership within the jurisdiction which has a real connection with the claim.

5. Corporation (other than a company) incorporated in England and Wales
Principal office of the corporation; or any place within the jurisdiction where the corporation carries on its activities and which has a real connection with the claim.

6. Company registered in England and Wales
Principal office of the company; or any place of business of the company within the jurisdiction which has a real connection with the claim.

7. Any other company or corporation
Any place within the jurisdiction where the corporation carries on its activities; or any place of business of the company within the jurisdiction.

I have a few questions on this—

What is #5 "Corporation (other than a company) incorporated in England and Wales"?  Is not a company the sole form of corporation that exists in England and Wales?

"Principal office" is not defined within the Civil Procedure Rules.  Is it necessarily the registered office (of a company/LLP)?  Or where a company has a head office location that is different to its registered office (which might for example be that of its accountant), might the former be the "principal office"?

Where a company ceases to use a place of business, does that place immediately cease to be a "place of business" for them or would it remain a valid place of service thereafter?

Supporting citations/references much appreciated!


texts: Employee Contract changing without approval

texts:
Scenario:

Employee works at a medium sized Company (100-500 employees).
Company has recently changed office locations and needs to update employee contracts to reflect the change. Company presents Employee with a revised contract.

Company informs Employee that the contract is legally binding at X date regardless of Employee's approval and signature of the document. The contents of the contract are different beyond the address change that was the declared reason for the revision of the contract.

IF Employee does not sign the new document are they legally bound to the contents given their "implicit consent" in that they were made aware by the Company of X date?

IF Employee does not sign the new document AND is not legally bound to the contents of the new contract, are they still legally bound to the contents of their previous contract?


texts: Can I use logos from vendors in my open-source project?

texts:
I have an open-source project that is quite popular with dozens of downloads per day. I use logos from big companies in there (e.g. Cisco or Microsoft) to customize some web pages. The logos are important for the project's effectiveness.

Can I use these logos under "fair use" considering that I'm not making any money out of the open-source project? It's worth mentioning that I'm confident that users of the project are using it for commercial uses (e.g. to sell their services).


texts: Legality of using official Oracle reference to create a parser?

texts:
Antlr is a parser generator. This is the official Oracle reference for PL/SQL.

If I use the information in the reference to create a PL/SQL parser, would this have any legal implications?

Since the reference is freely available to public, I initially thought not but being freely available to public might not imply that I may use the reference for however purpose.

So, would using the official Oracle reference to create a software be legal?


texts: Is it legal to *prohibit* recording a conversation in Pennsylvania?

texts:
I went to a walk-in patient care facility earlier this evening, and asked the provider upon his entrance if I could record the interview. (I realize this feels adversarial, but I had a valid reason.) He replied that no, it was hospital policy that encounters could not recorded, and even after explaining the reason, he refused, so I did not. But I do wonder if this is legal.

When I got home, I looked it up. According to this digital media law site, it is not illegal to record a conversation if you are one of the parties:

  Federal law permits recording telephone calls and in-person conversations with the consent of at least one of the parties. This is called a "one-party consent" law. Under a one-party consent law, you can record a phone call or conversation so long as you are a party to the conversation.

I also saw that Pennsylvania's wiretapping law is a "two-party consent" law.

I tried to read the wiretapping law but gave up pretty quickly.

So I'm left to wonder.

Is it legal to prohibit recording a conversation in Pennsylvania?

I have never been threatened with a lawsuit, so I'm a bit less leery of patients suing me than some of my colleagues. Granted it doesn't happen often, but I've always given consent when asked if I could be audio recorded (I'm a physician.) My reasoning:

- It may be helpful to a caregiver who was unable to attend the visit.
- It is no different than bringing in a friend or relative into the room (It's actually a lot more objective and I only have to answer one person's questions.)
- Due to anxiety over illness, etc., patients only hear/remember about 25% of what a doctor says. An audio recording is a valuable resource for the patient if they want to review instructions or explanations they might have missed.
- It empowers a patient to a small extent, evening out the huge imbalance of power between physician and patient. Anything I can do to increase confidence in me in particular, and in the medical profession in general, is a plus.
- The patient has as much a right to an audio copy of our interaction as a paper copy of the chart.
- I have nothing to hide if I'm doing my best and meeting (hopefully exceeding) the standard of care.
- It protects me as well if a claim is made (I imagine alteration of audio recordings can be detected if necessary.

My previous malpractice carrier encouraged transparency in all things, and had no problems with this. But I never even thought to run this by the legal department of the hospital where I'm now employed, and if it's discouraged, I missed the memo.


texts: How to protect privacy vis-a-vis sending resume to potential employer?

texts:
How can I protect the personal information contained within my C.V., cover letter, letters of recommendation from unauthorized sharing?

I have been a victim of identity theft, so I seek to now find ways of limiting the exposure of my personal information to any entity I come across, including employers.

I thought it would be to my benefit to have a confidentiality disclaimer page stating that I do not consent to the sharing of this information without my prior approval. I've heard of employers selling applicant information, or sharing it, and I just want a way to protect against that; if that's even possible.


texts: What law makes a Movie "Nicht Feiertagsfrei"?

texts:
Top Gun, Life of Brian and Heidi (2001) don't seem to have anything in common, but in Germany they are all declared "Nicht Feiertagsfrei" and may not be shown in a cinema on some days. Among them is the Friday before Easter (Karfreitag), Volkstrauertag (14th November), and Buß- und Bettag (17th November).
It is the FSK that declares a movie "Nicht Feiertragsfrei", but what legal basis do they have?


texts: According to GDPR, does privacy decision made on website legally affect mobile app settings also?

texts:
We're implementing the EU's GDPR regulations on a certain project and I'm wondering about the following:
Company A develops an App, which also has a website version available to customers. The website implements a mechanism that allows the user to disable tracking and data collection. This decision is made when they land on the website, regardless of whether they are logged in at the time or not. Practically, it is very probable that large portion of users will land on the website, click "Allow all" and then log in.
I have two questions:

When they log in, can we presume their approval of data collection is still applicable, if we can make the connection between them accepting it before they logged in and their user profile now that they did log in?
Regardless of whether they accept or decline, is the mobile app required to adopt that decision? For example, user opted to deny any data collection by clicking on "Decline" on the website. They then logged in. After a while, they opened their mobile app on their phone (native app). What should the app do? Should it ask for permission again, since it is a different platform? Should it be able to communicate with the API and understand that the user opted out?

Again, I'm not asking from UX perspective. I'm asking from legal perspective. Is there any specific scenario in this case that we are supposed to follow by law?


texts:
The following says:

  Currently, flag burning is not illegal in the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States in its decision from 1969 has ruled that the burning of the flag is protected by the First Amendment. However, the person who burnt the flag can be found guilty of a misdemeanor for starting a fire without a permit.

  http://thelawdictionary.org/article/is-flag-burning-illegal/

But this law seems to say that it is illegal:

  (a)
  (1) Whoever knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

  https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/700

What is the right one?


texts: How does real estate / private land ownership come into existence?

texts:
I can buy real estate from another seller.  That seller at some point bought it from someone else, and so on, until we arrive at the first "owner" of this property.  How did that individual become its owner?

I'm especially intrigued by ownership of lakeside property, such as marinas and boat slips.

To add color/context to my question: I live in Seattle, a relatively new city.  It was settled by Europeans in 1851.  Today, a one-bedroom condo can go for $500-700K, and Lake Union is teeming with expensive houseboats.  I want to know what I would have had to do, as an enterprising new Seattleite in the mid-19th century, to secure new land for myself, and what's possible today?


texts: Does creating a wrapper library infringe copyright?

texts:
I am thinking about writing a wrapper library for a proprietary library.

Due to the nature of a wrapper library, its API would be very similar to the API of the original library in terms of what functions and classes it would provide and how they would be used. However, there would be differences (added functions, changed parameters, etc.) and the names of the functions and classes would be different.

Would that infringe copyright law?

I live in Germany and the company developing the proprietary library is located in the US.


texts: Is the phrasing in a lease important? e.g. "not allowed" vs "must not" vs "shall not"

texts:
I asked the question about legalese and it seems the important part is that the parties' intents are communicated clearly. I've noticed in property leases there are quite a few different styles of writing. For example not pets allowed in house:

Tenants may not have pets in the house
Tenants shall not have pets in the house
Tenants will not have pets in the house
Tenants are not allowed pets in the house
No pets in the house
Tenants agree to not have pets in the house

What's the difference between "shall not", "will not", "may not", "must not" and "no" etc.?


texts: Can Giuliani represent Trump in an impeachment trial?

texts:
Link.

President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani tells ABC News he's working as part of the president's defense team in his upcoming second impeachment trial -- and that he's prepared to argue that the president's claims of widespread voter fraud did not constitute incitement to violence because the widely-debunked claims are true.

Question: Can Giuliani even legally represent Trump in the impeachment process?  Giuliani was a major participant in the events leading up to the alleged insurrection.  Isn't he likely to be called as a witness?  Isn't there a conflict of interest here?
NB: This question is only about the legality of Giuliani representing Trump.  The insurrection and impeachment itself can be discussed in other threads.


texts:
I want to download a HTML code from this website: "http://www.cssscript.com/pure-css-floating-labels-for-text-fields/", the license is "Unknown", this mean that I can edit and add the code the my website without write any License text in the edited code?
In the website which I want to download the code I found this sentance:" Inspired by Matt D. Smith’s design and created by skielbasa."


texts: Selling my own label-making software for Zebra printers

texts:
I did a little research on Google about the licensing problem of selling original label-making software for Zebra printers and failed to find anything related to it.
Normally there shouldn't be any problem because, I believe, it's no different from making software to print on any other printers.
And I don't think you have to get any licensing permission to print on, say, Epson's printers.
But because printing on Zebra's label printers involving using their creation - ZPL (Zebra Programming Language), now I'm not so sure about the legality of selling anything which have used their creation.


texts: Are variations of the I(heart)NY logo public domain?

texts:
EDIT: On closer inspection of one of the articles I linked to, it appears clear that the original logo is indeed trademarked, though I still don't understand why Wikipedia lists it as public domain. Anyway, I edited my question because I'd like to know if replacing "NY" with another state postal code would be legal. Or would a facsimile of the original logo with a different type face or arrangement be legal?

One of the most famous logos on the planet is probably the acronym ILNY ("I Love New York"), substituting a red heart for the letter L. Wikipedia has picture of it, describing it as lying in the public domain.

The logo has been widely copied and modified, with versions replacing NY with other state postal codes. I believe some of these versions have even appeared on license plates, which would seem to confirm that the variations are at least in the public domain.

I'm working on a book about state symbols. Just to be on the safe side, I decided to trace the origin of the logo and determine if anyone claims legal jurisdiction over it.

I was told that not only is the ILNY logo not in the public domain, but all variations are prohibited from use without permission as well. I was denied permission to use the logo in my book.

Below are a couple key communications:

  To confirm, the New York State Department of Economic Development
  (NYSDED) is the exclusive owner of the federally registered I LOVE NY®
  logo (it is not in the public domain).  NYSDED uses the iconic I LOVE
  NY® logo to promote all regions of New York State.  Unfortunately, I
  have confirmed that NYSDED is not able to approve use of its logo in
  connection with your request below.  In addition, at this time NYSDED
  is not able to approve variations of its logo substituting any portion
  of the mark with another element.  In order to avoid potential
  infringement, we encourage you to consider alternative designs that do
  not copy or encroach on the famous I LOVE NY logo.  You may also wish
  to consult with a trademark attorney if you have questions concerning
  clearance of a new design.

Also,

  Brand Sense Partners is the licensing agency for the I Love NY logo
  and we handle most of these types of inquiries for the State of New
  York.

I just wanted to get a second opinion. Do you think this image really is legally protected, or do you think they're just trying to intimidate me? And is it credible to suggest that even a variation, such as I(heart)VT is illegal?

I imagine Wikipedia can get away with using the image because 1) Wikipedia is technically a non-profit, and 2) Wikipedia is Wikipedia; it has the legal resources to defend itself. However, I'm amazed that Wikipedia would label this image public domain if it isn't. Granted, the owners of the logo can't police the entire Internet, but surely they'd contact Wikipedia and tell them to stop promoting the image as public domain - especially after my correspondence with them.

In summary, I think variations of the I(heart)NY logo are indeed in the public domain, and I suspect the original logo may be as well. But I don't want to make any mistakes that could get me sued.

I may have answered my own question. I just found another Wikipedia article that describes the logo as trademarked, though when you click on the logo it's again labeled "public domain." Maybe this is just sloppy work on Wikipedia's part.

Also, note the image of the logo (with no credit or attribution) @ http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/slogans/ny_slogan.htm and the photograph of a shirt bearing the logo @ https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/new-york/state-cultural-heritage/i-love-ny


texts: Company hasn't paid me in weeks. Retaliation Concerns of contacting labor board?

texts:
Apparently my company is not doing well financially, and they could not pay me for quite a bit of time now.

I would like to let the labor board know so that I can get paid, but I'm worried that the employer can retaliate and fire me for doing that. Is this legal to do in the USA?

I did some research and can see that reporting workplace harrassment is protected by laws, but didn't find any mention of reporting to the labor board for failure to pay wages.

If it's illegal, I'd like details on what the law name / section is so that I can do research on it.

EDIT1: The state is RI and it's not a "famous" company. They have a very large client base but honestly I don't know of many employees at all, and they owe me several thousand dollars. I love working for the company and the work conditions are extremely good (I know that should not affect my ultimate decision here), so I am hesitant to do anything bad against the company. I don't want to give out too much info here in fear that they'll discover this topic and act accordingly, but I hope this is enough info for good responses.


texts:
What does "Dispense with formal citation" mean?

In various moot scenarios, I have observed the use of the phrase:

If it pleases the court, may we dispense with formal citation?

when referring to a different case.
I was wondering what exactly this means - I would assume something along the lines of "may I quote this case", but I observed this being said after a chief justice was quoted.
What does it mean? What formal citations are being dispensed?


texts: Is citing public domain materials as such a legal requirement in the U.S.?

texts:
Though public domain materials are essentially owned by everyone, there are laws requiring people to cite the sources of public domain items they use. As I understand it, the laws vary between countries.

I'm curious about whether these laws are enforced. If someone published an ebook featuring a public domain image with no indication that it's public domain, let alone its source, who would bother suing that person? How frequent are such lawsuits, and what are typical penalties?

To condense this to a single question, I suppose I could just ask "Are such laws enforced?" A link to a reference that explores this topic more thoroughly would be even more helpful.


texts: Store browser width / screen size and browser type without user consent?

texts: I have a question about GDPR compliance for a web app. May I store users' browser window width / screen size (like 768px) and browser type (eg. Firefox) to be used for future responsive design enhancements without users' consent? No other info is collected, users do not have an account in my app, I just need this for statistical purposes to know what browsers and screen sizes are most used by people using my web app and do not want to use Google Analytics or other external service.


texts: Property manager said my rent was 1/3rd of the usual for an extra 11 days, now says it's full amount

texts:
As many others, I'm in a leasing pickle, and would like to better know my options.
I recently rented an apartment in Seattle for a 3-month stay (Jun 1st - Aug 31st), for $1190 monthly. On July 29th, more than 30 days before my original move-out date, I asked if I could extend my lease for an extra 9 days, since that's when my flight home was and it was more comfortable. Of course, I asked the corresponding rent, and the "property manager" (not the owner, whom I've never dealt with) told me it was $357 (*1). That worked for me, so we decided to go forward (all of this via email with the property manager of the place I was at). My contract required only a 20 days notice to move out or make changes, so everything seemed to be alright.
I moved out successfully on Sept 10th and left the place in a pristine condition. I had rented furniture which were picked up on the 11th.
About 2 days ago, after sending an email asking when my deposit refund would be mailed to me, the manager said this:

So I spoke with my manager and she told me, under no circumstances do we prorate for move out. I'm so sorry, I didn't know we didn't do that. It hadn't come up before.
Because of this you still have part of your rent due. We can keep your deposit as part of your payment, but your deposit wasnt very high so you will still have rent due. I will get the totals and let you know.

Needless to say, I am a pissed. I do not intend to pay this extra rent (which is a significant amount) since we had agreed in writing (*2) about the new rent. I also would very much like my deposit back.
My first instinct is to say exactly that, and that I will seek legal help if they do not comply. It is not my issue that the manager didn't know this, or that my manager's manager hadn't communicated it to her.
Should I? Is this a lost cause? Will I be in a world of pain to get my money? I am not living in the US anymore, so I couldn't meet in person with either them or a judge/attorney.

A few more details:

I payed monthly via an ACH recurring debit form, filling one for each month and choosing one-time payments, so I don't think they can just take the extra rent without my consent.

I imagine not paying would hurt my credit score. I do not necessarily care about it deeply, as I am not US based (but I might live there again temporarily).

The deposit is $298.

The email history with the manager is a bit messy, but I could transcribe and post it here. It was basically me asking questions and getting 1-line answers. The most relevant bit on July 29th, almost unedited is:

Me: "Say I wanted to move out on Sept 9th, what would be the rent for September in that case? Is it a full month?"
Manager: "Yes because I didn't get [20 days] notice. You would have to pay for the whole month."
Me: "But that's around 40 days from now..? In any case, moving out on Aug 31 as the lease says would be fine by me!"
Manager: "I am so sorry your right I was thinking August 9th. The rent for September would be. $357."

Adding to my anger is the fact that 1) the apartment was an absolute dump when I got there (filth, food in sink/oven, broken shower, ...) which I had to deal with (and got offered a $100 rent refund for, which I took) and 2) my contract specified a first-month's rent of about 50%, and when I realized I had paid more than that she replied "it appears I got the numbers wrong on your lease [...] that was for another unit". At the moment I took it as an honest mistake.

(*1) We later agreed that I would stay an extra 11 days instead, but she did not update this amount. I guess I should pay the extra two days, I seem to have missed that.
(*2) At least I hope emails count as "in writing".


texts: Can a Californian be in legal trouble for physically restraining a dangerous child not his own?

texts:
Here's what I witnessed some time ago:

There is a large ground level chess set set at an outdoor mall, with squares about 2x2 feet and pieces 2-3 feet high, about 5 lbs each. This chess set is usually used by small kids, 2-5 year old, who move the large chess pieces, make around themselves, pretend to ride the horses, etc.

One day a much bigger kid, 10 year old or so, apparently elated by the lack of supervision, ran into that chess playground, and started throwing the 5 lbs chess pieces with force across the chess set in random directions, sometimes missing the toddlers by inches. The thrown pieces would sometime bump the other pieces around the toddlers, sometime miss a toddler's head or leg by inches, etc. This lasted for at least 5 min.

And in those 5 min of quite dangerous bombardment not a single adult would attempt to restrain the minor. Some parents would take their toddlers out of the chess board games despite their protests; some would get closer to their kids within the chess board while watching the 10-yo, apparently with intent to intercept a chess piece if it would fly at their kid; some adults would just watch what's happening from the benches. And nobody would interfere with the apparently dangerous youth, not physically, and not even verbally.

I gathered from the conversations nearby that the adults were just afraid to restrain the youth for the fear of being accused later that they were doing something illegal against the minor. The parents were more afraid to be branded abusers of that child than of the physical harm said child would do to their own kids.

Thus the question: how realistic where their fears in the state of California? If an adult physically restrains a child and claims that the child was a danger to others can the adult have legal problems?


texts:
If you do not have a lawyer but confess to detectives, does that make the evidence inadmissible?

  He later confesses to Ken, who protects Darius by refusing to reveal his confession and later claiming the crime has a different culprit, inventing a bogus story to support this claim. Darius confesses to committing the crime and helps the police find the bodies. Darius knew that since he did not have a lawyer with him that all evidence found would be inadmissible at court.

This is from Law and Order SVU: Screwed.


texts:
Why do courts allow attorneys to demand Yes-or-No answers to their questions? I'm seeing a lot of that in the Chauvin trial.
Attorneys are prohibited from asking leading questions, and from badgering the witness. Demanding Yes-or-No answers seems worse in my book:
"Has the defendant stopped regularly beating his wife and kids? Yes or no?" (Not an actual example, but here to demonstrate the absurdity of demanding Yes-or-No answers)


texts: Is it legal to work two full-time, salaried, software engineering jobs at the same time?

texts:
I have two offers from two companies, both for salaried, 9-5, remote, full-time, software engineering jobs. I am skilled at my trade and can easily handle the expected work load of both jobs at once. My questions are:

If I can get both companies to forego any kind of "you can't work for anyone else" clause in our employment contract, can I work both jobs with telling either company about the other?

If I'm on salary (not hourly), i.e. I'm presumably being paid for my output, not my time, is it illegal to effectively share the same time slot (9am-5pm) between the two jobs?

Assuming all of this goes well, is this illegal from the government's perspective? When I file taxes, will the IRS ask, "what's going on here?" and get someone to arrest me?

Needless to say, I would do each job's work on the company-provided laptop, and not share any information between the two companies.


texts: Is it legal to collect data as a UK company that operates a US server?

texts:
I'm a little confused with how the safe harbour law works out.

Related article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35471851

How does this law affect UK businesses that operate an external server that is in the US? Which of the UK or US law take effect?


texts: Company makes confidential CV publicly available and searchable. Legal recourse?

texts:
A friend of mine was looking for a job last August. She sent CVs for various positions.

Now, months later, somebody told her that if he Googles her name, her CV pops up. She tried it herself and sure enough, the first result is her CV in PDF format, from the website of one of the companies she contacted. The link is in a wp-content/2018/08 format, which means it was uploaded on their website, but it’s freely available for anyone to search and download it.

My question is: does she have any ground for legal action? Is such action worth the effort in terms of compensation?

The location is Cyprus, covered by EU and GDPR laws.


texts: Citation when trying to go to the mechanic to fix the flat tire. Part 2.

texts:
I was in Massachusetts and had flat tires and was going to the mechanic to fix them. The police gave me a citation for "negligent operation of vehicles". I now find out that it has criminal application.

I would appreciate your advice whether it is fair. What will be the expected outcome? Should I get a lawyer?

I would appreciate your comments.


texts: My brother died while being sued on my auto insurance policy - will I be liable?

texts: My brother was involved in a car accident while being a registered driver on my insurance policy.  The car in the wreck was in my name.  The other driver involved in the accident filed a lawsuit against my brother for medical expenses.  My brother died recently to something unrelated.  As my insurance policy is not going to cover all of the medical expenses the other driver is after will I be the one responsible to cover the remaining balance?


texts:
Suppose I receive a piece of mail addressed to my house with my last name, but with a first name I have never heard of. (I don’t know anyone with that name.)
It's from an organization I do have a relationship with, and I believe it is most likely a mistake; and it was meant for me.
The letter itself is not very important, but opening or destroying someone else’s mail is such a serious offense (18 USC 1708 and 18 USC 1702), and I don’t want to risk mishandling it.
I am wondering what should I do with the letter. I’m unsure if it would be appropriate to write "not at this address", because if it was meant for me that might confuse the post office.
Can I open it to check if it really was for me?
(Or would that be illegal?)
If I can not open it, can I just bin it?


texts: Is a second location of a restaurant required to honor gift cards purchased at the first location?

texts:
I received a gift card for a local restaurant about a year ago. The same owners recently opened a new location of the same restaurant closer to my house. I went there tonight expecting to pay for most of my meal with the gift card, but was told that they aren't currently accepting gift cards.

I know and have read about a variety of laws relating to expiration of gift cards, but haven't found anything about who is or isn't required to honor them.
Do you know of any laws that would apply in this situation? I'm in Lincoln, NE.

The manager said that if I had gone to the downtown location that I could have used the gift card. So this is specifically about different locations of the same restaurant.


texts: Is receiving intimate stimulation while driving illegal?

texts:
I feel as though I've seen this scene in movies or tv shows more than once: Someone is driving along, seemingly enjoying themselves. They get pulled over by the cops and then another person's head rises up from where it was hidden from the camera - in their lap. *Cue now you're in trouble sound effects...

It's pretty obvious to me why this is a dangerous practice, but I'm interested to know what law explicitly prohibits it.

I'm most interested in Australian law, as that's where I live, but almost as interested in US, Canadian or UK law, as these are often the setting of such movies.


texts: Independent contractor, feeling like an employee - Will California's AB5 change my classification?

texts:
I have been an independent contractor in California for a number of years with a business. Some of my tasks include graphic design, ad creation and management, search engine optimization, product research, marketing reports, hiring other contractors online. I don't know if I have a true job description, but as you can tell, my responsibilities are amorphous and can change when my boss feels like doing so, or when I feel like taking the lead on a new project.

I signed an independent contracting agreement. I work less than 20hrs a week. I sometimes work from home, but my boss is clear that he wants me in the office as much as possible. We have a word-of-mouth agreement that I should clock 16hrs a week, minimum. My actual schedule is flexible and changes often. Over the years, I've worked with companies, to my boss' knowledge, but work with my boss has been consistent for years.

I'm saying these details, because I have an inkling that soon, this job may not be classified as "independent contracting". It's looking likely that California will pass a bill overhauling the meaning of independent contracting (emphasis added):

  The three-point test is simple enough that workers can apply it to
  themselves. An independent contractor, it says, must be free from a
  company’s control and direction. The work he or she does can’t be the
  company’s main business. And the contractor must be performing work
  that he or she does in an independently established trade. If even one
  of those statements is untrue, a worker must be classified as an
  employee, and is entitled to the benefits and protections that that
  status entails.

The point that may be arguable is #3. Each skill I have could be an established trade that I could offer to another company. Traditionally, someone with a website would hire an independent contractor to do, say graphic design or copywriting, or whatever. However, I'm doing a set of duties that together aren't classified as an independently established trade. Maybe there are certain tasks I do that invalidate this point.

Am I reading too much into this? I do feel like an employee, given the wide scope of my duties.


texts: Startup making me pay legal costs of my vested options, is that legal?

texts: A startup I worked for had promised me to grant my options that were vested, however, they are making me pay the legal costs of executing those options. Is that legal? On the contract, it says nothing about legal costs. I feel like I'm being hold for ransom with the fees.


texts: Tied into 2 year contract with incompetent accountant (UK)

texts:
I'm 7 months into my first Software contract and setup a limited company before hand. I chose a local accountant based on recommedation and am now regretting doing so as communication is very poor (for example changes email without notifying).

The accountant failed to provide P30s for the last few months resulting in a debt with HMRC which I was unaware of and has been accumulating interest, not much but still worrying.  I Tried to call the accountant but he's on holiday (yet again).

I've called HMRC directly and had to sort everything out myself and paid off the debt as soon as I was made aware.

I checked the contract I signed to see how much notice I would need to give to end services as naturally I want to leave this accountant and noticed the contract is for 2 years and thereafter 3 months notice is required.

Is there a way out of this contract?  I'm quite clueless, the whole point of paying an accountant was so I didn't have to worry about this sort of thing.

Thanks.


texts: Can a Last Will legally specify beneficiaries at a specified url?

texts: Can a Last Will legally specify beneficiaries in an external document? For example, can the Last Will point to a url that shows a list of beneficiaries?


texts: Will GDPR (EU law) make bad practices in security illegal?

texts:
The way I understand it, the purpose of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, EU law) is to make sure that personal data is treated transparently and securely. So half of it is about giving the users more control over their personal data, and the other half seems to be related to INFOSEC and its best practices. It seems you have to comply with a list of "best practices" and document everything you do to be able to demonstrate that you are indeed protecting the user's data, although those "best practices" are just very vague guidelines or comments based on possible interpretations of the law (at least for now).

But if that is the way it is, then will the all-too-common sloppy practices in security suddenly become illegal? For example, I don't think there is now a law that makes it mandatory to keep your website updated (think of CMS's like Wordpress or Drupal, or frameworks like Laravel, etc), but with GDPR if you have a Wordpress blog with subscribers then names, hashed passwords, emails, and maybe other personal data will end up in your database and you will have to take the necessary steps to protect that data. This means that if you don't keep your Wordpress up to date, you are breaking GDPR. And the same would appear to be true of a lot of other very common bad practices. Not having HTTPS is not considered illegal now as far as I know (unless you need to process credit-card data directly on your website, maybe). But with GDPR, it might become illegal in lots of other cases, like for simple websites that have contact forms where the user submits personal data. Or think of the bad practice of sending passwords in plain text via email, I see this all the time. And what if you download a backup copy of your website or your emails or your documents (all containing personal info about your clients for example), and you store the backup in a simple unencrypted USB key, or in an external drive that you keep in a drawer without a lock. All this is commonplace, and I personally see it everywhere from freelances to small companies, and while these bad practices might now be used to sue someone in case of trouble and show they are responsible, if nothing happens or if nobody sues you anyway, then who cares, it's ok. But with GDPR, all this will have to be documented explicitly, and there must be someone responsible for assessing all these situations and make sure everything is compliant all the time. So doesn't this mean that bad security practices are going to become illegal, no matter if those bad practices ever lead to data leaks or any problems?


texts: Is it illegal to access content on website hidden by CSS

texts:
I am not sure if this is the right form to ask this question, so please tell me if I should post this somewhere else.

There are some websites (like this) that have part of the page free to view, and the rest of the page is locked behind a paywall/subscription/trial/registration.

Now, these websites send over all all the content, even content that is supposed to be behind a paywall, and just hide the content with a CSS class.
This means that the page contains all the content, but some of it is hidden by the browser on my end. So, this means that if the CSS engine of my browser breaks, or the stylesheet is not received properly, or I analyze the source of the website, I can read the whole content, without any sort of payment. The whole content is buried in the source of the page, I am not accessing URLs that I am not supposed to.

Now, I know that no website is going to care about this, but I am curious, am I breaking any terms and conditions/laws by doing this. On one hand, I am entirely within my rights to see the content that the website is sending in any form I see fit. On the other hand, I am not viewing the content in the way the original authors envisioned.

Note: I am in India, and most sites are based in the US or EU. So, I am interested in whichever countries' jurisdiction will apply.


texts: What is the meaning of "equality" in the South African constitution

texts:
In the South African constitution, the beginning of Chapter 1 reads:

  The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign, democratic state founded on the following values:

  (a) Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms.

  (b) Non-racialism and non-sexism.

  (c) Supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.

  (d) Universal adult suffrage, a national common
  voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic
  government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness.

What is the understood meaning of "equality" in the bold phrase? Has this ever been tested in court?


texts: Can't GDPR compliance be trivially bypassed?

texts:
For large tech firms such as Facebook, at least, wouldn't it be a trivial matter for these companies to avoid EU GDPR compliance altogether?

Many big companies don't actually "sell" any tangible property directly to users, and may only sell digital subscriptions instead. These subscriptions could be paid for with a credit card, for example, regardless of what country the card is issued in.

I don't understand why any sort of EU presence would even be necessary in these cases.

For example, why couldn't Facebook just dissolve all of its EU-based subsidiaries? Since it doesn't charge anything to its users, couldn't it just carry on allowing people to sign up from EU nations since it would have no legal presence there? What exactly could the EU do short of blocking the site from being accessed?

(Please note I'm not advocating for or against GDPR, I'm just wondering how it even has any real applicability to multinationals)


texts: Can I legally copy a book illustration for a wall mural in a public building?

texts: Can an illustration from a Children's book be drawn by an artist (muralist) on a wall of a public building without asking the artist's permission? I think that some things, like songs, written before a certain year are in the public domain and therefore allowed to be used -- does the same apply to artwork? Specifically, I'd like to paint a scene from Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are for a public library and need to know if this can be done. Thanks.


texts: What liabilities do the police/CPS have if you are found innocent?

texts:
Being accused of a crime you did not commit is an expensive problem. The police may kick your door in and ransack your house looking for evidence. They may deprive you of your property (phones, computers, vehicles, etc.) for months or years. You may have to pay for legal representation. You might be locked up in remand for a very long time (UK justice is extremely slow). You may lose your job.

In the event that you are eventually found innocent, what liabilities can you make claims against? Do the police have you pay to fix your front door? If they took a year to analyse a mobile phone, can you claim due to the excessive amount of time it took? What if the device is returned broken or wiped? If your legal team and expert witnesses cost you £1,000,000, can you recover some or all of that cost from the CPS? What if your job has been filled by someone else and you can't get it back?


texts: How can I legally protect my website from users who upload copyrighted material?

texts:
I have a small website that hosts content in the form of text from registered users. The content can be described more specifically as short novels, essays and other personal work. How do I protect myself and the website from people who might upload copyrighted content (i.e., e-books that are not their intellectual property, copy-pasted works of other authors, ...)?

Does a simple EULA take care of the legal aspects, or is there a real risk of running into trouble?


texts:
I've recently been watching a youtuber by the name of "Patty Mayo". He arrests people who fail bond payments or fail to appear in court.

I've seen "Cops" before, but this guy doesn't blur faces and lists the fugitive's full name and on what charges they're being arrested for, as well as why they were supposed to appear in court in the first place. He also seems to goad confessions out of the fugitives for their original crimes. All on camera, obviously. His videos regularly have hundreds of thousands of views, sometimes going over a million or more.

He also uses the videos to promote his own merchandise, but I've noticed that he mutes the volume whenever his company name is said.

Is this legal? To me this seems like he directly profits off of destroying these people's reputations and uses his own job to (closest term I could find) "double dip".

He seems to do most of his work in LA.


texts: Is a Masters thesis in the public domain?

texts: Is a Master's thesis submitted to the University of California Berkeley in the public domain (i.e., can be shared publicly by a person in USA on the internet without asking anybody's permission)?


texts: How to prove noise cause Constructive Eviction

texts:
I live in a building which was constructed in the 1930's in Lansing, MI.  I live in the back half of the building on the ground floor.  My bedroom wall neighbors a tattoo shop and there is another apartment above me.  The apartment is trendy and beautiful, and the price reflects that.  I have lived here and paid rent on time for half of a 12 month lease.

The noise has become intolerable.  I can hear and understand conversations held in the tattoo shop.  Every step my upstairs neighbor makes can be heard, and it's not quiet.  When his tv is on, we hear it.  I have recorded noise coming from the upstairs at 30-40 dbs (free phone app), and that is just the normal tv sound, not an "I have friends over" sound.

I have contacted my landlord and he responded with the neighbors email address, and a comment stating that he had never received a complaint about him before.

I will be moving out and I am hoping to reduce any fees or future rent that I may incur.  I've read that noise which is not addressed in a timely fashion can become a constructive eviction in Michigan.

Are there any steps I can take at this point to make sure I do not have to pay the remainder of the rent due when I move out due to the noise?


texts:
I am having an Android App which uses Advertising networks and other Analytics services.

Now under the GDPR the data controller which is me in my case is required to provide some rights to the user such as the user can view its data which is collected, user can download that data.

Now my question is whether am I required to provide those rights to the user for the data which is collected by the other services/Ad networks who are the data processor in my case.

The data is practically being collected by other services but legally I am the data  controller and they are only the data processor hence I don't have access to their sever which stores data and will be difficult for me to provide those rights to he user.


texts: Why would a party to civil proceeding suggest amicus curiae (counsel assisting the court)?

texts:
A defendant in a civil proceeding chooses to play no active part and says they will abide the court's decision.

However, they add that because "the Court is left with no active contradictor in the proceedings ... the Court may wish to direct the Solicitor-General to appoint counsel to appear and be heard as counsel assisting the Court in this
proceeding". NZ courts indeed can do this under rule 10.22, which the defendant explicitly refers to:

  10.22 Counsel assisting

  At the request of the court, the Solicitor-General must appoint
  counsel to appear and be heard as counsel assisting the court.

What would be the defendant's motivation for such a suggestion? What would they want to achieve by having the court appoint an amicus curiae?


texts: I am from Texas and have a specific case. I am wondering if i should get a lawyer. My lease said that I had 3 days to back out without any repercussions. I signed in May. I was sure that i was staying there for the up coming fall. Due to unforeseen circumstances I told them in June that i would like to cancel my lease. They said that i had to 1) find someone to take over my lease (but no subletting) and 2) pay a 250 fee. They said it was not their duty to find someone. After getting an email that said they put me on a reassignment list I could not get in touch with anyone. I did not pay a deposit or application fee due to them being brand new and they gave all the tenants the same deal. I also have not even moved in yet and now i'm getting slapped with accelerated rent. I understand what was in my lease, however i feel as though i have been messed over.