texts: Is using web platform currency considered gambling?

texts:
Working on a web startup in which users receive platform currency by watching content. Later they can bid on spots in the site to post their own content, but only one out of all bidders gets the spot. Now here is the trick: the winner is determined randomly and the only proportional influence is the amount he bid (basically the more the better chances). Since gambling is determined by these 3 properties:

chance
consideration (paying something to play)
a prize

Does my project fall into these? Especially since the platform currency has no value outside of the platform, same for the prize. And there is no possibility to convert it to anything else or buy it. Don't want to cross no no-no lines.

I couldn't find a similar example on the web (closest being zynga poker which is somehow not gambling). So maybe some of you have encountered a similar situation and know the answer?


texts: Does my birth certificate count as a "U.S. Certificate of Citizenship"?

texts: I am applying for a Texas state ID card at the DMV. I need a "U.S. Certificate of Citizenship or Certificate of Naturalization (N-560, N-561, N-645, N-550, N-55G, N-570 or N-578)" or one of the other documents on a list that I don't think I'll bother showing, and I was wondering if my birth certificate counted as this type of document. My birth certificate was issued from a county in the state of California.


texts: Am I allowed to exit my rental contract early because of my roommate?

texts:
I live in Germany and rented two rooms in a residential community ("WG") for several years. Recently, someone who behaves very badly moved in. He destroyed many things, smokes inside, always listens to loud music, has loud fights with his girlfriend very frequently and at all times of the day (and night), is very aggressive, etc. The landlord terminated his contract after the tenant destroyed the entrance door ("Ordentliche Kündigung") and the same day terminated his contract immediately ("Außerordentliche Kündigung") after he physically attacked me and I told the landlord what happened and that I reported the other tenant to the police. That was on the 7th of April. But I already terminated my contract the night between the 2nd and 3rd of April because the problem tenant made it impossible for me to study and work. So my contract ends at the 30th of June. (Paragraph partially copied from this related question.)

I want to live in a different place because I don't feel safe here. However, when I canceled my contract, I made it a regular termination ("Ordentliche Kündigung") because I did not know how fast I could find a different place to live, especially given the Corona crises. That's why it only ends at the 30th of June. I have now found a new place where I could sign a contract (but would probably have to to so shortly so they don't pick someone else in the meantime).

Before I moved in, the landlord told me that he'd let me leave and stop paying him early when moving out provided I find a next tenant. However, he wants to renovate the flat once I moved out, so he doesn't want a next tenant. There is a 3rd tenant but he canceled his contract too (ending on the 30th of June, too). So to him that's great because now he can start renovating at the 1st of July. But he does not want me to find someone for 2 months because he thinks that anyone renting a place for 2 months will make trouble. He also does not want me to sublet my rooms for those 2 months.

The problem tenant still lives here. Can I terminate my contract immediately ("Außerordentliche Kündigung") as long as he still lives here, even though the landlord is trying to get rid of him? Is there an amount of time that he needs to keep living here until I can terminate immediately?


texts: Can a library forbid me to make copies of un-copyrighted material?

texts:
There is a book published in 1878 (i.e. not copyrighted anymore) which is currently not available in the public domain. I would like to bring it into the public domain by making a scan of it and upload it to e.g. archive.org.

However, the only physical copy I can get of it is in my university library (to which I have lawful access). My university (in the UK) has this policy where "you are not allowed to make a scan of more than one chapter or 5% of the book". This is clearly relevant for books which are still under copyright. But I wonder whether this is also valid for books without copyright.

You might think this is an issue specific to the university regulations and the library's terms of services, and be quick to suggest "ask your university". But the point is broader. Can a provider of material set up a set of terms and services that in effect denies my capacity to bring un-copyrighted material into the public domain? I am an frequent user of archive.org and there you find many un-copyrighted books that were scanned from a copy of a university's library. This does not necessarily goes into my favour, but makes me suggest I could be entitled to do so too, even without explicit permission from the library.


texts: Why aren't Cabinet meeting records released after 20 years?

texts:
A page on the National Archives' website states the following:

  Records of cabinet meetings are confidential documents and only transferred to The National Archives after 30 years - the 30-year rule.

Wikipedia mentions a "Thirty-year rule", though claims that this has now been changed to 20 years. Why doesn't that apply in this case?


texts: What does this mean in this engagement letter?

texts:
I am looking to break a lease with my landlord and am looking to hire an attorney.
What does "Client assigns to counsel all rights conferred by statute or rule to recover attorneys' fees and costs from this lease termination" mean?


texts: LLC liability for prior (sole proprietorship) product

texts:
Say that I start selling a digital product while operating as a sole proprietorship. I later go through the process to form an LLC, and then continue to sell the product under the name of my LLC.

Does the LLC now assume all liability for past and future sales of the product? For example, say that John purchased my product while I was still selling as a sole proprietorship, but decides to sue me sometime after I form the LLC. Would I be personally liable, or would the LLC be liable?


texts: Is it IP infringement if I fabricate an object from a publicly available research paper?

texts:
I have tried searching for succinct answers to the following but that which I have found is ambiguous and murky. I am after black and white answers as many of us have probably come across this tricky area in research.

I've found a publicly available research paper in which the authors create and test a style of medical electrode. The style has been researched before by other universities around the world as well which focuses on replicating the van der Waals forces that gecko's feet utilise. They detail how they fabricated the electrode throughout the article. If I were to fabricate the electrode myself would this be infringement of either the author's or university of publication's IP if I were to:

i) fabricate for my own private personal testing of the device to see if I can better it in someway or alter it to meet my specific use requirements and not sell (private use)

ii) As per i) however choose to now sell this altered or bettered version of the device (commercialize once device is altered)

iii) fabricate unaltered the device in order to publicly sell the item (commercialize on the unaltered device)

Thanks!


texts: What does the "independent development" statement mean within this NDA?

texts:
I was confronted the following chapter named "independent development"

  The Disclosing Party understands that the Receiving Party may
  currently or in the future be developing information internally, or
  receiving information from other persons. firms or corporations that
  may be similar to, or have the same or similar subject matter as,
  Confidential Information provided by or relating to the Disclosing
  Party (“the Disclosing Party’s Information ”). Accordingly ,nothing in
  this Agreement will be construed as any representation or inference
  that the Receiving Party will not develop, market, sell or distribute
  products or services, or have products or services developed,
  marketed, sold or distributed for it, that, without breach of this
  Agreement, are capable of being used or applied in competition with
  any products or services falling with in the subject matter of the
  Disclosing Party's Information.

My question involves the -not develop,market,sell or distribute part. If I sign this NDA, am I still allowed to create my own service/product which has (public?) features of the product that the Disclosing party has?

Or is it explicitly stating that I'm not allowed to do that? I'm not a native speaker so please explain in an easy to understand language.


texts: Can the GPL be applied to non-software projects?

texts:
I have an idea that I would like to distribute, but I do not want any legal restrictions (as in patents) to be applied to my idea. The idea is not all software (it is a smartphone design), so would it be legal for me to apply the GPL to my document and prevent patents?

Edit: Forgot to mention, I specifically prefer the GPLv2 over the newer v3.


texts: What data can I store in my database from Google Books API?

texts: I am developing an app that makes use of the Google Books API. One of the features is to sort books by title. I am aware of the restrictions on keeping permanent copies of the data retrieved from any APIs as stated here - https://developers.google.com/terms/#e_prohibitions_on_content. However, is it possible to only keep the id as a reference to that object and the title for sorting. Keep in mind that to view any book details, I will still query the Google Books API.


texts: Can law enforcement dig up endangered plants to recover evidence of a crime?

texts: According to this meme if you bury a body underneath an endangered plant, it is then illegal for law enforcement to dig up the body. Is this true?


texts: Is a Senate trial required after the House impeaches a president?

texts: If the House of Representatives impeaches a president, everything I read says that there is then a trial by the Senate regarding removal from office. If the House impeaches a president, is it legally necessary to go forward with a Senate trial or is it an option for the House?


texts: Would it be legal in New York to only hire from Harvard Law School?

texts:
The premise of the television programme Suits relies on a New York law firm so élitist that it only hires Harvard Law School graduates, and rejects all other applications.
In real life, would this be legal under New York and federal law, or would it be indirect racial discrimination, given that Harvard Law School graduates are less Black and Hispanic (and more White) than the United States at large?


texts: Can I collect restitution for stolen goods if my insurance has replaced them?

texts:
My residence was broken into and burglarized. My renter's insurance covered the cost of the stolen goods, though I did spend time reacquiring the goods and the claim affected my insurance plan was affected as a result.

Is it possible to collect restitution for damages, including goods, time lost, and claims? This is in California.


texts: I'm a digital painter, will the art I make be 50% owned by my spouse after marriage?

texts: If I make art like digital paintings, will my spouse own the original files? What about copies of the originals being sold? Is it possible that whatever I do with my creativity can be owned by my spouse after marriage or not?


texts: What are the effects if a law changes while on trial?

texts:
Say you are on trial for crime A.

Legislation on crime A is edited/updated/changed in some way during your trial...

Does this start the trial over? Do you continue under old or new law?
Is the trial thrown out due to technicality? Or does something else happen?

Any difference in civil law?


texts: Who has jurisdiction when someone says in a chatroom that they are being harmed?

texts: Called local police in Ontario, Canada. I have evidence of the chat. They say they have no jurisdiction over this since they do not know where the user is from. Is this not a cybercrime? Could they not find the IP address of that person?


texts: Was Francisco Erwin Galicia Arrested or Detained?

texts:
Francisco Erwin Galicia was held 23 days incommunicado by CBP in Texas.  Was he arrested or detained?  What is the line of reasoning for arriving at the conclusion?

Update: Galacia's attorney indicated a notice from DHS:

  The notice reads, “On or about June 27, 2019, you were found at the
  Falfurrias, Texas, Border Patrol Checkpoint, a distance of more than
  25 miles from the United States border with Mexico ... You did not
  receive the permission of an immigration officer to proceed beyond
  that 25 mile limit ... At that time, you falsely represented yourself
  to be a citizen of the United States for the purpose of furthering
  your entry into the United States.”


texts: Can this contract be valid without any signed agreements and who owns the product?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out this scenario -

Company X (US based company) agreed to do a Joint Venture with an individual (let's call him B, he's non US citizen) to create a software product. X were to provide sales and B were to provide product development.

Company X agreed to pay B a fixed monthly salary for development.
B would get a % of sales when the product is sold.

B began working on the product development before any agreements were signed by X (on good faith that the agreements will be signed soon).

At some point, B asked X for a computer with certain configurations but X provided a computer with lower configurations that was never used by B (even though the computer stayed with B and B had made it clear that it was not the required configurations).
X had no inputs in development of the product other than some very basic discussions regarding layout at the very beginning of the project.

Now, over a year has passed and things stand at -

The product has been built by B (but not buyers yet)
B was never paid by X (no monthly salary or any monies whatsoever) so far (B working on good faith that payment will come).
No agreements have been signed so far (B working on good faith).
Now there are now disagreements over the terms of contract (for example X claiming B's shares are dilutable etc and X is basically trying to discount B's work and claim ownership of the product).

Now, who owns the product? Is it owned by X because X provided the computer requested by B (even though it was not exactly what was requested by B) and because of some vague layout discussions at the beginning? Or is it owned by B because B never got paid and there are no signed agreements?


texts: Do we have a legal right to full copies of our data that is compiled and stored by a 3rd-party?

texts:
I'm struggling to phrase this correctly on google, so haven't found the relevant links to answer my question.

The company I work for uses a third party provider to organise work, appointments, job details etc. Legally, all the data we input belongs to us, and this is confirmed in their terms and conditions.

I have recently requested that a copy of all the data be sent to me, of which I wasn't specific of the format. As we have legal ownership of the data, we have a right to request a copy at any time, and as far as I'm aware, they cannot refuse to provide that data - however the format they provide it to us must be in a useable format (even if it is technically a ballache to deal with). They were quite evasive about the topic, as if the idea that this could happen had never occured to them before, and it was clear that there was no procedure in place to do what had been requested.

eg. Jobs produce certificates in pdf form from data that was input, which is clearly stored in the database somewhere, but as long as they provide the PDF they fulfill the obligation to provide the data - aka a ballache to reprocess, but still useable.

When I made the request, they mentioned that an hourly rate would be charged to supply the data as it would "take alot of work" despite the fact that this is something they should be able to do anyway.

Are they actually allowed to charge for something they should be providing anyway? The Company I work for and the third party are both UK companies.


texts:
I am developing a game, and will be using guns in my game, I just am unsure of a few things. From what I understand, I need written permission to use the name of a gun due to the name being IP, but what about the gun's actual design? If I were to recreate a gun to give it the same 'Look', would infringing upon IP even be something to worry about?

Edit: I am not looking for a way to rip-off someone's IP, just for information so that I can get some guns designed, I am not full of ideas for what they should look like, so I'd like to base the design off of real guns.


texts: Why 'negotiable', and not 'negotiated', instrument?

texts:
From: Small Claims Court: Procedure and Practice (4th edn., 2017), p. 48.

  A negotiable instrument is an unconditional order or promise to pay an amount of money, which can be transferred—for example, cheques or banknotes (paper money).

Doesn't the unconditionality (of the order or promise) imply the end of negotiations? Thus what was negotiable, is no longer negotiable, and thus is now negotiated?


texts: What are instances when one party may have to pay the legal fees of another before the case is decided?

texts:
In divorce cases, it's possible that one party (usually the husband), will be ordered to pay the legal fees of the other party, even before the case goes to trial.

My understanding is that sometimes the judge will award one party their court costs from the other, based on the results of the trial. But are there any instances other than divorce where one party has to pay the costs of another before the judicial decision?


texts: Saving a parking spot and legal recourse

texts:
I have seen others, and may have once or twice, stepped into an open parking spot to "reserve it" for my friend who is coming by, say within a minutes.

What laws if any are those "saving a spot" breaking?
What recourse does the blocked driver looking for an open parking spot have?


texts: What is the way to obtain american citizenship back , once it is renounced?

texts: American citizens can have dual citizenship , but if an american citizen who has his/her citizenship renounced (even though the person was originally an american citizen) , then what is a way of obtaining the citizenship back ? And can an american citizen without dual citizenship (Meaning that he is only an american citizen), renounce his/her citizenship ??


texts: Police officer killed by a rooster, during an illegal cock fight

texts:
A Philippine police lieutenant was killed by a rooster, when he tried breaking up an illegal cock fight that is linked to the spread of Covid-19.
Would the owner of the rooster be criminally liable for murder, even though he didn't do it himself, or would he only face criminal liability for the cock fighting?
Siegel and Johnson's comments below mention intent, which, to me, seems a bit tricky: While the rooster did not intend to kill the police officer, it was armed with a blade, with the intent to kill the other rooster in the cock fight.  So, it's an egregious attack, much more than just an accident, given that deadly weapons were involved.


texts: State forbids it's citizens from purchasing firearms in states where firearms are legal

texts:
In most cases if a state declares a substance or procedure to be illegal it doesn’t prohibit one from going to another state where said substance (marijuana) or procedure (abortion) is legal.

But this isn’t the case with firearms. How can a state (NY for example) prohibit a resident of that state from purchasing a firearm in another state?

I understand, and respect the fact, that a state can prevent the resident from bringing the newly purchased firearm into the state.

I understand that the state can prevent non-residents from bringing a firearm with them even though it's legal in the other state. But on what grounds can a state prevent a purchase in another state. One can have a second home there; one can have family; one may be able to store the firearms there.

Is this situation unique to firearms or do such prohibitions exist in other arenas as well?


texts: Is writing articles by fixing Google Translate Copyright Infringement?

texts:
I am currently looking for documentation for software in a non-English language, but there is only documentation on the software in English.

In order to help other non-English speakers, I decided to check out how google translate transfers the documentation to a language I know.

It turns out, it does a really good job except for some minor mistakes.

I'm thinking of making a site where I copy-paste this google translated documentation and fix up the errors in the non-English language. Would this be illegal under copyright law? technically I didn't copy anything because I translated a page using google translate, then fixed up the words so the meaning is more clear. So technically I am re-writing some words, and the words are not from the original source but are just from applying google translate to a page.

For example, I originally have this online documentation:https://cohesiondocs.acquia.com/6.1/tutorials/using-acquia-cohesion-existing-website

then I use the google translate chrome extension to translate the page:

Some of the words are wrong so I fix them up and make a post on my own website.

Would it be legal If I say "originally translated from this site" or just list the site as a reference? I am editing the translated text to fix the wording but the meaning and the content are essentially the same.

Additionally, I'm not able to find the copyright documentation for the site link I provided above. Could someone find it and link it in their answer, and interpret how the copyright text answers my question?

Essentially, I could translate the whole documentation by myself to avoid this problem. However, that's quite tedious and is much easier if I use the automated tool that is Google Translate, then do a Quality Check and fix up the errors.

If copy-pasting the google translate is illegal, then exactly how much must I edit, move around sentences, change words, and such until the text is no longer plagiarized? Is this plagiarism or copyright infringement? where can I check the copyright for the above link?

It would really help to get some feedback and some things to watch out for.

The thing is, even if I do write information originally, it ends up really similar to the original document because it's mainly just a step-by-step guide to doing things (which don't have much room to be changed). So is it more about the mode in which the new document is created, rather than how similar the actual document is to the reference? If I write my own step-by-step guide on how to use some software, even if it is very similar to the original, it's totally legal? So many how-to guides are similar out there.


texts: Is a teacher allowed to talk the press about a former high school student?

texts: Like let's say a student graduates and few years later is accused of a crime.  Like a hate crime maybe. Could a former teacher tell the press about the subjects of various papers that the student chose to write? Say things like, "he idolized hitler and held white supremacist views?"


texts: Is it a crime to take my own package from a delivery truck before it has reached my home?

texts:
Not that I would ever do this, but I'm curious: if I were to go into a stopped delivery truck and remove from it an item that is addressed to me, would this be a crime? If so what crime would it be?
It seems to me that I would not be stealing anything since it's my own property that I'm taking. I might even have a reason to suspect that if I did not take the package from the truck, then the driver would leave it sitting out in the open where it would likely be stolen (or that the driver himself might steal it), in which case I'd actually be preventing a crime by taking it from the truck directly.
I don't think this would be burglary either, since that would tend to require that I was breaking into a restricted area with the intent to commit a crime. Especially if the delivery truck had no doors or I acted while they'd been left open, then I wouldn't even be "breaking and entering."
I can't see this as being "trespass" if the truck was on a public street, unless trespass applies to the interior of vehicles. Even then, as long as I'd leave before anyone noticed me, I could just say I only went in to retrieve what's mine and prevent it from being damaged or stolen.
So I'm guessing there must be some kind of arcane laws that only the US Postal Marshalls deal with. Yes, there are special guys called "US Postal Marshalls," who investigate mail-related crimes. So I'm curious what crime this would be?
Note: I did review this post about "stealing your own property back" but it does not really seem to apply here.


texts: Who decides the priority of extradition requests in the UK

texts:
Related to What is the priority of potential extraditions in Assange case?

Julian Assange has been arrested and convicted for failure to appear in court.
The USA has requested his extradition to face charges of conspiring to access classified DoD information
It is expected that Sweden might request his extradition to face charges of rape and sexual assault.

The BBC report

  Extradition proceedings are dealt with by the courts.

...

  Lawyer Rebecca Niblock said that, if Sweden made an extradition request, it would be for the home secretary to decide which would take precedence, considering factors such as which was made first and the seriousness of the offence.

The home secretary is a politician and a member of the cabinet. The judiciary are expected to act independently. I expect politicians who are cabinet members to set policy for their departments but not to direct the outcome of individual cases that come before the courts.

Why is it the home secretary and not the judiciary that decide priority?


texts: Can someone legally use the word Java in a business name?

texts: Assume someone wanted to open a real estate office and wanted to use the name Java Realty, would that violate the Java (programming framework) trademark?


texts: Is it a crime to falsely claim that you’re older than 16 in order to get vaccinated?

texts: The Pfizer vaccine is only approved for people over the age of 16 in the US. Let’s say a person is 13 years old and wants to get vaccinated. Would it be a crime for them to arrive at a vaccination site, claim that they’re 16 and receive the vaccine? Currently many vaccination sites don’t require any ID to get vaccinated, so you won’t have to produce any false documents.


texts: Must you change state of residence if you rent an apartment in another state?

texts:
Suppose I live in NJ with my parents (License + Car is tied to my parents' NJ address), and I decide to rent an apartment from someone in PA for a job.

Hypothetically speaking, since no one is watching me to see which house I go to spend my nights:
Do I have to transfer my car registration and driver license to PA?


texts: Can you advertise against another product using domain names?

texts:
Suppose your competitor is about to release a product. Can you technically build a website with a domain name that includes their product name, such as

www.get-productname.com
www.better-than-productname.com

Which redirects users to your own product website?

The first option is straight up misleading and mean. The second option seems more reasonable. Is this kind of tactic illegal?

Of course those names wouldn't be able to top www.productname.com, but with the right marketing strategies I suppose they could at least come second or third, which would make them useful anyway.


texts: Can a person hack bitcoin private keys and legally claim the bitcoins for himself?

texts:
First, some background knowledge — bitcoins are a form of cryptocurrency that can be stored in "addresses". Each bitcoin address is linked to a specific private key. To access bitcoins in a specific address, a person needs a private key in order to do so. To put simply — for each bitcoin address (analogous to a bank account), there is a corresponding private key (analogous to a password) to unlock and access the bitcoins.

Now, let's say some genius finds a previously unknown mathematical method to crack private keys faster than brute force. Can he legally claim bitcoins for himself by doing the following?

He deliberately finds bitcoin addresses that have been dormant for years (indicating that it is very possible that their owners have lost their keys and are unable to access the coins. Lost bitcoins are very common - approximately 20% of all bitcoins in existence are lost.), and hacks their private keys.
He transacts the coins to a custodial address first.
He then sends a message to the hacked address and informs the owners that he has found their bitcoins, and requests that the owner claim them within a specific time period.
Once the deadline is up, and no one shows up to claim the coins, he takes them for himself.

In this case, would the "finders keepers" law apply? Meaning that if I find someone else's money, I try to inform the owner and no one shows up to claim the money, I can basically take the money for myself.

I'm asking this question because there is a group known as the "Large Bitcoin Collider" who is trying to brute force other people's private keys and claim the funds for themselves. According to the group, it will give the original owner six months to claim the funds before the group takes the money for themselves, which is "in accordance with European laws." Is this actually legal? (See here)


texts: Apart from trademark protection, what kind of intellectual property protection may logos have according to US law?

texts:
Apart from trademark protection, what kind of intellectual property protection may logos have under US law?

Could a logo be considered a graphical "work", therefore copyrightable? If it could, how? By measuring the level of creativity used for creating it? For example, how would creativity be measured for a logo created using a slightly modified typeface, as opposed to a logo drawn in an entirely original way? Would the former be copyrightable given that copyright doesn't protect typefaces?

Could a logo be considered an industrial design? If it could, would the concept of "author", as in the specially ordered or commissioned designer, even be relevant? Who would own the industrial design rights to the logo then?


texts: Can you legally reconstruct public domain content from copyrighted works based on public domain works?

texts:
On Worldbuilding Stack Exchange, I described a scenario where Beethoven's 10th Symphony was discovered (in sheet music form). Beethoven is long dead, so the symphony is public domain (to my understanding). However, before anyone can make a full copy, a US-based company buys the manuscript and puts it in a vault. They have an orchestra under NDA make recordings, and sell those recordings, which are then restricted. Because everyone wants to hear Beethoven's 10th, they make a ton of money out of royalties.
But, a team of music enthusiasts and Beethoven scholars around the world collaborate and they transcribe their legally purchased recordings, to reconstruct the sheet music. It won't be an exact copy, but it will be really close.
Is this 'Reverse Engineered Beethoven's 10th' in the public domain if the transcribers designate it so? Can they put it on imslp, and can other companies record it and sell those recordings, use it in movies, and so forth? The core question; can you produce PD content based on copyrighted works that were based on PD content? But, one extra wrinkle in that unlike the similar question about copyrighted photo material, a recording of this symphony would be an artistic rendition of the symphony, not an objective one. There might even be slight mistakes like a flat note that should be a sharp, which the reverse engineered version would also have (and the original 10th wouldn't).


texts: Is it a bait and switch if someone pays for something, then they say it's unavailable?

texts: I recently paid for a major airline ticket, and it got processed saying that the payment worked (on the website, and printed out the PDF). A moment later they canceled my order. Is this a bait and switch, or illegal false advertising for not confirming that it was available at that price (i.e. they changed the price after I clicked submit, and it said "confirmed")?


texts: Should I fight City Trash Citation for tenants trash

texts:
I own a quadplex in Cincinnati. Only 2 of the 4 units were occupied, but a tenant moved out on Monday, so I'm down to 1. The one that just moved out put all their trash by the road, not in a bin. My property manager went over today to inspect the unit after move out and found a citation on the door for $750! They told me they'll pay it and charge the tenant, but don't expect to collect anything from them.

The first question is, is there even a way to prove it was the tenants trash? I feel like they could say it was the other tenant or even just that it wasn't theirs.

The second question is can I charge it to them and at least take it out of the deposit, which was only $600, but at least I only eat $150 at that point.

The last question is, the citation said I could appeal. Do I have a chance at winning in a game of he said she said? I live in Tennessee, so I'd have to send my property manager, which will cost me more money. I'd hate to send them if I'm just going to have to pay it anyway.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Thanks.


texts:
i have a question pertaining to the copyrights of web content.
I understand that the web design of a website belonging to a business is protected by the copyright law. However can this be said for web icons that exist on the webpage?


texts:
Scenario:
A British artist dies and the 70 years pma rule comes into effect. However, his daughter sits on the board for the artist's foundation and does not want copyright to expire after 70 years. Can she renew copyright for his works somehow and if so, what are the limitations on this?


texts: Can an employer legally require a female employee to wear a bra? (USA)

texts: There seems to be some discussion of this elsewhere on the web, but it's scant on citations to actual regulations or cases. To narrow the scope, let's say that the female employee dresses so that the lack of a bra is not immediately obvious (but is with some scrutiny), that the employee does not regularly interface with customers (there is no official or de facto requirement for a particular appearance associated with the specific position), and that there is nothing in the company's written dress code or employment contract specifically addressing such a requirement (the requirement is only stated verbally by the employer based on anonymous complaints from other employees).


texts:
It seems to me that jury instructions could be viewed as a kind of testimony provided by an expert witness (the judge) about what verdict must be returned based on what facts the jury finds to be true. Like witnesses, judges are human and subject to biases and external pressures, and it seems like it would be reasonable to assume that their jury instructions could reflect that.

Viewing jury instructions this way I think would mean that it is part of the role of the jury to determine which parts of the jury instructions should be considered fact, and I think it would also mean that jury nullification wouldn't necessarily mean that a jury returns "a verdict of 'Not Guilty' despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged"; it could just mean that the jury doesn't accept all of the statements in the jury instructions, such as the judge's interpretation of the law, as fact.

Could jury instructions reasonably be viewed as a kind of expert witness testimony? If not, what are the main problems with viewing them this way?


texts: Sole trader / business for app/game development

texts:
I'm thinking about making my own games / applications and trying to make money from it.

I have two questions related to this:

I'm not sure if I should become a sole trader or create a business. I know the pros and cons of both of them, and the extra commitment is a bit of a turn off when it comes to creating a business. On the other side I'm also scared of getting sued so I want to protect myself as much as possible. Which option do people typically choose for the type of work I'm trying to do? I'm not sure if I'm over thinking the possibility of getting sued and I should just save myself time and effort and go the sole trader path, or if this fear is genuine in this line of business and I should put the time and effort into protecting myself as much as possible.
If I was to become a sole trader am I allowed to create a company alias to make it look more professional? So on the website I could say "Created by so and so studios" rather than "Created by insert name"? Even though technically the "so and so studios" doesn't exist.


texts:
Assuming no other details are hidden, and you only have the following facts, would it be enough to classify the case as a reasonable threat?

Person A and B are roommates.
Person A is upset with Person B due to issue 1, and person A tells B to be careful next time or there will be "serious problems"
Issue 2 arises and Person A is upset with Person B. Person A tells B that "This is 2 and you can guess what will happen with 3" (Just meant there will be an argument) and "You should be careful with me". Person B asks "What will happen on 3?". Person A replies "Nothing illegal. I'm a person of law"
No other interaction happens, especially no face-to-face or voice interaction

I know a threat is dependent on intention, but would there be any reason for police to interfere,  based on this exchange happening through text messages?


texts: Requirements for Creative Commons Images Attribution - Website

texts:
When I use a photo licensed under Creative Commons (from Flickr) on a website I make, what is the required way to give attribution?

Assuming the license allows commercial use and changes with attribution could I include the title, creator, and a tinyurl to the flickr image in a corner of my modified image? Or would that leave something out that I need to include?

If I need to include more information, are there more aesthetically pleasing ways to do this?


texts: Damage to rental property after abandonment/final checkout with landlord

texts:
We recently moved from one rental to another. Due to finding our new place rapidly, we submitted our 30 days notice on July 15 which was also our starting day at the new place. We had nearly moved everything out on July 23 with some minor cleaning left to do after that. On July 29 we had the final walk-through with the landlord and handed over the keys with him saying that we would be receiving the full security deposit back but we still paid rent till Aug 14 since that was 30 days. At this point it seems that we had officially abandoned the property according to the lease:

  Tenant has abandoned the Property if:
  1. Tenant has physically vacated the premises, removed substantially all personal property, OR
  ...

We no longer had any access to the place and the landlord began performing upgrades to the place, entering and using the premises at will with no communication with us.

Now comes the sticky part. We cancelled the utilities to the place on July 30 since we could no longer make use of the property in any way and had fully abandoned the property. However, the landlord apparently did not start the utilities in his name so they were shutoff (even though we know he and his contractors were entering the place and using it). Since the electricity was off, sometime around Aug 7 the sump pump stopped working during a storm and the basement was flooded with ~1 ft of water causing significant damage to the premises.

Who is responsible for the damage? We think that since we had completely abandoned it, no longer had access to it, he was using it for his own purposes, and even said that if he could get someone to move in he would (he had been showing it during the July 23-28 period when we had all but moved out), we were right to terminate the utilities in our name. He says that since it was within the final 30 days we were still responsible.

This is in Pennsylvania, US. Any terms in the lease needed can be provided.


texts: If a tenant moves in without a signed lease, must the landlord go through the eviction process to remove them?

texts:
I know some landlords don't require tenants to sign anything (no lease). So what is the minimum necessary for a tenant not to be charged with breaking and entering (or unlawfully living in the home) if the landlord decides to kick them out? For example if a person has already moved in without signing anything, and subsequently the landlord wants them to sign a lease, but the tenant refuses to do so, is the tenant still protected by tenancy laws or can the landlord phone the cops right away and have the "trespasser" removed from the house? As long as a person has demonstrated that they initially had permission to live in the property, do they have some claim to continue to do so until the eviction process is completed?

The worst case scenario I can think of is if the tenant moves in with a verbal agreement from the landlord that no lease will have to be signed, he hasn't paid rent yet, and hasn't received a key and the landlord says "I changed my mind; you have to move out."


texts: I would like to use the name and logo of a small airline that filed bankruptcy and went out of business about 35 years ago. I won't be making any money off this. It's strictly for a personal web page. I haven't been able to find anything showing this logo and name is still "owned" by anyone, but I don't want to use it if doing so might result in problems. I used TESS to search for the company name and got no results. I am unable to find any evidence that the company was acquired by another business. Are there other places I should check or am I concerned over nothing?


texts:
Let's consider this case.

John and Bill works together for apartment reparation in 10th floor. John unintentionally put big heavy hammer near the open window, after 5 minutes Bill accidentally (unintentionally) hit this hammer and it fall down from 10th floor and killed somebody.

Both of them went to court. Let's say we have ideal case. Everybody accept this story. There is no doubt that it was accident. John confirm, yes, I unintentionally put hammer near windows, Bill confirm yes, I accidentally (unintentionally) hit hammer and it fall down.

Theoretically if John would not put this hammer near the window, Bill would not drop it down and nobody would be killed. In this sense John is guilty.

From other side if Bill would be more careful and would not drop this hammer also nobody would not be killed. In this sense Bill is guilty.

My question: If it is classified as "Negligent homicide", What normal judge in Western World will decide about this case? Who is guilty and who will go to jail?
John, Bill or both?

If both are guilty, will they have the same responsibility, like 5 years in jail for john and 5 years in jail for Bill or Bill will get more?

Update:

If it is difficult with criminal-law, let's say hammer fall down to the car and let's assume nobody has insurance. Who will pay for the car reparation in this case? John, Bill or both? and if both, each will pay 50% or different?


texts: Where in the world is decompilation and reverse engineering for security research legal?

texts:
Disclaimer: IANAL, the following is just my research up to now.
I understand that in many jurisdictions, reverse engineering - and especially decompilation of software without explicit permission from the vendor are a gray zone or outright forbidden. The usual understanding seems to be that reverse engineering or decompilation constitutes creating a copy of the software, and therefore infringes on copyright.
However, there are usually some exceptions, for example:

In EU law, the exception is usually to ascertain interoperability of the software (with some caveats) (see Directive 2009/24/EC — the legal protection of computer programs)
Under US law, there is the fair use doctrine (cf. Sega vs. Accolade (977 F.2d 1510))

On the other hand, the Australian Copyright Amendment (Computer Programs) Bill 1999 specifically mentions "security testing and correcting a security flaw" as an exception where copyright is not infringed.
Under which (other) jurisdictions is reverse engineering and decompilation for security purposes explicitly legal?


texts: Can I travel for holidays to UK with my National ID card (which has never been a problem), or now I need a passport? Even before 2021?

texts: Now that Brexit happened, can someone from the EU travel for holidays to UK with their National ID card (which has never been a problem), or now they need a passport? Even before 2021?


texts: Can the US Senate disqualify a former President?

texts:
In summary, the answer to "Can a US President, after impeachment and removal, be re-elected or re-appointed?" was "Yes, unless the Senate votes by simple majority to add the penalty of disqualification to a removal from office."

Suppose a President can see that such a vote is coming and will pass, shortly before an election.  Can that President resign just before the vote in order to effectively avoid the disqualification penalty?


texts: I and a few others created a service (a website that people can subscribe to for content) a while back as a hobby with no agreements and no structure. Now though, I am thinking about taking it further and forming an LLC for it, owned by me. Would those who worked on it with my originally have any legal claims to anything?


texts: Copyright laws regarding using the suffix of an established Brand name

texts:
I'm a copywriter with a flair in creating games for children.

I'm working for hire to create a board game in the lines of Monopoly without using any of their copyrighted terms like "Go to jail" etc. The format is the same with 9 steps on each side and four square zones for special situations. And some play money (or value-cards) for trading.

However, my client does want to use the "poly" in the name.

I have a game named Earth-o-poly on the environment. I wonder if they have had to go through the process of obtaining written permission or paying royalty of some sort.

What if my client created an XXXXpoly game and have a regular board game where players don't have play money but some kind of cards to hold on to and pay taxes or pay fines etc.

So, summing up, here are my questions:

Is it a  coypright infringement if the generic format is used and XXXXpoly is used?
What if the format is hugely modified/changed but we only keep the "poly" suffix?
Is it extremely expensive to negotiate and pay a fee to them to get the permission?
Is there anything else I should keep in mind and didn't ask here?

Thanks, in advance, for your responses.


texts: Does buying property on mortgage gives any sort of protection against future Compulsory purchase & massive devaluation

texts:
Background (inserted editorially)

One of the risks of buying a flat / house is that the neighborhood will be declared blighted by the government which would then force property owners to sell their property to the government using the power of eminent domain (a process also called "condemnation" or "compulsory purchase"). When this happens, the government then resells the consolidated block of property in the neighborhood to a developer who develops the entire neighborhood and sells the new housing at a much higher price. This has happened multiple times recently in the Greater London area.

The risk is greatest when the neighborhood suffers massive real estate value devaluation, which sometimes happens when a neighborhood reaches what is called a "tipping point" and starts to decline in value rather than increasing in value. But, is hard to predict whether this will happen. Property owners in these situations are at risk of being forced to sell their property for less than the amount owing on their mortgages if this happens.

The question is what legal options a property owner has to limit the risk of this happening by structuring a real estate purchase transaction differently, for example, by purchasing the property with a smaller down payment and a larger mortgage loan balance.

End of background

It is very difficult to predict the future.

But if you buy a flat / house for that matter, in UK, through private purchase, could you insure yourself either given the fact that- you bought the property on mortgage?

Or, is there any insurance which could protect you against massive downfall in real estate property values in any unforeseen compulsory purchase situation.

Or, is there any way to mitigate this risk / avoid this risk?

Thanks


texts: Is it legal to advertise a service as 'free' if they collect data?

texts: I noticed that a lot of companies label themselves as 'free' even though they collect personal data (which in today's day and age is practically a currency in and of itself). I was wondering how/if it's a different case under different laws.


texts: Was the Dec. 2018 arrest of Huawei's CFO in Canada legal?

texts:
Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of the Chinese company Huawei was recently arrested in Canada, and is facing extradition to the US, allegedly on charges of breaking violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The thing is, Meng isn't a US national, isn't on US soil and neither Canada nor China have approved the renewal of the Iran embargo, this renewal being an unilateral US decision.

On what basis can the US have Meng arrested for violating an embargo neither her host country nor her home country agreed to?

On an informal note, I'd understand having her or her company's assets frozen, declaring her persona-non-grata, or making it illegal to deal with Huawei, but having Meng jailed (while in a different country, no less) seems like a major overreach to me; it gives the impression that the US can just have whoever they want arrested on foreign soil for not respecting rules they decided on unilaterally.

EDIT - More generally, is there any US legal doctrine that non-US-citizens, outside of US sovereign territory, are subject to US criminal or civil law? Are there precedents for arrests of this kind?


texts:
Strange development on the US Court of Appeals:

  Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided Altera Corporation v. Commissioner, a challenge to the Internal Revenue Service's treatment of cost-sharing arrangements for employee stock compensation. The panel split 2-1 on whether the IRS rule satisfied the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), reversing a lower court decision concluding the IRS had failed to conduct an adequate rule-making. One of the two judges, however, has been dead for four months.

The practice certainly is novel and may, in fact, be unique.  The US Supreme Court doesn't follow the practice (same source):

  This happened on the Supreme Court when Justice Scalia died. Note, however, the Court did not proceed to issue any additional opinions with him participating. Opinions in cases that had not yet been issued were released with only eight judges participating (seven in the case of Fisher), even if that meant that some cases (such as Friedrichs, the precursor to Janus v. AFSMCME) were resolved 4-4.

My question is this in fact unique?  Have any other cases in the US federal courts been decided at the appeals or higher level based upon a dead judge's written opinion, and if so, have they then survived appeal?


texts: In Massachusetts, does my church need a permit in order to sacrifice animals?

texts:
I know a while back ago, the Supreme court decided that it is unconstitutional for states to make animal sacrifice illegal.

  Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that an ordinance passed in Hialeah, Florida, forbidding the "unnecessar[y]" killing of "an animal in a public or private ritual or ceremony not for the primary purpose of food consumption", was unconstitutional.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Lukumi_Babalu_Aye_v._City_of_Hialeah

But is it constitutional for states to require a permit to practice animal sacrifice? If so, does Massachusetts require my church to get a permit for animal sacrifice?


texts: How does the U.S. or Canadian government prevent the average joe from obtaining dimethylmercury for murder?

texts:
Arguably, using dimethylmercury is the perfect murder weapon as it is the hardest to trace since lethal symptoms occur only after 5 months on initial contact (rapidly absorbed through the skin), giving you plenty of time to get a new passport and exit the country.
Essentially, once you obtain dimethylmercury, you gain the ability to kill anyone you don't like with near impunity. Put a few drops on their toilet seat or door handle, and you're done.
Trying to create dimethylmercury from scratch is out of the question for the average joe. If anything, they'll probably kill themselves in the process.
Surprisingly, typing "buy dimethylmercury" on Google instantly gives you a website to buy 10g 95%  Dimethylmercury for $500: https://www.chemicalbook.com/Price/DIMETHYLMERCURY.htm
Lethal dose is 400mg, so 10g / 400 mg =  25 kills
For most criminals, paying $500 to kill 25 people is a pretty good deal considering it is cheaper than most guns.
There's gotta be a catch, right? It can't be this easy to obtain the perfect murder weapon.


texts: Do you have to evict someone who was staying with you without contract or lease, but left without warning?

texts:
Hypothetical Scenario: A 19 year old "friend of a friend of a friend" type situation that someone was trying to help out. He was living in a rundown trailer a few towns away so a nice family said he could stay with them for a bit and they'd help him get established in the nice family's town.

After a few weeks he got a job at Walmart. Two days before he was supposed to start he just left the nice family. He moved in with someone else about a hundred miles away.  He left all his stuff at the nice family's house, which just consists of a few boxes and some motorcycle parts.  It would all fit in a truck.

The Nice Family offered to bring the stuff to him but he said he wouldn't help unload it.

The nice family is being told that they must go through the eviction process.  I know questions like this confirm, possibly, but is the nice family's situation different?

Can the nice family tell the 19 year-old that all his stuff is in their barn and he has 30 days to come get it?  If he doesn't, they will sell it and keep the money? (While the 19 year-old was with the naice family, they paid hundreds of dollars for things like getting his car out of impound, not to mention food and other stuff.)

Thoughts? Other info needed?

I tagged this landlord even though I feel like they did not have a "tenant-landlord relationship", legally or otherwise.


texts: Are Lawyers allowed to file a court date for a federal case after they have been terminated?

texts:
So I know of this federal white collar criminal case, where a husband has been arrested by the FBI for misappropriation of Trade Secrets. A lawyer was quickly retained as a place holder to represent the husband until a more experience and better lawyer was found. The family was not satisfied with the lawyer, therefore they emailed the lawyer to terminate him. The lawyer, being a rather 'uncivilized' guy, demanded to file a court date for the husband to explain why the lawyer was terminated and when he would retain a new lawyer, thereby scamming more money from the family.

My question is are lawyers allowed to do anything, specifically to file a court date, AFTER they have been notified for termination?

A second question, on a less related note, are inmates allowed to have a period of time where they have no lawyer representation? As in, the period where the defendant is in between lawyers.

My apologies if anything doesn't make sense, I am only a high school student attempting to help a family. Would the stack exchange community be able to assist me with this?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is it OK to mix and distribute data licensed under CC0 and Public Domain?

texts:
I would like to create an style-unified collection of cartographic symbols - mainly for use with free SW like QGIS.

I would like to use (probably modify) some already prepared ones from various CC0 licensed sources like SJJB icons or Maki icons but also some from OpenClipart Library

Am I right if I think that I can freely mix and modify distributed content without need to cite sources for particular icons? I plan to keep the CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication license even for my original additional icons to not to restrict use in any way and I plan to add something like "Some icons are from source 1), some from source 2)" etc. - just to be fair.

Is it OK?

thanks


texts: How do Canadian Youth Criminal Laws Work?

texts:
In Canada, prosecution of youth follow a different system than adults. Canada has a statute known as the Youth Criminal Justice Act, that outlines the details of the system. Prior to the act, there was different legislation within the Young Offenders Act.

What is the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and why was it created to replace the Young Offenders Act? Also, in what ways does the Youth Criminal Justice Act affect the justice system when handling youth who have committed crimes?


texts: What laws cover patented DNA in humans in relation to the patent owner?

texts: Some conspiracy theorists make the absurd claim that if patented DNA ends up in your genome, then you become a patented GMO, and thus the patent owner has some degree of legal control over you and/or your offspring.  Of course the 13th Amendment bans slavery and involuntary servitude, but are there any other laws covering this sort of thing?  For example, if your body contained DNA patented by Acme Genetics, I'm sure that Acme couldn't charge you a fee every time you had a child, but is that because there are laws which are applicable in that scenario, or is it because no judge would ever rule that way despite the absence of any laws?


texts:
It seems that many artists (including people I know personally) tend to think ToSs are a good thing to apply to art commissions. I tried to explain ToSs put the impetus on the service rather than the transaction or the person. (meaning the service itself either denial of or reduced features of) the service is used to enforce the contract. This makes no sense for art commissions as the artist isn't providing an on going service that they could deny to the client by definition when they are commissioned. Instead either a signed contract or the an implied contract is given when passing over money.

What is the general legal precedent for the term "Terms of Service" and does the contractual form where a service is used in and of itself to enforce a contract have special legal meaning? Or is terms of a service just a name with no legal bearing?

Conventionally what are ToSs used for? I think where this is coming from is that artists want a way to specify what to expect from them BEFORE money or all the money of a transaction is passed over. Is ToS the best tool for this or something else?

This answer can apply generally but defaulting to US law is fine.


texts:
Suppose I win a civil lawsuit against two parties in California, one being
wealthy and the other being poor (and unlikely to pay), but the poor party
has clearly (according to the judge, any jury member, or any spectator) played
the bigger "wrongful role".  Also, suppose there was no monetary benefit to
the wealthy party.

(E.g., there was an accidental killing where the poor party was robbing someone
with a pointed gun, and the wealthy party tripped into the scene, bumping the
gun and causing it to fire - This example might be too extreme, so modify
it with some one-time negligence on the part of the wealthy party if you must.)

Can the judge force the wealthy party to pay more?

Since I could have sued only the wealthy party in the first place, it seems
the judge should also be able to use a person's wealth as basis for awarded
damages, but this does not seem fair here.  In general, how is the wealth of
defendants used by judges to award damages?  Is there any case where the
judge is not supposed to consider the wealth of a defendant?


texts: What does (...) mean in a legal document

texts:
What does the (...) mean in this section:

(1) Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer
(...)
(3) Ebenso wird bestraft, wer etc.

If I saw this in a document I would assume that it means "ignore this irrelevant text to allow you to concentrate on the important text." Especially seeing as (2) appears to be missing in this case.
However, if that is the meaning of it, how can you possibly sign a document with parts of it missing?


texts: Living Trust Property Sale: Depositing the check

texts: We have Residential Property in our Revocable Living Trust that we are selling. We are the sole trustees. While selling is straightforward our lawyer told us that the check for sale amount will be made out to the Trust. Can we deposit the check in our personal checking account? We do not have an account for the Trust. Note we want to use the money immediately for personal purpose so we need it in our personal account.


texts: How to get approval to give my book to a friend?

texts:
I live in the Netherlands and I received a book I ordered from a company in the US. The package I received today had an invoice included. The invoice had the following text printed on it:

  These items are controlled by the U.S. government and authorized for
  export only to the country of ultimate destination for use by the
  ultimate consignee or end-user(s) herein identified. They may not be
  resold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of, to any other
  country or to any person other than the authorized ultimate
  consignee or end-user(s), either in their original form or after
  being incorporated into other items, without first obtaining approval
  from the U.S. government or as otherwise authorized by U.S. law and
  regulations.

It is obvious that I need approval from US authorities to give my book to a friend in living in Belgium and probably also to give my book to a friend in the Netherlands. How do I get approval?


texts: Does the CFTC have authority over all forms of "prediction markets"?

texts:
I've been reading over previous cases that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have brought up against organizations like InTrade. From what I can tell, InTrade was brought under scrutiny because they created binary options for commodities over which the CFTC has authority, e.g., oil, gold, and economic performance indices.
Would the CFTC also have similar jurisdiction on all forms of event contracts?
For example, if there were a binary option on whether or not SpaceX's next rocket launch is successful, would that come under similar scrutiny?


texts: Is there any country which would allow one of its territories to declare sovereignty on its own?

texts:
Usually when the question is whether a part of a sovereign state could form its own sovereign state, the answer is always that there is no such mechanism but if the currently sovereign state decided to allow it (through a constitutional amendment or whatever) then of course it's possible.

Is there any sovereign country which currently has a law which would allow an arbitrary (maybe with some restrictions like size or contiguity) part of its territory to declare independence on its own if a majority (maybe super majority) of that territory is in favor?

I don't mean cases where a country decided to give a specific territory a single vote on a specific time, I know those exist.


texts: Could a state legally phase-out pennies?

texts:
Debate has existed for some time in the United States whether the penny should stop being minted, due to its small purchasing power and cost of production [1].

From what I understand, to discontinue its production would require direction from the federal government, since minting and circulating currency is a federal prerogative per the US Constitution Article 1 Section 8 [2]:

  To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

Hypothetically, if a state or its citizens were bothered enough to take action, could a state legally implement a scheme where pennies were phased out of circulation (e.g. stored in a giant warehouse where they are no longer used after they are spent)? The state would still allow them to be used as legal tender, but once they are spent businesses would send them to storage.

(Ignore the practicality of this proposal, such as the expenses involved in transporting and storing all these pennies, why taxpayers would want to pay to remove a currency from circulation, etc. I'm only interested in the legal aspect)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_debate_in_the_United_States
[2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei


texts: Is a surviving spouse responsible for the medical bills of the deceased spouse

texts:
My wife died last December and the hospital where she had been receiving treatment is sending bills to the home, in her name, asking for payment. I called them and told them that she was deceased and I had previously given them the documentation for that. The customer service person said they did have the information I had provided (death certificate) and also that I'm responsible since we were married at the time of her death. I told them the estate lawyer we had spoken to told us that I would not be responsible for the debt.

Can anyone direct me to a statute, regulation or law (state or Federal) that shows I am responsible for this debt?

I don't know if it makes a difference but she was in hospice care at home when she died, she was not admitted to the hospital.


texts:
I'm reading about a case going on in Delaware between neighbors. It seems to come down to a particular line in county code law: Code requires a special-use exception for “private garages for more than four automobiles and with floor area of more than 900 square feet in a residential district."

There's two conditions: 1) more than four cars, and 2) larger than 900 square feet. One side believes the word 'and' to mean it has to fulfill both conditions, whereas the other believes the exception is intended to apply to both conditions separately.

My understanding is that in the English language, the use of and in this sentence structure means it's referring to both things in the totality of the condition. But, in this case, it is also talking about two different ways of measuring the space, namely by occupancy and size. I believe it would be a little tight but four cars within 900 square feet seems reasonable for the most part.

Is this a common problem in law? The use of the word and? Is this particular line of county code law open and shut as far as most lawyers see it?

EDIT
Based on the answers that agree that the verbiage in this case is clear, if one is being taken to court because someone is interpreting the clause differently, why is a lawyer really required? If you have the law on your side, why isn't it as simple as stating that? This seems to be a good example of how someone with wealth (or too much time) can strain someone financially using the courts meant to protect everyone.


texts:
In Texas, a renter rents a house with a one year lease term.

Renter is not late on rent and is currently paying rent on time.

Renter lived in the house for 7 months and moves out, but continues to pay rent in accordance with the rental agreement.

Renter did NOT formally terminate the lease, but did tell landlord that they have moved out, but will continue paying until the lease term expires.
Landlord rents out the house to another renter (presumably in order to get double rent money)

Can:

1) Renter re-move into the property? or barring that, can renter,
2) Refuse to pay any more rent?

It seems that landlord has breached the lease agreement by re-taking possession of the property and renting the house making it so that renter cannot move back in or live there if they wanted.


texts: Is there any way to bring a criminal case before the grand jury without the support of the Prosecuting Attorney?

texts: Is there any way to present a case to the grand jury if the prosecuting attorney is unwilling to do so?


texts: Confidentiality clause in a contract (Netherlands/EU)

texts:
I have a contract signed at Oct 2016 and valid for one year.
It has the following lines:

OBJECTIVE OF THE AGREEMENT
This contract is valid for one year.

Also, it has confidentiality clause:

CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE
The Contractor is obliged to keep confidential any data, to which it will have access in relation to the execution hereof.

This is a freelance contract for a private limited company incorporated under the laws of the Czech Republic (in Praha), but at the same time the contract contains the following lines:

All legal relations between the parties shall be governed by Dutch law exclusively, to the complete exclusion of the Vienna Convention of the United Nations on contracts relating to international Sale of Goods trade, of 11 April 1980 (Vienna Sale of Goods Convention)

I don't know why it's so but anyway. I provided some services for another company through this company (sort of consulting agency) and now this contract is finished/invalid a couple of years already. I want to create a CV and include list of the projects (names, maybe screenshots (screenshots are available publicly)) which I worked on, but my old employer says that it will breach the NDA, is that so?
I think, since the contract is finished, confidentiality clause is terminated (because it doesn't contain any other terms there), too, right? Also, I'm almost sure keep confidential any data isn't a best interpretation and maybe it could be illegal.


texts: Michigan-Registered Car driving in California Front License Plate Question

texts:
I am moving from Michigan to California.  I am shipping my car, it is in transit.  The car is registered in Michigan and Michigan does not require the car to have a front license plate, so my car does not have one.

When the car gets here, there will be an unavoidable amount of time in which my car will be still registered in Michigan but will be driven and parked in California, so I will not have a front license plate.

I plan to register my car in California as soon as I get the chance then install a front plate. I need to find a permanent place and get my California driver's license.

So my question ultimately is: with my car being registered in Michigan, if it is being driven/parked in California can I still get a ticket?  Because there is an unavoidable amount of time where I will not be able to get a front license plate installed.

Edit
According to the law it states

  When only one license plate is issued for use upon a vehicle, it shall be attached to the rear thereof, unless the license plate is issued for use upon a truck tractor, in which case the license plate shall be displayed in accordance with Section 4850.5.

Only one license plate was issued for my vehicle when it was registered in Michigan, so would this mean that I don't need the front plate as long as the registration is Michigan?


texts: Under what circumstances do you need a business license?

texts:
Specifically, what does it mean to be "operating a business"?

I started an LLC in Delaware, but write software to power my company from my home and while I travel across the country. Do I need to get a business license in my home state and locality? Do I also need it in any state I travel to where I work on my company?

We have no storefront, but are about to begin a nation wide mail order operation. Do I need a license in each state a customer could order from?


texts: How can Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and Guilty but Insane exist in the same legal system?

texts:
I was reading about the two types on insanity pleas, known as NGBI and GBMI.
For example, a good excerpt is here on Google Books.

However, something very obvious is bothering me:

How can you have a legal system where on one hand we consider insane people not guilty of their crimes and on the other say that they can be guilty? Isn't it a contradiction?

If insanity is a valid "excuse" to escape responsibility for a crime, then why isn't it always a valid excuse? Why would we allow insane people then to be found guilty? We already acknowledge in our legal system that insane people are not at fault.


texts: I sued a corporation that declared bankruptcy, but it got acquired. Can I claim from acquiring corporation?

texts:
I hope you're safe and good in pandemic.
In Dec. 2019, I filed claim online with Ontario Small Claims Court against Barrymore Furniture Co. Ltd. for $7000. Just ask if you want me to summarize Statement of Claim, but I don't think it's relevant now. I didn't know that

On November 29, 2019, Barrymore Furniture Co. Ltd. (“Barrymore” or the “Company”) filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal (the “NOI”) under Section 50.4 of the _Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act_¸ R.S.C 1985, c. B-3, as amended (the “BIA”) and A. Farber & Partners Inc. (“Farber”) was appointed as trustee (the “Proposal Trustee”).

On January 17, 2020, Barrymore ceased operations and filed an assignment in bankruptcy. Farber was appointed as Bankruptcy Trustee by the Official Receiver (the “Bankruptcy Trustee”), subject to affirmation by the unsecured creditors at the first meeting of creditors which is scheduled for February 6, 2020 at 10:00AM at A. Farber & Partners Inc., LIT, 150 York Street, Suite 1600, in Toronto, Ontario.
On January 21, 2020, the Bankruptcy Trustee obtained an order (the “January 2020 Order”) from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Court”) authorizing the Bankruptcy Trustee to sell Barrymore’s assets and, if necessary, disclaim the lease for the Barrymore’s premises, before the first meeting of creditors and the appointment of inspectors. A copy of the January 2020 Order is posted below.

On Mar. 16 2020, Creative Custom Furnishings acquired "the design, intellectual properties and trademark of the Barrymore Company.". I call them CCF. Can I claim that $7000 Compensatory Damages
from CCF?
Thank you! Regards,
Liska


texts: I know that corporations that have stock can have treasury stock, but can LLC's have treasury units?


texts: Legal Alien Eligible for Medicare Without Working in US

texts:
I am a 35 year old US citizen with a good job, company provided health care, benefits, etc... My wife is a 50 year old Japanese citizen registered as a legal permanent resident alien. We have been living in the U.S. for nearly 15 years. She prefers not to be granted U.S. citizenship, mostly because if something ever happened to me, she would much rather be living back at home in Japan rather than here in the U.S. In order for her to be a citizen of the U.S., she would have to relinquish her Japanese Citizenship.

She has held a part time job waiting tables for about 5 years. The income is small, but honest, and is really a better mental break for her to "get out of the house," than it is as an income provider. We have recently found out the business she works at may be closing. This would not be a big deal financially, except:

I was told by someone NOT in the legal profession that she needs to work in the U.S. for ten years in order to be eligible for Medicare when she turns 65. My company generally cuts dependents off the company health care plan when they become Medicare eligible.

What I do not want to have happen is for her to turn 65, get cut off my company health insurance plan, and then find out she is ineligible for Medicare. I will be working for a considerable amount of time after she is Medicare eligible (age-wise), and would be comfortable knowing that when she turns 65, she can turn to Medicare.

Should she lose her job as a result of her place of business closing, does she need to work for a few more years in order to become eligible for Medicare when she turns 65? Is Medicare granted for all aliens and citizens over 65, or just those who've worked for 10+ years?


texts: Conflict of interest when removing a director

texts:
I work for a UK limited company with two shareholders, and two directors. I am one of the directors and the majority shareholder (over %50 of total shares). The company's articles of association are the Model Articles from Companies House.

If I want to remove the other shareholder as director for poor performance, is it sufficient for me to call a general meeting with 28 days advance notice, and pass an ordinary resolution with my majority shares? Would the Companies Act 2006 allow such an action, especially in regards to conflict of interest law?


texts:
Imagine this scenario.
Person A owns a investment account managed by broker B.
A tries to sell an investment in a tax advantaged way.
B maliciously does the transaction wrong, causing A to incur taxes. For example, selling as a short term instead of long term gain by doing the transaction earlier than instructed.
Are there civil damages?


texts: Could the USA be banned from the United Nations?

texts:
The USA has been accused of starting wars by false flag operations since the Maine.

Some USA agencies linked to the CIA have admitted using covert means to start wars such us The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. This is an American think tank who is researching some programs all based on the middle east. This think tank have some former government officers including R.James Woolsey Jr former CIA director.

Years ago Dr. Patrick Clawson director of research said in a press conference:

  I frankly think crisis initiation is really tough, and it's hard for me to see how the United States President can get us to war with Iran...

Video Here

Later he talks about many questionable American wars that could have started by false flag operations.

  ...we are in the game of using covert means against the Iranians...

This man also appears on the BBC and many other talk shows.

Knowing that the USA spends more money on the military than the next 9 countries of the list combined (ref here) and 9/11 is being investigated by as a possible false flag operation. (ref here) and here. And the CIA has done many controversial operations installing and removing leaders all over the world.

Would it be possible to start sanctions against the USA or even ban them from the United Nations?


texts: Is a pedestrian crossing on red light responsible if a driver steers away from them, killing someone else?

texts:
Suppose that a car is going fast towards an intersection right when a pedestrian decides to cross it on a red light. The driver, out of reflex, steers away from the pedestrian to avoid hitting him. Unfortunately, this causes the car to hit a person who was walking on the sidewalk.

Can the pedestrian who crossed on the red light be found guilty of something like manslaughter?

What if instead, the person who was hit was also illegally crossing the street (but would not have been killed if it had just been him)?

What if the pedestrian intentionally jumped in front of the car in an attempt to kill himself?


texts:
I do know that there are jurisdictions in which police officers can ask for ID for no apparent reason (here in Italy they can just ask a person for ID without any reason or any legit ground, just for formality), and there are jurisdictions wherein it is illegal to do so (seemingly the UK, but correct me if I'm wrong). For the cases in which asking ID with no ground is illegal, it seems that the definition of "ground" changes according to any police officer, because any police officer can bypass all this thing and just say "I checked your ID because you look like a drug dealer", by making it pass as a legit ground while it is not.

Is it correct to say that the laws stating checking without grounds is illegal, pragmatically, are just rendered meaningless by how any officer perceives the notion of "ground" or can samely make up a new one? As I said, if a cop checks illegally a person without any ground, they can just say that they suspected the checked individual to be a drug dealer and get away with it.

So as I see it, I can say that these laws are circumventable with any excuse that a officer may give, and the latter can be undisputed and unverifiable, since (fake) suspicion is not verifiable.


texts: Does hosting, developer or user location determine which laws apply?

texts:
Example scenario:
I live in Switzerland and develop a software. I publish the source code (and maybe a binary executable file) on a server located in the USA. Let's also assume a user from another country downloads and uses this software.
I wonder, which countries laws regarding different aspects (like license, copyright and liability) apply (especially for me as developer).

Additional context:
Switzerland does according to Art. 8, PrHG (Which sadly isn't available in English) not permit to "transfer" liability to the end-user (as far as I understand), as many open source licenses do. So could I become liable, if the software was provided from a server located in another country than Switzerland, which permits such "transfer" of liability?

Potentially related:
User data storage location - This question seems similar to me, which lets me assume that in the above example, the law of all three countries could theoretically apply to me (even if the laws are conflicting each other).


texts: Travel to Mexico if you were arrested in the USA for smuggling drugs from Mexico

texts:
Question... an Englishman who lived in Texas for a few years, who did not have a green card (but his parents did) visited Mexico and smuggled drugs from Mexico into the USA. He was caught with possesion with intention to supply cocaine and methamphetamine. He was promptly deported back to the UK.
My question is would he be liable to be arrested in Mexico if he travelled there (flying to Mexico direct from the UK) having been found guilty in the USA of bringing drugs from Mexico across the border into the USA?
Does the charge and deportation stand as evidence of his possesion of these drugs whilst on the Mexico side of the border?


texts: How can one verify a purportedly freely licensed image on a user-content site?

texts: Based partly on comments to this question, how can a person who finds an image on a site, such as flickr, that hosts user-uploaded images verify that  the it is in fact free to use. Suppose that the image's page on the site states that it has been released under a free license, such as CC_BY 2.0. But it is a known fact that some people have uploaded images to such sites, and marked them as being under free licenses, when the uploader did not have any right to do so. How can a would-be reuser avoid copyright problems?


texts: Do new VAT rules apply to gifts from non-EU countries?

texts:
I'm a Russian citizen and I'm going to send a gift to my friend from EU (Poland). I heard that after 1st July countries of EU get new rules of VAT, and they also mean, that now you must pay VAT, even if your parcel's price is lower than 22€. However, everywhere where I read about it, it's said that these rules are applied to sellers.
So, I would like to ask: will the rules affect this certain parcel, if I'm not a seller or an entrepreneur and I'm just sending a gift? Is it possible, that, if this parcel will come to Poland after 1st July, the receiver will have to pay VAT for it?
Thank you in advance.


texts: How can settling a claim be beneficial and done properly?

texts:
I have a claim against my ex-landlord. I found it necessary to go to court. He said he blocked all communication with me and stopped replying to my messages about money and furniture he owes me. After the process started, he started messaging me again. He says he wants to meet up to discuss matters.

What is the benefit to settling? Why not just let the court decide now that the process has already started? In a sense, I want as much money as possible and he wants to give me as little possible. I don't see how we could both be happier with an arrangement made between ourselves than one made by the court.

Several times I tried to negotiate with the landlord and several times he did not honor his agreement. For the sake of this question let's assume the landlord is dishonest. Why would I trust him to honor his agreement to settle? Is the way it usually works we both sign a contract saying once the landlord pays me $x then I will cancel/withdraw all claims and not make them again? The key point being I received the money before cancelling the claims?

Lastly, I have other people willing to testify the landlord has done something similar to them. I had hoped it becomes apparent this is a scheme the landlord is repeating. From examples I've seen, some parties argue to the court "this is the same situation as x and you found y guilty in that case so you should come to the same conclusion here!" If I settled what would the affect be on an precedent established?


texts: Maiden name for an unmarried adopted woman

texts: A birth certificate document (legal) asks for mom's maiden name; mom was adopted and never married, and her last name has changed. Which last name is her maiden name? The name before or after the change?


texts: Resident tenants fined for parking in residents' parking area

texts:
A magement company owns a block of flats and the surrounding plot of land.

Flat "owners"/leaseholders take out a mortgage to lease the flats for a number of years.

They sublet to tenants (with permission).

Parking enforcement is put into place by the management company and contracted out.

Parking permits are sent to the leaseholders, including non-resident ones.

Subletters/resident tenants (who have let flats advertised with parking) are fined for parking in the residents' parking area until they get the permits.

Do the tenants have a legal basis for having such fines waived or reclaiming them?


texts: What laws are broken if you help a perhaps-not-competent 18-year-old escape from his parents?

texts:
There is an autistic boy aged 18.  His parents have worked very hard to keep him mainstreamed his whole life.  So he's been in private schools, but had lots of tutoring and lots of sessions at clinics that help with life skills and such.  I would say he was "functional."  I do not know whether his parents have had him somehow classified as "not competent", but they might have.
The boy graduated high school and has an interest in art (probably because he plays online games constantly and wants to do graphic design.)  His parents found an art school where he can pursue his interests.  So this is his "college."  I believe (but I'm not sure) that he still lives with his parents.
The parents are Christian.  The boy has decided that he's not Christian and further he's gender fluid.  (I suspect his internet world was wider than his parents knew.)  He decided he wanted to escape from his parents.  It turns out that there is a group that "helps children escape religious parents."  This group gave the boy money and cooked up an elaborate scheme to move the boy to another town.  (The mom took the boy to a doctor's appointment, but was waiting in the car because of Covid things.  While in the clinic, an ambulance came for the boy and took him to another town.  He was long gone before the mom knew anything was afoot.  Bizarre?)
A "normal" 18-year-old can tell his parents to shove it and take off.  If someone aids them, then that's probably not a crime.  But in this case, the boy is functioning in society only at a low level and only because his parents support him.
The question(s):

If the boy is already legally declared not competent, then this organization has surely broken some laws.  What would those be?  It seems pretty close to kidnapping.

If he hasn't already been declared not competent, then have any laws been broken by this organization?  Maybe not kidnapping, but preying upon the mentally disabled is surely something...?

Location is Texas.


texts: In the United States, how is the legal process different if a crime is committed IN court?

texts:
In the U.S., a common course of action is that a peace officer makes an arrest on an alleged violation of law, which is then heard by a magistrate/court. How is the process different if a court witnesses a violation of law? Let's consider an example:

  A man is in the courtroom and batters another citizen in the room,
  observed by the judge.

Is this man charged by the peace officers in the courtroom, or the judge? If the man is directly charged by the judge, is there then a separate hearing where the judge appears as a witness? Lastly, in the case of a Contempt of Court charge, is this charge applied by law enforcement or the court itself? Does it have a separate hearing or does the judge have the ability to perform a direct sentence since the law violation occurred in his/her presence?


texts: Can HIPPA be waived by contract with doctor and what constitutes one's 'medical status'?

texts:
I was at a doctor’s office, and in all of those forms was something that said something along the lines of I authorize the doctor to discus my medical status as his patient with government agencies. However, I know that I would generally need to authorize such a release of my medical records. Does this actually void such rights?

When I go to http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices/ , it explains that

  Signing [a doctor's privacy policy] does not mean that you have agreed to any special uses or
  disclosures (sharing) of your health records.

However, this wasn't a privacy policy. It was on the same page as other legal clauses about arbitration in the event of a dispute, etc...

I suppose this is a two-part question:

1) Does "medical status" include past diagnoses that are no longer being treated by the doctor? (Eg. suppose someone has arthritis but is no longer treated for it by the doctor. Is this medical history part of their "medical status"?)

2) Does signing such a release actually allow the doctor to release such records without additional consent?


texts: Estate agents faking an offer on a property

texts:
I was recently viewing a property to buy in the UK, with an asking price of £400k. On the day of the viewing, but before my appointment, the estate agent informed me that two offers had already been made that same day, and both had been accepted. Although he couldn't reveal the amount of these offers for legal reasons, it was "not worth me making an offer below the asking price". So, I make an offer for £407k, and this was accepted. After thinking this through, I am now wondering how likely it is that these two other offers were genuine, and how likely it is these two offers never actually existed, but were made up to encourage me to make an offer over the asking price.

As another anecdote, after a previous viewing at a different property, the estate agent informed me that an offer for the asking price had just been accepted, and asked whether I would like to make an offer to myself. I replied that I was not interested in making an offer, but then only to find out a few days later that an advert for the same property was re-listed at £10k below that original asking price. Yes, I know that often the finances don't work out and the buyer has to back out, but it certainly seems possible that in that case too, this other offer was fake.

So, my questions are (and relating specifically to the UK, but other comments welcomed):

When estate agents state that other offers have recently already been made and accepted, is it common for these to be fake? If anybody has any real insider knowledge about this (e.g. if you are / have been an estate agent yourself), comments would be welcomed on how often estate agents make up other offers when trying to get a buyer to increase their offer.
Is it actually defined in law that it is illegal for estate agents to suggest that other offers have been made, when this is completely untrue?
If I was suspicious about the estate agent faking an offer, how could I go about finding out the truth? If I were to ask the estate agent, he would certainly say to me that it was not within his capacity to reveal the details of his other clients who made these offers. So it seems difficult to ever know, even if you were very suspicious.


texts: Why are envelopes allowed for registered letters?

texts:
A registered letter ensures that once someone signed it off, they cannot claim that they are not aware of the content (generally speaking).

Why someone would not bring to court the empty envelope claiming that this is what they received?

This is easily countered by sending a letter which has the address directly printed on it and accordingly folded.

One of the possible limitations is the number of pages (it works best with one) but I can imagine that one can put more pages and it is less credible to claim "we just received page one" than "the envelope was empty".

But even limiting the question to one page and since the act of providing paperwork to the adversary is so important in legal proceedings (and often requires registered letters, at least in France and generally EU) I am wondering why empty envelopes (and how to counter them) is not an issue.


texts:
What are the rules and laws for guards and loss prevention in NYC during Covid-19 in NYC?
I've read that security guards and loss prevention are not allowed to detain people, essentially false imprisonment, over merely a suspecion of wrong doing.
Also, many stores now also place a sticker "paid" on all paid merchandise.
Say a person walks into a grocery store, buys, pays, and starts walking towards the exit, and a security guard is stopping people, not keeping 6 ft apart, and checking everyone's reciepts, and essentially breaking the social distancing rules, can that person ignore the security guard and continue walking out?


texts: What are the standard references for reviewing case histories involving lawsuits against school districts in Texas?

texts:
I am not a lawyer and am just learning the very basics of legal research.  My county court has an extensive library open to the public, but I have no idea which books I should consult to read the histories of cases against school districts in Texas over the last couple of decades.  I am especially interested in cases involving special needs children.

I am sure that there must be standard reference books for this kind of thing.  What are they?


texts: Did Avi Yemini illegally record "Jim Jefferies" by using a hidden mobile phone?

texts:
Activist and YouTuber Avi Yemeni recorded the conversation he had with "comedian" and show host Geoff Nugent A.K.A "Jim Jefferies". The conversation seemed to have taken place on a professional broadcasting set. Jefferies' show recorded the conversation as well, with production cameras.

The reason Yemeni recorded the conversation was in anticipation for how he believed Jefferies or his production company was going to twist his words and make him look like something that he is not. His intuition was proven correct.

Yemeni has now filed a lawsuit against the production company and Jefferies for defamation. I read one comment that suggested that Yemeni illegally recorded the conversation by using a hidden camera and did not receive consent to do so. My question is, under New York state law (which is where the lawsuit was filed), is it illegal to record the conversation in question the way it was done in this specific case? I did read that NY state is a one-party consent state when it comes to recording. I'm looking for clarification.

This shows the video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odCQhAezB_Q


texts: Can Mac Pro customers legally sue Apple if it doesn't offer them an upgrade path to the new chips?

texts:
In December 2019, Apple introduced its flagship Mac Pro to meet the performance needs of professionals. In addition to showcasing its state-of-the-art hardware components, Apple claimed the machine is built for the future. It's key selling point is upgradability and expansion through swappable hardware modules residing inside an easily accessible chassis. Consequently, Apple charges a hefty $50K for this privilege.
Within less than a year after its debut, however, the Mac Pro's status as the most powerful Macintosh is nearly coming to an end. Apple just introduced several low to mid range models featuring its incredibly fast M1 processor. According to several benchmarks, the new models outperform the Intel-based Mac Pro across a range of computing tasks. It must be disheartening for owners to discover their machines rendered dinosaurs by Macs costing 1/50th of the price within a year of unboxing them.
Do existing Mac Pro users have a good case for a class action lawsuit, if Apple decides not to provide them with an upgrade path to the new M1 processors? While not explicitly stated as future proof, Apple did market the machine as expandable. Could a legal argument be made that it mislead its Mac Pro customers into thinking they were buying into the future?