texts: Copyright Law, are the exam questions (that aren't published) protected by Copyright?

texts:
There is an examination which contains multiple choice test questions.

These test questions aren't published anywhere (only the official test company has access to them). We have a licence from this official company to publish their practice questions, but only the ones they give us.

The official authority also has the official website with the same questions (but they don't include the ones in the official exam).

Basically the official questions and the practice questions are 2 different sets. I can see that since the practice ones are published on their website, we need a licence from them (which we do have). But what about the exam questions that aren't published? Can we add them to our website and say that "we came up with them ourselves?"  Also, what if we advertise them as real test questions?


texts: Do footballers ever get in legal trouble if they commit a violent foul?

texts:
Consider this infamous example when Zidane headbutted an opponent in the 2006 world cup. He got a red card, but if he'd done a similar thing while walking down the street, he might have ended up in a police station.

Why the double standard? Is there some legal convention that being assaulted is a hazard of playing any contact sport? That would make some sense in e.g. boxing, but makes no sense in association football, where this behaviour is clearly against the rules.


texts: Is a randomly-generated book a violation of copyright?

texts:
Let's say I create a computer program that randomly chooses words and records them. Now, this generator spits out an exact word-for-word copy of a non-public-domain book.

If I publish this (without knowing it's a copy), would I be in violation of the original book's copyrights? What if I could reasonably prove that it was generated randomly?


texts: Can only people or businesses legally own something?

texts:
FYI I'm a programmer not a lawyer so please bear with me.

In the US (or abroad), what type of entity can own something? Particularly, in the blockchain space, there exist "smart contracts" that can buy and sell crypto assets autonomously under a predetermined set of rules. If, say, a house or car title were legally represented on a blockchain, would it be legally possible for what's essentially a program (the smart contract) to gain ownership of the title? Obviously the contract has no use for the car or house, it'd just hold it temporarily and return it or sell it.


texts: I have admitted liability for an accident involving myself (a cyclist) and another car but dispute the amount the claimant has requested. I have hence decided to let the court decide on the amount I owe. My main issue is that the claimant has relied on an estimate of the costs incurred (carried out by an engineering consultant) and not the actual amount he had to pay for repairs. I am wondering if I need to make a court application (I don't really understand what one of these is) in order to make the Judge aware that I am happy to pay actual costs rather than estimated costs.


texts: Why did the movie Redacted have to be fictionalized?

texts:
According to the article Appointment in Sammara, a movie about a grotesque war crime committed in Iraq had to be fictionalized for legal reasons.
How would a true account be illegal? I thought military personnel were "public entities" and could be legally named and discussed. Or is there something else at work here, like military secrecy?


texts: Legal status of temporary reintroduction of border controls on internal Schengen borders according to Article 25 of EU 2016/399 by Germany

texts:
I would like to ask whether you think that reintroduction of border controls on internal Schengen borders according to Article 25 of EU 2016/399 (Schengen Border Code) by Germany is legal.
Germany reintroduced such border controls (lets not talk whether they are still temporary because they are not) without providing a list of border crossing points.
BUT, according to Article 27(1)c it is mandatory!
Article 27
Procedure for the temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders under Article 25

Where a Member State plans to reintroduce border control at internal borders under Article 25, it shall notify the
other Member States and the Commission at the latest four weeks before the planned reintroduction, or within a shorter
period where the circumstances giving rise to the need to reintroduce border control at internal borders become known
less than four weeks before the planned reintroduction. To that end, the Member State shall supply the following
information:

(c) the names of the authorised crossing-points;
Also without border crossing points we cannot talk about border controls in the first place because of Article 23
Article 23
Checks within the territory
The absence of border control at internal borders shall not affect:
(a) the exercise of police powers by the competent authorities of the Member States under national law, insofar as the
exercise of those powers does not have an effect equivalent to border checks; that shall also apply in border areas.
Within the meaning of the first sentence, the exercise of police powers may not, in particular, be considered
equivalent to the exercise of border checks when the police measures:
(i) do not have border control as an objective;
(ii) are based on general police information and experience regarding possible threats to public security and aim, in
particular, to combat cross-border crime;
(iii) are devised and executed in a manner clearly distinct from systematic checks on persons at the external borders;
(iv) are carried out on the basis of spot-checks;
Unfortunately, I have a very bad experience with German border controls on Austrian-German borders. There are no border crossing points but when police deports you from Germany to Austria they gave you a "Refusal of Entry" written on a template from EU 2016/399 suitable only for external Schengen borders and they write "border crossing point" "Kiefersfelden / BAB93" which actually does not exist. They use strictly TITLE II of EU 2016/399 and Articles from AufenthG I posses a proof of that.
Btw. Refusal of Entry is not a criminal offense at external Schengen border but it is a criminal offense at Austrian-German borders!
How do you distinguish a refusal of entry and an illegal border crossing? German police clasifies all cases as illegal border crossing, a criminal offense by German criminal law! At external Schengen border it is clear. Border controls without border crossing points are simply not technically possible.
Therefore, are German border controls legal? According to me they are just excercising police powers in border area.
The whole case is based on a family member of EU citizen according to EU 2004/38/EC without any legal issues when crossing from Austria to Germany with a residence card of a family member of EU citizen according to Article 10 of EU 2004/38/EC issued by Schengen state (really under the Directive) and without carrying passport.
Back to question. Is the temporary reintroduction of  border controls on internal Schengen border without border crossing points by Germany legal or not? What do you think?
Btw. this question is not related to coronavirus restriction. But because of "Secondary movements, situation at the external borders; land border with Austria;" already in force since 2015. See:
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen/reintroduction-border-control_en


texts: Would using Windows 10 Home on a PC in a build farm violate the license terms?

texts:
According to the Windows 10 (Retail) license terms:

  c. Restrictions. The manufacturer or installer and Microsoft reserve all rights (such as rights under intellectual property laws) not expressly granted in this agreement. For example, this license does not give you any right to, and you may not:

  ...
  (v) use the software as server software, for commercial hosting, make the software available for simultaneous use by multiple users over a network, install the software on a server and allow users to access it remotely, or install the software on a device for use only by remote users;

* emphasis mine

I'm thinking of getting one of these and using it in a build farm. (A build farm is a group of computers whose primary purpose is to download source code and compile applications — often for different platforms.)

The device includes a licensed copy of Windows 10 Home. Would using the device for the purpose described above fall within the scope of the license? In particular, I am concerned about the first phrase ("use the software as server software"). This seems a bit vague. What type of usage would this prohibit?


texts:
Are there labor unions for lawyers?

Not all lawyers are self-employed. Especially in the big offices there is a majority of employed, especially young lawyers. The conditions are quite hard here, with working hours far beyond whats usually expected in other professions.

I have a feeling that these young people get exploited and that the given system doesn't provide them a reasonable form of counterbalance.

So is there a specific reason why labor unions don't exist for lawyers?


texts:
Around 10pm, I see red and blue lights through my window. I look outside, and I see 7 cop cars (and a bike) in front of my house. There are 8 cops standing around in a circle, laughing -- I'm concerned because I bought this (my first) home only months ago.
I go out and from a distance have the following dialogue:

me: "Is everything okay?"
cop1: "It's okay, was just a shark attack."
me: "What?"
cop2: "We caught the bad guy."

And they turned back around to their group, barring me from further conversation.
Did I just have a run-in with an arrogant group of officers, or am I in the wrong here? Can I legally pursue the question of "Hey, what's happening here?" Are they not required to inform me if I ask?
Edit: I live in west Florida, if that's relevant. I could see it possibly being based on local laws?


texts: Can the mother of a child keep the father's name off of the child's birth certificate?

texts:
A man and woman have a baby but they are not married.
They split up before the baby is born.

After the baby is born, the mother sues the father for child support, wins and the father is ordered to pay child support.

Later the mother decides to not list the father on the birth certificate, and refuses to let the baby have his last name.

Does this make legal sense for the mother to do this?
Would the father be able to contest any of this?


texts: Is offering non-disclosure of a vulnerability in exchange for payment legal?

texts:
If a person discovers a vulnerability similar in scope to the recently disclosed Spectre/Meltdown (CPU design flaws that affect nearly all existing server infrastructure), could they legally explain this vulnerability to the vendor and offer non-disclosure for a fee, in the realm of $100,000 per month of delayed publication?

Failure to pay only results in immediate publication of the vulnerability, which is in itself a legal activity.

Would this be construed as extortion?  The design flaw itself exists already, and information regarding it isn't withheld from the vender, they are paying solely for delayed disclosure to the public.


texts: How long does employer have to pay after job is done?

texts:
I had worked 2 weeks for at an event through a temp staffing agency. The last day of work was April 2nd. A week latter I submitted my invoice. I still haven’t gotten paid. How long does an employer have to pay for a service? This is in BC, Canada.

I doubt more information is required but here’s some background: The temp agency claims I am a contractor, though I don’t see how this works as they made my schedule and tell me how to do the job etc. We had an averaging agreement for hours worked and there was no overtime. Also a week ago they sent me a contract to sign saying they had forgotten to send it before work, though I doubt this has any affect on when they were supposed to pay me.

According to here

  An employee must be paid in full within 48 hours after the employer
  ends the employment, or within six days if the employee quits.

Though since the employer is trying to play up I'm a contractor, I'm not sure if this applies.


texts: Hacking a scammer: is this guy breaking the law by deleting phishing data?

texts:
I just watched this video. In it the presenter hacks a phishing website using a SQL injection attack and then deletes the database of harvested emails and passwords.

Assuming that he did this to a real scammer as opposed to a demo website he set up for the video, was he breaking the law?

Edit: The presenter is American but computer crimes are generally held to happen in the jurisdictions of both the hacker and the computer, so I'm interested in other jurisdictions too.


texts: When I change my status, do I need to report public benefits received before October 15, 2019?

texts:
If I was pregnant 30 months ago, do I still need to say on form I-539 that I used Medicaid during my pregnancy?
What if I answer that I didn't use Medicaid?
What does this sentence mean in the instructions for form I-539?

NOTE: You only need to report public benefits received on or after October 15, 2019 but not any received before October 15, 2019.


texts: 21st Amendment defence against drug crimes

texts:
I think it can be argued that Congress, by making the prohibition of alcohol unconstitutional, intended to remove the problems of prohibition, specifically, organized crime.

Would my logic be sound to presume that alcohol is a mode of drug delivery and so it would be that all drugs can be regulated but not prohibited?


texts: What is "tortuous action" in the ISC license?

texts:
So, I read disclaimers sometimes. And this one has as a phrase I find amusing...

In no event shall the author be liable for any special, direct,
# indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss
# of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other
# tortuous action, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of
# this software.

What, exactly, counts as "other tortuous action"? Within what context would that tortuous action clause apply?

In fact, the entire bit about "...whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortuous action..." seems needlessly specific. Is there any reason they can't simply say "...of use, data or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this software."?

It just feels like that phrase is, well, needlessly tortuous.


texts: Is there any way to renounce citizenship of a foreign country legally in the U.S.?

texts: I have dual citizenship of Japan and Iran, and I'm studying in the U.S. for the past six years through F-1 visa. I've lived in Japan for the first 15 years of my life, and I've never visited Iran. Since Japan doesn't recognize dual citizenship status, I needed to renounce Iranian citizenship, which I obtained by birth from my father of Iranian origin and is almost impossible to renounce. However, Japan recognizes renouncement of foreign citizenship just through a short paperwork, which is processed only within Japanese legal system. However, this renouncement system is local and not necessarily considered valid oversea. Does the U.S. have a similar system? If not, does this Japanese system of renouncement of citizenship have any effect in the U.S.?


texts: What does it mean that something is enforceable?

texts:
What does it mean that a contract (or a sentence) is enforceable?
Does it always mean that force can be used to fulfil such contract?
Does it always mean that failing to fulfil such contract would result in a jail sentence for whomever has failed to fulfil it?
Are there kinds or degrees of enforceability?


texts: Can California water districts legally use EPA water budgets?

texts:
My water district is using EPA's ETo (evapotranspiration) concept to set water budgets for retail billing. ETo is higher during hot and dry months. My water district is multiplying ETo by landscape area to yield a water budget. Stay under budget, and water is $3.50/HCF. Go over and it's $5.22/HCF. Go 2X over and it's $10.22/HCF.
I see two possible legal issues with this approach:

It seems to violate Proposition 218's requirement that retail costs must be based on "attributable cost" because it creates an inverse relationship between retail and wholesale pricing. Since ETo is lower during conditions that tend to increase wholesale supply, and my district's billing method effectively raises retail prices at those times, retail prices are higher when wholesale prices are lower.
It seems to violate Contract Law's notion of agreement between parties, since ETo data is not published in advance of billing.

Can my water district's billing practices still be legal?


texts: Can a pre-court settlement include an admission of guilt?

texts:
(I do have a lawyer I'm working with in this case, however they are currently on leave for the Christmas holiday season and I am expressly permitted to ask others, even in a public forum, questions like these, as it's a general law question and not specific to my case)

An organization ("The Company") recently broke state and federal laws and I suffered damages accordingly. I contacted them offering to settle without going to court and they made me an initial offer.

Their initial offer includes a clause about them making no admission of guilt. The language in the offer is (paraphrased):

  No admission of liability This settlement does not in any way constitute an admission of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing by The Company. Any such liability is  expressly denied.

From what I understand, this is to prevent any future claims against The Company - however the same agreement also includes a section where I promise not to sue them for any other reason ever again (I object to this and tell my lawyer that when they return) - so even if they do admit guilt (and I agree to never sue them for any reason ever again) it makes no difference to their bottom-line, right?

I do know that many times when a defendant is a company and they settle with a plaintiff it's done to make the problem go-away because the cost of a settlement would be cheaper than the cost of hiring lawyers and running an investigation to verify the claims - as well as to prevent word getting-out if reputations would be damaged by any public court action, even if they would be acquitted.

But those reasons don't apply in my case - I don't believe The Company gains anything at all by refusing to admit guilt or wrongdoing.

I would gain immense personal satisfaction if The Company would just say in writing "we broke the law" - and hopefully "sorry" too. I find denials quite frustrating and dishonest.

Can I have my lawyer respond with a counter-offer that modifies the settlement agreement to replace the clause with something like "The Company admits to wrongdoing and is sorry." - or anything?


texts:
Consider the following situation:

The red car and blue car are both reversing in the above situation.  Just as the red car was in front of the blue car's space, the blue car reversed out crashing into the red car.

In this situation, is liability "knock for knock" (both cars paying for their own damage) or is the blue car responsible?

(Assume this situation occured in Australia)


texts: Can a deliquent become a director in a Florida Condo?

texts: Florida Condo law is governed by Florida Statues 718.  Can a director candidate be eligible for office if they are 90 days delinquent for a nonpayment of late fee?  Given that there is a section that they can have the (718.303 subsection 5) voting right revoked, is there a similar rule that prevents them from holding office?


texts: Standing and legal remedies for voter suppression and vote discarding

texts:
Suppose that there is an intentional and successful effort by the government to suppress voters likely to vote for a particular candidate or party. Further suppose that this extends to an intentional and successful effort to discard votes likely to be for that candidate/party.

This question assumes the above to be established beyond doubt. Let's say all government officials in question have openly declared it to be official policy. The policy was so effective that it definitely changed the outcome of an election.

Who has legal standing to file suit?
Who could they file suit against?
What grounds do they have to file suit?
What jurisdictions are especially favorable or unfavorable?
What is the difference if the government in question is county, state, or federal?


texts: Under GDPR EU law, can I sue big tech companies (Facebook, Google, Apple) for acquiring and storing my personal data without my consent?

texts:
Many of my friends have social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) where they regularly post photos of them and where occasionally I appear in them.

Many of my friends have their personal assistance in their phones that is constantly hearing what happens in the vicinity of the phone. Sometimes, since they are my friends, these apps record my voice and process it.

I never consented to these companies to process and store my data, only my friends allowed it. However there is little doubt that these companies also have all these information about me, my facial expression, my voice signature, and many other personal information.

I have two questions:
Is this permissible under EU private data law?
Can I sue these companies for illegally storing so much information about me?

How can I prevent that such companies have so much information about me?


texts: How might a defense attorney use the fact that the accused was coerced? Examples from the movie Se7en

texts:
SPOILER ALERT FOR THE WHOLE MOVIE. THIS GIVES AWAY THE ENDING.

In the film Se7en directed by David Fincher, a killer, J Doe, obsessed with the seven deadly sins carries out a grisly series of murders that coerce the victim or others to be unwilling participants in their death or the death of another.

In murder number 5, representing lust, Doe puts a gun in the mouth of an unnamed brothel patron and threatens to kill him unless he kills a prostitute. The patron complies to save his own life, and is released by Doe. The patron stays at the scene until Police arrive, still partially tied up, and traumatized by what he has seen and done. The officers seem sympathetic, because they have been investigating these series of murders and know that Doe has been able to coerce people into basically murdering themselves so far. The patron admits everything he did during his interrogation, sobbing despondently, but pleading that he only did it because he had a gun in his mouth.

At the end of the movie, Doe turns himself in and offers to show Detective Mills the location of more bodies. He taunts and antagonizes Mills during the trip. When they arrive where Doe instructs, a delivery van shows up, and delivers a box containing the severed head of Detective Mills' wife. Doe gives a cruel, upsetting monologue to Mills, bragging self-righteously about what he has done and smirking as he informs the yet-unaware Mills that his wife had been pregnant. Mills' partner asserts that Doe has done all this to goad Mills into shooting him out of wrath, thus completing the list, and Doe doesn't deny it. Mills struggles for a few moments, then gives in and shoots Doe in cold blood. Later he is shown arrested, appearing to have offered no resistance.

Both these incidents take place in New York.

I'm curious to know what the legal outlook is for each of these people. I expect that they won't escape prison, but I also suspect their sentences will take into account the circumstances? How could their defense attorney potentially use these circumstances in making their case?


texts: Are there examples of US lawsuits succeeding (in bypassing FSIA) against a political party of another country?

texts:
In an interesting attempt to side-step the sovereign immunity set out in FSIA, the AG of Missouri sued the Chinese Communist Party over Covid-19:

On Tuesday [Apr 20?], Missouri’s attorney general filed a suit seeking damages for harm to Missouri and its inhabitants. The suit was praised by Donald Trump Jr. as “a very appropriate move.” [...]
The Missouri AG attempts to avoid the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) by arguing that the Communist Party of China (CCP) is not covered by the FSIA, and that the CCP “exercised direction and control” over all the other named defendants.
Courts generally do not view attempts to “plead around” the FSIA favorably. The complaint cites an unpublished opinion by a federal district court in Michigan finding that the CCP does not fall under the FSIA, but that determination was inconsequential, because the plaintiff’s claims had other fatal defects. However, in a different unpublished opinion, a federal district court in New York found in a decision, upheld on appeal, that China Central Television is an instrumentality of China because it is the “mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.” Similarly, a federal district court in Florida found that the Communist Party of Cuba is an agency or instrumentality of Cuba, a designated state sponsor of terrorism under the FSIA. On the other hand, a New York district court issued a default judgment against ZANU-PF, whose First Secretary was Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (the judgment was overturned for improper service). [...]
The Missouri complaint also names the government-run Chinese Academy of Sciences, which allegedly administers the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Even if these entities end up falling outside the FSIA’s definition of a foreign State or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign State (which is unlikely), the Supreme Court indicated in Samantar v. Yousuf (2010) that the FSIA would apply when the State is the “real party in interest.”  This observation provides a basis for treating the suit as if it were filed against China, if the plaintiffs seek assets from China. In addition, the Republic of Philippines v. Pimentel (2008) holds that a suit may not go forward if a sovereign foreign State is an indispensable party, which China would very likely be here. Finally, if a defendant falls outside the scope of the FSIA, that defendant must be properly served with process, and there must be a basis for asserting personal jurisdiction over that defendant (in addition to subject-matter jurisdiction over the claim).

So clearly the issue of instrumentality is probably going to be central here with respect to FSIA even if the Chinese Communist Party (or the Chinese Academy of Sciences) is named in the lawsuit. The snippets I've quoted seem to cover most such relevant precedents in which the instrumentality of the party in a single-party system was discussed in court.
I'm curious however if there are cases in US courts where a political party from a [foreign] country not featuring a single-party system was sued in US courts. And were such lawsuits successful in bypassing FSIA?


texts: Under GDPR can I avoid divulging a customer's data to the government?

texts:
Scenario:

A business has a legal requirement to obtain a license from a government agency relating to its business activities.
The business activities have already being undertaken and there is no way to avoid the need for the license (e.g. by ceasing the activities).
The license application form asks for customers' personal data (names plus basic details relating to their contracts e.g. dates).
The business feels uncomfortable divulging such data to the government, and is pretty sure their customers would be unhappy if they knew about it.
The business, the customers, and the government, are all located in the EU.

What is the position in relation to GDPR? Can the business refuse to complete the relevant sections of the license application?

My starting point is GDPR Articles 4(2) and 6(1)(c) (emphasis added):

  4(2) ‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is
  performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not
  by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation,
  structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval,
  consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or
  otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction,
  erasure or destruction;

  6(1) Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that
  at least one of the following applies: (c) processing is necessary
  for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is
  subject;

This would seem to indicate to me that the business does indeed have to divulge the information. Is this correct?


texts: Which Presidential candidates can I legally vote for in the general election?

texts:
I live in California and wish to vote third-party this election season. However, from the research I've done, it looks like I may be unable to vote for my candidate of choice. Really, I have two questions:

1) Whose names will be listed on the Presidential ballot, or - in other words - how does the state decide whose names to place on the ballot?

2) Can I cast a write-in vote for a candidate not listed on the ballot?


texts: Are different licenses legally binding and can any person/company sue another person/company for violating open source licence?

texts:
With "license" I am referring to the open source licences such as the Creative commons licence or other open-source software or hardware licenses such as MIT License or GNU License or CERN hardware license.

So let's assume that an organisation or a person has been caught violating the terms of the open source License (let's say creative commons License) then can I sue that person for violating the terms and if these Licenses aren't legally binding , then what's the use of it ?


texts:
We are going to use a GPL licensed application as separate process inside a docker. So here's how it works:

Main app ships to client, it doesn't have any GPL code. Does have lots of things and manages lots of Docker images.
Our app CAN download and launch custom made Docker images (special purpose, we maintain docker images and they are custom built). All other docker images we have, does not include any GPL code.
Inside just one of the docker images a server software with GPL license will be running all the time, that's the main server software in that particular docker image (as-is)

Can we do this in our commercial app without having to publish our source code?

Basically we maintain and create the docker image, but that's not main part of our software and its completely optional and users can choose to download that docker image and run it if they want to. GPL code is not blended into our main app, its totally separate and its inside docker image. Imagine being Amazon and maintaining list of VM images you build and letting your clients download and launch instances of VM images you built that contain many GPL licensed applications.


texts: Is it okay to use my own software for a job with another company?

texts:
Over the last year I setup (registered) my own company so I could do freelance and contracting. I also produced some digital products for sale on the app stores.

During that time I built a very useful framework and ORM for building out back-end APIs. The language I am using basically only has 1 other web framework which has too many limitations for me, so I built my own. - I personally own the IP, but brand the framework under the company. I would be happy to write a contract to say my company has unrestricted use of it.

Now I am going back into the corporate world and have just been offered CTO with a startup. My question is, would it be wrong to use the framework I built for my company, as the main back-end technology at this new company in the following circumstances:

1) I could licence it out for an annual fee

2) I make it open source

Would I need to disclose it as conflict of interest under either circumstance?


texts: Either in USA California or in India (choose whichever you like) can a person sue oneself back for damages? Has anyone ever defamed themselves and then sued themselves for defamation?


texts:
For some reason I've been looking for an official term for a person or company (agent?) acting on behalf of other organization (principal?). Example is company A wants to construct a factory in country C. So company A hires company B to negotiate with officials of country C to make an agreement.

Can you please provide a document with the term, esp. contracts, if possible?


texts: Selling someone a life estate in a house

texts:
I bought a property that has elderly tenants on it. They want to stay, but they can not afford to pay fair market value. For a bevy of reasons beyond the scope of this post, I don't want to be a landlord, and they want to be the owners.

Can I sell them, as joint tenants, a life estate in the property? I was thinking of charging them significantly less for the life estate, because I would get the property back after their deaths.

If I seller-finance them the life estate (through a deed of trust), can I foreclose if they fail to pay as agreed? If I do that, do I have full fee title to the property?

If upon their deaths they have not paid off the deed of trust, do I have to hold a trustee's sale to extinguish it, or can I just release the deed of trust and forgive the balance?

What else should I know about selling a life estate? I'm looking for general discussion here, not specific advice. I will hire a lawyer before actually doing anything.


texts:
Bob places an online order. The store confirms that the exact thing Bob ordered is in the warehouse and can be shipped immediately, and sends invoice. Bob pays.

Several days later the store says that they looked everywhere in their warehouse but could not find exactly what Bob ordered. They suggested two options for Bob:

wait several weeks for a new batch to arrive in the warehouse; or
agree to get same thing but different colour now.

Bob finds what he did not get — in a local store at a higher price.

It is no question that Bob is eligible for refund from the online store. But is he also eligible for the difference in price as damages?


texts:
My spouse was born in 1979 to a legal foreign student couple , they left the U.S when she was a few month old and never applied for her U.S citizenship.

now she wants to obtain her U.S citizenship and passport. the only thing she has is a valid birth certificate.

is it possible for her to get her U.S. passport just by going to united state embassy? or she need to go after a court challenge?


texts: Who is responsible for party wall repairs (UK law)?

texts:
I’ve just moved into a new house and discovered that the previous owners did some work that involved removing half the foundations of a party wall between my house and my new neighbour’s house.
My neighbours have informed me that they asked the previous owners to fix the damage before selling the house, but they did nothing.
I have three basic questions.

Who’s responsible for repairing the wall? Me? Or the previous owners? Or 50:50 me and the neighbours?
Assuming that the previous owners are responsible, who’s responsible for the cost and aggravation of making them pay-up (i.e. chasing them through the courts).  Me, or my neighbours?
Weren’t the owners or the estate agent under any obligation to tell me about this issue? The house cost a lot of money, I’m mortgaged to the maximum, and I’ve now just discovered it needs repairs that could cost thousands.

A bit more background. The party wall is a brick-built outside earth-retaining wall between myself and my neighbours. The previous owners indicated on the sale documentation that the boundary fence on that side of the house is the responsibility of what is now my property. The neighbour made a written request for the wall to be repaired and she copied it to the estate agent. Neither the seller, nor the estate agent mentioned anything about it to me before the purchase. I did get a survey done of the property, but the small-print excludes anything not part of the house itself – the boundary wall is a separate structure. I have not had an engineer look at it (yet), but even a layperson can reach under the wall and actually touch the bottom of the foundations! I've spoken to the previous owners, they admit doing the work, admit receiving the letter from the neighbours but say that because the wall is still (currently) standing it's not their problem - they even admitted that if the wall does fall over then the repairs will be my responsibility!
What do I do and who should pay?

Updates following comments.
The sellers filled in a TA6 form, the section titled 'Has any notice been received under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 in respect of any shared/party boundaries?' has been answered 'no'. The section titled 'Have there been any disputes or complaints regarding this property or a property nearby?' has also been ticked 'no' and finally the section titled 'Have any notices or correspondence been received or sent ...... which affect the property or a property nearby?' has also been ticked 'no'.
This document is signed and dated one day before they signed for receipt of the letter from the neighbours asking for the repairs to be done. This was 4 weeks before completion. I'm suspicious of the timing of the TA6 form, and can't help feeling that 4 weeks is plenty of time to correct it!


texts:
If I created an android/IOS app that listed the names of businesses/clubs (leisure such as golf, etc.) would I need the consent of each club/business or would I be able to list their addresses without any legal repercussions?

I am based in the UK but I guess international law would apply.


texts: I released a work to the public under a Creative Commons licence. Can I also release it to a specific person under different terms?

texts:
I wrote a book. I wrote it on my home computer. Then I put my book, unmodified, on the public Web, releasing it under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 licence. This licence entitles anybody to share my book. It also entitles anybody to adapt my book, provided that the adaptation is released under the same licence. This means that anybody can also share the adaptation. Whoever created the adaptation has no exclusive rights to their adaptation. So far so good.
Now someone is approaching me personally and would like to create a film adaptation of the book. They would like to create some kind of one-off licence or agreement which would allow them to create the film, retaining exclusive rights to their film (not the original book).
Is this a thing I/they/we can do?
I feel like there are two possibilities:

There is only one book - the one on my home computer and the one on the public Web with the licence attached are one and the same. The book is covered by the licence. To adapt the book is to adapt a CC BY-SA 3.0-licenced work, no matter what. The answer to the question is "No."
There is a meaningful distinction between the copy of the book on my home computer and the copy of it on the public Web with the CC BY-SA 3.0-licence. The public can see the latter, and they can adapt it, under the terms of the licence. But I still have the former, it is unencumbered, and I can licence it out separately if I so choose. The answer to the question is "Yes."

Instinctively I thought this would be situation (1), but now I want to know for sure. I've read the CC FAQ but I don't see an obvious answer to my question. I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is something else entirely.


texts: When was pretrial detention first declared constitutional?

texts:
I assume that early on in American history, pretrial detention was at some point challenged for its constitutionality. Is that the case?

I have also heard that pretrial detention is illegal as a means of punishment, what case does that standard come from?


texts: is someone allowed to post an image of me on social media without my consent?

texts: i have an old friend who has been posting pictures of me without my permission. i’ve asked her to delete them but she just keeps refusing. can i take legal action? or is it possible for me to get them deleted somehow? i would not like to be associated with her.


texts: Is it possible to be awarded damages in a First Amendment case?

texts:
The case is a de facto promotion of religion by a local municipality.
A private citizen has placed a religiously promotive flyer on the notices board at the department of a local municipality. The board is enclosed by a locked, plexiglass window, and it is to the outside of this window the flyer has been taped.
While not responsible for putting it up, after about 2 months of it being there with staff able to see it 7 days a week, standing next to it, posting official notices, they have "adopted" it and are now liable for its presence. I say three days was sufficient time to be responsible in removal.
I plan on waiting until it's removed by anyone before filing a complaint and suit just so it's as huge as possible, exposing their negligence, "sticking it to them" for the schadenfreude, but I wonder if there's any personal damages to possibly be awarded, or -- as I suspect -- would it all be in the form of contributions to secular, church-state separation organizations and having to allow every other type of religious and areligious promotion for an equal amount of time?


texts: A bought a lottery ticket for $1, and then B stole it from him. Later, it turns out to be a winning ticket for $100 million dollars. If it is beyond reasonable doubt that B stole the ticket (e.g. B admits to stealing it), did B steal $1 or $100 million dollars from A — or some other amount?


texts: Recourse against landlord entering home during COVID outbreak?

texts:
My wife and I are moving out of our current rental in a couple of weeks.  Our landlord stated in a text this morning that he can show our house to potential new renters with 24 hours notice, even though we asked him to wait until we have moved out -- my wife has asthma, and we're in the upswing of a global pandemic.

We live in Arizona.  Are there any state or federal laws, or executive orders, that allow us to keep our landlord out until we've left?


texts: Why don't publishers release journal articles whose copyright have expired into Public Domain?

texts:
Consider this journal article by John Maynard Keynes, a British economist who died in 1946 (the article in question was published in 1943). The journal (still published) is based in the UK, and thus, it should be subject to UK copyright law.

According to UK law, the copyright of the work expires 70 years after the death of the author. For the case of Keynes, that is 2017. Similarly, the layout of the published edition has copyright for 25 years only. Thus, both copyrights have already expired.

However, the article (and many other articles in a similar situation, as the journal was created in 1891) are not freely available. They can only be accessed through JSTOR, as all links redirect to it (e.g. this and this). JSTOR does not allow free access (as in freedom of speech), albeit has a restricted form of free access (as in free beer), after registration, only for three articles and lasting 14 days.

Why does the publisher do not release the material to the public domain if the copyright has already expired? Do they have any obligation to do so, or it is a matter of active individuals/organisations to "exercise" that right? As such, can I request to them to give me access for free? As far as I understand, as a British resident (?), I am myself "entitled" to make that work available in the public domain, without infringing the copyright of the author or publisher.


texts: Legality of "Version x or later" licenses

texts:
A standard way to license something under the GPL, is to grant a license to the "GPL version 3 or later", meaning that the recipient receives a license under the license terms of the GPLv3, or at their choice any later version of the GPL.

I have been told that in the EU, or at least Germany this is impossible because the license constitutes a contract, and it's not lawful to enter into a contract that has terms that are unknown to you at the time of entering it. Is this correct?


texts: Strict Construction vs. Liberal Construction

texts: What is the difference of meaning of the term "including but, not limited to" in the strict vs the liberal interpretation of the term?


texts: Can I be liable for damages for wrong advice I give on a Stack Exchange site?

texts:
I often help people out on different stack exchange websites and never have any issues whatsoever. I usually answer questions on the Apple stack exchange website.

I was wondering, if I give out incorrect advice and someone damages their computer or device more, can I be liable in anyway for those damages? I'm not that familiar with the law, so I though I would ask before I answer certain questions, that I'm not 100% sure on.

I understand if they don't follow the advice I'm not liable, but if they willingly follow my advice themselves and if my advice was slightly incorrect, causing more damage, could they attempt to sue me for the damage it causes?


texts: What is illegal to watch on the streets or other public spaces in California, United States?

texts:
Last night I was hearing some car noises in the street next to my place in San Jose, California, and by the time I went out, things had calmed down. To my great surprise, this morning I read (mirror) that the bunch of bystanders next to my place earned a criminal record:

Over 40 citations, many for municipal code spectator violations. These events are illegal and we will continue the enforcement.

These municipal code spectator violations are a misdemeanor. Had I gone outside my apartment slightly earlier, I could have been struck with a misdemeanor.
I am therefore very concerned as to what I am legally disallowed to look at when in a public space, especially because I have a green card and I fear deportation or issues when renewing my green or getting the US citizenship, and also need to apply for visas that sometimes require a criminal background check.
Aside from looking at cars making noise, what else is illegal to watch on the streets or other public spaces in California, United States?


texts: Is a modified version of a trademarked slogan considered infringement?

texts:
Since it's not the exact trademarked slogan, it seems the answer would be straightforward - but I've learned that trademark/copyright law is anything but.

If the phrase, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a tuna melt" were used to advertise a product (not actually going to - just an example), would the owners of Ali's intellectual property have grounds to take action?

Evidently, the original slogan was used verbatim in an advertisement for an e-reader where the boxer's name was also used.  This resulted in action against the e-reader manufacturer for, among other things, use of the slogan.

Would such advertisements be at risk if they were modified as shown above?  And, of course, were devoid of mentioning/claiming any association with the owner of the original slogan.

I found another answer somewhat similar to this context but it pertained to writing.  Any links to supporting material would be greatly appreciated.  Unfortunately my Google skills only go so far in this domain.


texts: "will" and "shall" legal contractual value

texts:
I need help to understand the legal value of this sentence from a contract: " Contractor will invoice CRO monthly" and "CRO shall send payment for services in X days". "Will" and "shall" have the same legal value of "must" or using "will" doesn't create e legal obligation? Does "shall" create a legal obligation?
And the second one I'm in doubt: "During months where no time on site is required, time spent on this project will be capped at 20 hours".
According to you, the meaning is that " during months with no site activity, one can bill a maximum of 20 hours" or "The word “capped” does not mean that you have the right to invoice for 20 hours"?


texts: Does the Icelandic government recognise ULC-officiated marriages?

texts:
Is a marriage officiated by an ordained Universal Life Church minister (and performed in the country) legally recognised in Iceland?

The Wikipedia page on the ULC only lists US states and this site doesn't include Iceland.

I think I may have accidentally married some people at a festival.


texts: If a homeowner's liability from an insurance claim exceeds total coverage, can a court order that the payout all go to satisfying the liability?

texts: Here is an extreme, hypothetical scenario that will hopefully explain what I mean by my question: Let’s say a court finds that Bob’s negligence somehow caused an explosion that destroyed Bob’s house and injured Mary. Bob’s homeowner’s insurance covers damage to his house up to a total rebuild costing 100k and covers personal liability up to another 100k. However, a court finds Bob liable for paying Mary’s medical bills, which are more than 200k. Can the court order that the insurance payout all go to Mary and none of it go to rebuilding Bob’s house? Or would the house necessarily have to be rebuilt and Mary would only be able to put a lien on it?


texts:
In Illinois, we have a two-party consent law on phone calls, requiring both parties to agree to being recorded. (Or, it seems, simply be told "This call may be recorded for ___ purposes", and you simply continue the phone call.

In Wisconsin, the law is one party. If I drive up to the Wisconsin border with my Illinois Phone number, what takes precedence for that phone call? The registered number's area (my Illinois area code), or the physical location I'm standing when making / receiving the call?

Also, when you state that the call is recorded for ___ purposes, does that have any bearing on the actual use (e.g. they state it is for quality assurance, but instead they use it for marketing, legal, etc)


texts: How do you serve a person in Small Claims Court if they are International but their Business is here in the USA?

texts:
The company subject has two owners, and I was the Third, I am sueing my x partners now for the debt that they did not pay and left for me.
They are International but have since started a New company and I know all their information.

How do I serve them?


texts:
In a dispute with a government department it appears there are 2 laws which conflict.  The defendant is accused of wrongdoing under the law in question.

Is this kind of matter something that can be heard/adjudicated/judged by JP's (who typically sit on the bench)?   I ask this because I perceive this as a matter of law, not a question of fact, and I would intuitively think  this to be something a judge would need to decide.

Jurisdiction in question is New Zealand.

further info

The conflicting laws are

The Biosecurity Act 1993, section 30(1B) which states "An inspector may require a person arriving in New Zealand to make a declaration about 1 or more of the following in a manner specified by the inspector:..."

and

The Oaths and Declarations Act 1957 section 8 which states "Where by any law in force in New Zealand (whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) any person is authorized or required to make a declaration or a statutory declaration, that declaration shall be made and subscribed in the manner prescribed by section 9 or section 11, as the case may require."

It is alleged by MPI (who handle Biosecurity) that "A person required to make a declaration in relation to goods specified in that declaration erroneously declared that s(he) was not in possession of those goods.

It is arguable if a declaration was made, however the said declaration was clearly not the form required by the Oaths and Declarations Act -and the  words in the part of the declaration being relied on by the prosecutor were neither recorded nor made under oath.


texts: Why do municipalities keep laws on the books that are invalid?

texts:
Why do some municipalities keep laws on the books that are not valid?

For example, what if municipal law violates state law (for example, due to the state law having preemption) -- is it up to the defendant / plaintiff to bring it up, or is the judge supposed to know such things?

Does it mean that you should always mention laws that are to your advantage, even if you know that they're invalid, on the off-chance that the other party (whether self-represented, or represented through a rookie lawyer) will not know such detail?

What about the party who loses a lawsuit due to such law that's actually invalid -- if they did have a lawyer representing them, do they have any recourse?  Would a lawyer be responsible for such poor representation, and what would they owe to the client?


texts: Are inconsistent prosecutions (contradictory theories of case) allowed in ECHR signatories?

texts:
In the United States, prosecutors may try two cases which have contradictory theories—eg, a prosecutor may try both A and B for firing the same fatal shot, and both can be convicted (even though one must be innocent).
Are such inconsistent prosecutions allowed in countries signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)?  Are they against the safeguards for a fair trial in Art 6 ECHR?  Has the Strasbourg court ruled on this?


texts: Can a contract make it so the client is responsible if they get you to do something illegal?

texts:
Is there a way to make it so that if your doing work for someone, and they get you to do something illegal, they take responsibility? I’m guessing not, but thought I would ask. Someone who’s making a fashion/modelling page wants me to do some photo editing (i.e. Photoshop) some of her pictures. Also she got me to post a video of her where some copyrighted music was playing in the background.

Instead of having to read up on the law each time I do something, can I somehow pass the responsibility to her? For example if I get her to sign a contract saying she would defend and indemnify me for any work she has me do, would this count?

Under what circumstances would this not count out of curiosity? For example I’m assuming if someone hires an assassin to kill someone, the assassin wouldn’t get out of trouble because of the indemnification clause he had in the contract with his client. The reason why I'm not sure if indemnification is applicable in this scenario is, because isn't indemnification for damages due to failure to meet contractual obligations? To my understanding, if somethings illegal, any contract relating to it is invalid.


texts: Can an author change the name listed on her book’s copyright page to a new one when she republishes the book?

texts: I previously published books under a pen name through a publisher that has since closed due to the owner’s death. I’m planning to self-publish the books but under a new author name. Can I change the name listed in the copyright page of the book to the new name, e.g. copyright@2011 by Old Name to copyright@2011 by New Name, or add the new name, e.g. copyright@2011 by Old Name/New Name? Or must I maintain the original name? Any information would be much appreciated.


texts: Is it legal to reproduce readings from a textbook on a personal blog?

texts:
I'm reading a textbook on Ancient Greek that has readings at the end of each chapter. After I finish the reading, I would like to publish my translation to my blog, and above my translation reproduce the original reading. These readings aren't from classical authors, but were most likely written up by the author of the textbook, to provide simple readings for beginning students.

However, I'm not sure if it's legal to reproduce the Greek readings written by the textbook author. Would it be enough for me to cite the textbook within each blog post? Or am I required to actually write the author and receive permission?

Relevant Details

I live in the US and the book was printed in the US, and is still in print. It was copyrighted in 2000. I'm simply reproducing the textual content by laboriously typing up the Greek using the Polytonic Greek keyboard on Mac OS X. No pictures or scans.

The blog is a personal blog, devoted to my interests. Two of these main interests are Greek and Latin. I would say the blog has two purposes. First, it's an educational tool which helps me track my progress and access my materials. Second, it allows me to share my enthusiasm with others.


texts: Is it legal to email my competitor's customers?

texts:
I want to poach customers from my competitor. Is it legal to email my competitor's customers, advertising my service as an alternative?

Details

I can obtain a list of my competitor's customers, through a 3rd party product review site. This site allows those customers to review the competitor.
For each of those customers, I can obtain their publicly listed contact email address from their business website.
I would then email each of them, with a promotion email. Prompting them to consider me as an alternative.

Is this legal? Also, is it legal to refer to my competitor in the email in any way?


texts: Do cities and counties in Texas have to set the speed limit to the 85th percentile?

texts:
When a city or county in Texas builds a new road or substantially changes an existing one, for instance changes a 2 lane road to a 4 or 6 lane road,
does the state require them to do a speed study and set the speed limit using that study? Or can they simply just decide an arbitrary speed limit and post it?


texts: Is making a request under someone else's name in order to obtain information illegal?

texts:
Say that someone knew a person of interest's full name and made a request to obtain certain information using someone's name who has permission/legal rights to view that material, and addressed that the info was sent to a specific address from which returned mail could be obtained by the poser. Given that this isn't identity theft and sending snail mail under another person's name to OR from 2 disclosed locations is legal, could the fact that the information is being read by someone unauthorized make it an illegal act itself? I ask because this is something hardly considered in law.

North American law in particular, specifically Anglophone laws for the most part.

I am certain that sending a request under someone else's name isn't illegal because millions of people do it all the time and it's the reason why people find unexpected bills and subscriptions from which they never recall signing up for. Also, if such a thing were illegal, it's unlikely anyone could prove it.

But this is besides the point.


texts:
In the 18th century it was decided that in the U.S.A. "freedom of the press" would prevail.

"The press" is the printing press, a technology for mass-producing copies on paper.  Thus freedom of the press would appear to mean freedom to use that technology, a freedom belonging equally to those whose job is to do that and those who do it only once.

But sometimes people use the phrase "the press" to mean those whose occupation is to make and distribute copies of their writings, or else those who report the news (via the web as well as the old-fashioned way?).  It seems some people construe "freedom of the press" to be a freedom belonging only to that class of people, perhaps even according them special rights that others don't have.

Which is it?


texts: Would the classic South Park song describe incest in Virginia?

texts:
As best as I can tell, Virginia law prohibits many (though not all) incestuous marriages with gender-specific nouns only (§ 20-38.1):

  (a) The following marriages are prohibited:

  ...

  (2) A marriage between an ancestor and descendant, or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption;

  (3) A marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood.

  ...

And it prohibits sexual relations only between people for whom the law forbids marriage (§ 18.2-366):

  A. Any person who commits adultery or fornication with any person whom he or she is forbidden by law to marry shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor except as provided by subsection B.

  B. Any person who commits adultery or fornication with his daughter or granddaughter, or with her son or grandson, or her father or his mother, shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony. However, if a parent or grandparent commits adultery or fornication with his or her child or grandchild, and such child or grandchild is at least thirteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age at the time of the offense, such parent or grandparent shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony.

  ...

Except certain types of acts, which are explicitly forbidden with specific relatives (§ 18.2-361):

  ...

  B. Any person who performs or causes to be performed cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus, or anal intercourse upon or by his daughter or granddaughter, son or grandson, brother or sister, or father or mother is guilty of a Class 5 felony. However, if a parent or grandparent commits any such act with his child or grandchild and such child or grandchild is at least 13 but less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense, such parent or grandparent is guilty of a Class 3 felony.

  ...

Same-sex marriages were forbidden in another section of the Virginia Code, but the U.S. Supreme Court has held that states cannot prohibit same-sex marriages.

In light of that ruling, does that mean the lines of the classic South Park song (Warning: explicit) would not constitute incest in Virginia?


texts: A sitting judge is claiming to represent a client against me. Should I file a bar complaint?

texts:
We recently had to fire an employee for cause.  After we sent an email to the former employee asking for a password to an account that belonged to the business, we received a reply from a person who represented themselves as the lawyer for the employee.  The content of the email was:

  Have your attorney contact me to discuss. I’ve instructed my client not to discuss this matter with you directly.

The sender of this email is a sitting county judge in my state (Texas).  Google tells me that sitting judges are not ethically allowed to practice law here.  Should I file a bar complaint?


texts: Why did EWCA conclude that Gilchrist Vending v Sedley Hotel Ltd consisted with the principle that nominal consideration sufficed?

texts:
I'm asking about the red underline. John D McCamus. The Law of Contracts (2012 2 ed). p. 229

Mountford & Anor v Scott [1974] EWCA Civ 10 (17 October 1974)

  The third ground of attack on the validity of the option agreement was that the consideration for the grant of the option, stated and paid, namely £1, was a sum which the law would not regard as valuable consideration: therefore there was no consideration in the eye of the law to support the obligation on Mr Scott not to withdraw his offer for six months. This I found a startling proposition. The industry of Mr Narayan has not been able to find any support for it in English authority; and his reliance on a Canadian case of Gilchrist v. Sedley, which is reported in (1967) 66 Dominion Law Reports, Second Series, page 24, was based on a misreading, in my view, of the decision in that case, which appears to me to suggest only that possible future obligations which could be avoided by payment of £1 were illusory as consideration.

Anson's Law of Contract (2016 30 ed). p. 104

  (f) CONSIDERATION NEED NOT BE ADEQUATE

p. 106

  Thus specific performance was ordered of
  an option to purchase a house for £10,000 even though the consideration for the grant
  of the option was the nominal sum of £1.53

  53 Mountford v Scott [1975] Ch 258 (Brightman J). But note that, in contrast to Brightman J, the Court of Appeal in that case regarded the option as having been exercised so that the specific performance related to
  the contract of sale for £10,000 not the option contract for which the consideration was nominal.


texts:
If a person were to go out drinking, head back to their car, leave the keys on the front seat, the engine off and get in the back to sleep it off, would they have comitted an offense?

There appears to be a significant amount of contradictory information on this issue, particularly surrounding the "drunk in charge" offense so it's not at all clear to me.


texts: Will be asked to come back to work - wife cannot due to children

texts:
Due to COVID-19 all schools were closed (At least here in MI - I am certain everywhere).  My wife's work is starting to ask when she will return.  Unfortunately she has to become our 3 daughter's teacher - at least until the end of June.  Our schools are participating in Remote School (Schoology) and the student's pass or fail depends on their attendance.  We have a small pre-k and kindergartner as well as a ten year old, we aren't talking about self sufficient teens here - these kids are young.

In any event I know if an employee refuses to go back to work they can be terminated and lose unemployment benefits.  However, I have also read that parents who have kids are entitled to unemployment during these rough times due to COVID-19 and remote school.  If my wife comes into contact with someone who has these symptoms she could easily bring it home - not ideal.

How can we maintain unemployment benefits at least until the end of June without having the fear of losing both employment at her job and unemployment benefits?


texts: Who owns copyright on works found in a storage unit/attic?

texts:
So in this question the OP bought the contents of a storage unit whose owner had failed to keep up with payments. In it they found an unpublished manuscript, which they thought was pretty cool and wanted to publish it.

There are answers and comments about the ethical thing to do, but I want to put that aside for this question, and just focus on the legal copyright side.

In the comments there was discussion on who would own copyright to the manuscript. Since the OP legally owned the original physical manuscript I thought that the copyright would belong to the OP, whereas others posit that it would belong to the author's heirs.

The reason I thought it would belong to the OP is because I had heard stories of people finding works of art in their attic, and going on to auction them off (making an unexpected windfall).

So I wanted to ask here on SE law (not SE writing) specifically:

Who would legally own the copyright of a 'found in storage/attic manuscript/piece of art' and what difference the art medium (e.g., words on paper vs paint on canvas) would make


texts: Would Santa Claus at the North Pole be under the legal jurisdiction of any country?

texts: So Santa Claus lives at the North Pole (which we'll naturally assume is at the exact location of the Earth's north pole). If someone wanted to, for instance, sue Santa for IP infringement or arrest him for his multiple felonies, would his home at the North Pole be under the legal jurisdiction of any country?


texts:
I'd like to add something to my previous question
The first part of the scenario:
A person breaks a window, enters the house through the window, takes $1000 worth of computer equipment, and leaves through a door.
Now add:
The house was being rented out at the time of the crime. The renter called the police. They came out and a report was filed. The renter notified the landlord of the situation the same day. Several days later, the landlord learns the identity of the perpetrator. The landlord does not notify the tenant or the police.
Is the landlord guilty of any crime?


texts:
I'm a high school student attending a public school. I was wondering for clarification on FERPA exceptions. My school stated that they had a "memorandum of understanding" with the school resource officer, and they do share "education records" with the SRO because of this. I was wondering if someone could clarify on the legality of this. The SRO does not work for the school, and works for the town's police department.

Thanks in advance.


texts: What are my defenses against libel in this situation?

texts:
I had a dream that an acquaintance of mine was engaged in the African slave trade in the United States (that is right now, in the early 21st century). Suppose I turned the dream into a piece of fiction such as a movie or novel, would that be libel because of the time disconnect?

My understanding is that libel has the following elements: 1) The statement was false while a reasonable person would believe it to be true, to the detriment of the target 2) the plaintiff was identifiable 3) the statement was derogatory.

There was a case about the libel charges of a beauty queen being dismissed because no reasonable person would believe the allegations: that the beauty queen performed oral sex on men and thus made them "levitate" in mid-air.

A couple more items about my dream/movie. 1) It showed a contemporary "slave market" in Washington D.C. next to the courthouse, side by side with cars, skyscrapers, and the internet, meaning that the person was not conducting a slave trade in our parallel universe that was illegal (immoral, perhaps) and 2) People who knew him would testify, yes, this is the kind of guy who would sell his mother, brother, child, "down the river."

Would either or both of the above constitute a defense against libel?


texts: Does applying for a Diversity Visa make one ineligible for other visas?

texts:
A friend is planning to immigrate to the US in the relatively near future. It appears there are various different avenues by which they may gain temporary or permanent residence and work permits.

The most expedient and likely options, relatively speaking, appear to be an H1-B visa or a Diversity Visa.

The H1-B visa requires an employer sponsor, and the application period is a short window of a few days in April of each year. The Diversity Visa has an application window of a few weeks from October-November, with awards being announced in May of the following year.

I would like to know if it is possible for my friend to pursue both options simultaneously, or will application for a Diversity Visa (which is an immigration visa) render them ineligible for the H1-B (a non-immigrant visa) due to demonstration of intent to immigrate?

Also, can they visit the US during the holidays under the Visa Waiver Program if there is a pending Diversity Visa application? Or, again, does the DV application show intent to immigrate and therefore render them ineligible for the VWP or other temporary travel visas?


texts:
United State, NY state here.
I'd like to change my 1-man LLC's official mailing address with the state.  To my surprise, it looks like when I filed the original Articles of Organization over a year ago, I never had to specify the mailing address!  The only time NY state asked me to specify the mailing address was when they sent me an LLC/LLP Request for Information document a few days after I files the Articles on Division of Corporation's (DoC's) site; but this request came from the Department of Taxation and Finance, not the DoC.
Does this all sound right -- that the DoC wouldn't ask me to specify an address when I created the LLC?
Either way, to change our mailing address, do I go through DoC, Dept of Taxation/Finance, or both?


texts: Why is something like ESPN's Streak for the Cash not considered gambling under law? streak.espn.go.com/en. It is clear this is a game of chance due to ESPN purposely picking games that statistically are 50 50


texts: This is a follow up to my previous question: Plain English Meaning Of Trust Language, which I included a picture of for clarity. The trust article outlines what happens if an heir is deceased but what would happen if one of the successors chose to forfeit their share of the trust? Would that same hierarchy of distribution still apply, allowing their share to pass to their children instead of themselves or being that it is not specifically mentioned, would forfeiting their share be the same as severing their ancestral branch from the trust all together?


texts: Is "prima facie case" only used in the context of criminal law? Or can it be used in administrative and/or civil law?


texts:
My Lawyer has been pressuring me to settle. I have finally agreed. He has now sent me a letter telling me that he will not settle until I prove that I have gotten a second opinion from another lawyer regarding the settlement.

Q: Can he do this? (Force me to get a second opinion)

Q: Is this a big red flag or just standard CYA stuff?

Background on case:

I was sued for libel in Ontario, Canada. It is covered by my insurance company and I counter sued for copyright infringement. (They copied my stuff. I told all my customers they were copying my stuff. They sued me for libel. I counter sued for copyright infringement)
Now the person who is suing says they won't copy me anymore (without admitting anything) and wants to drop everything. My lawyer suggests that I settle. (So does my insurance company) I am inclined to agree.


texts: What is the meaning of "Additionally, and subject to our obligations hereunder and under X"?

texts:
Question: What is the meaning of

  "Additionally, and subject to our obligations hereunder and under X"

?

Background:  The following section is part of a Terms of Use statement.
The rights that the user grants the company contradict the Data Sharing and Protection Policy:

  "Additionally, and subject to our obligations hereunder and under our
  Data Sharing and Protection Policy with respect to any protected
  health information (“PHI”), you grant [the company some rights that
  contradicts the Data Sharing and Protection Policy.]”


texts: Can former President Obama sue President Trump for defamation?

texts:
President Trump has made assertions that former President Obama "wire tapped" him and Trump has claimed that he has evidence of this. It begins to appear that Trump has been lying about this and that he actually has no "evidence". It also appears that the U.S. security agencies do not have any evidence of this illegal "wire tapping" ever occurring.

Does former President Obama have a libel case against Trump? The accusations were unequivocal. Is President Trump protected by some form of Presidential immunity such that he can make any sort of accusation without suffering any legal consequence?


texts: Is scraping a database by an undocumented API endpoint illegal?

texts: Simple question: I want to get specific data, but the API does not have the endpoint I want, so what I want to do is scrape the database for the resources and then use my own filtering to retrieve and display the data part I want. I really don't want to get sued. Any insight would be very much appreciated.


texts: Are trading platforms legally required to provide buyer/seller protection?

texts:
Private transactions are not subject to statutory consumer guarantees. Still, trading platforms where private buyers and sellers meet (e.g. eBay, or TradeMe in New Zealand) do provide some level of protection for both of them and dispute resolution process.

Are they legally obliged to do that in any English-centric jurisdiction? Or do they do that merely because it repels crooks and makes their service more attractive to honest traders?

In other words, would it be a legal business to run a trading platform that only matches buyers and sellers but does not give them any guarantees beyond that?


texts: Can my landlord charge me December rent?

texts:
In September my landlord fell on some hard times with his health that required him to have surgery. He asked for my October rent two weeks early and in exchange he would not require me to pay December rent.

On November 17th he contacts me saying he'll need my December rent after all since he can't afford not to charge me.

I already spent that money on a plane ticket to visit family over the holidays. Is he allowed to request payment after all?

I am in New Mexico, USA


texts: What is required to transfer copyright when purchasing an original work (with out a contract)?

texts:
So this is a follow on question to this.

Lets say I buy an original art work (e.g., a painting, not a print) I would expect that the right to make reproductions would now transfer to myself; and would be rather upset if afterwards, the author started selling copies. I am after all paying a premium for the original.

(This is assuming a non work for hire situation)

Some of the answer on this state however that this is not always the case.

This US copyright office circular states:

  The transfer[of copyright], however, generally must be made in writing...

So what I would like to know is: this is then case in other Berne Convention signitories, other than the US (since I don't live in the US).

Also if "generally" the transfer of copyright needs to be in writing, then what is then non general case.


texts: Kid left in hot car: What main legal factors affect if charges are brought?

texts:
If a kid gets left in a hot car (e.g. because the caretaker forgets), the kid can die.  Serious criminal charges are sometimes brought against the caretaker (or caretakers, plural)...

even if the car isn't locked and the child does not die
even if the kid gets into the car himself
even if the caretaker tries to save the baby with efforts to cool it down, after realizing the error

I went looking for examples of cases where no charges were filed and attempted to find distinguishing factors, which you can look into and confirm/disconfirm in an answer; what follows is just what I found.  I found race (according to the linked article and attorney cited there), being an officer (according to the primary salient fact in the linked article) or otherwise working in the local criminal justice system, and being the first case in a county (according to what distinguishing fact can be found in the article) as potential determiners of whether or not charges are brought against a caretaker. That is not a very satisfying set of factors.  So, I ask:

What are the factors used to determine whether or not the caretaker is charged in such a situation?

For this question, assume:

the period was hours,
the kid died,
the caretaker admitted to what s/he did, and
the caretaker claimed it's because s/he forgot.

If the whole United States is too broad, answer for whichever state(s) you can give the best answer for, or New York if you need a more specific pointer.


texts:
First situation:

Out of curiosity about what the living room in a house looks like, you notice that while the inhabitants are not home a door is unlocked, so you enter and look at the living room and then leave.

If I understand correctly, that is tresspassing, which is a misdemeanor.

Second situation:

Same as above, but instead of curiosity about what the living room looks like, your purpose is to smash a flower pot that you happen to know is in the living room.

If I understand correctly, when this kind of trespass is for the purpose of committing some additional crime besides only trespass, then it's burglary, which is a felony.

Third situation:

Like the first situation above: your only motive is to see what the living room looks like. But while there, on a sudden whim, you decide to smash a flower pot that you see in the living room.

This time the trespass was not for the purpose of committing the additional crime, but still the additional crime happened and would not have been possible without the trespass.

Is it burglary then?


texts: Do I have any legal obligation as regards letters sent to my shared household for people who don't live in it any more?

texts:
I live in a shared house with other people.
Many other people used to live here before me (I know only a few of them, but not many).
But a lot of mail with their name on is sent here (e.g. from HMRC, grocery stores, ...).
Do I (well, we, the current tenants) have any legal obligation to keep them in a safe place, or I can just put them in the recyclable bin?


texts: If you are detained or arrested by US law enforcement and command Siri (handsfree) to call your attorney (obviously do not give the LE a reason to think you are reaching for a weapon).  Can this be charged as resisting arrest?  Any case examples (precedent) are appreciated.


texts: Freely accessible work on the Internet: publication or public performance/display?

texts:
I have long been under the impression that making one's own copyrightable work available on the Internet for free does constitute publication for the purposes of copyright law in most/all Western jurisdictions.

But now reading through the US Copyright Law makes me not so certain anymore (emphasis added):

  “Publication” is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work
  to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental,
  lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords
  to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public
  performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A public
  performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute
  publication.

  To perform or display a work “publicly” means—

  (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any
  place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle
  of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or

  (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of
  the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means
  of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of
  receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or
  in separate places and at the same time or at different times.

A piece of work available on the Internet for free is most certainly not being sold, rented etc. At the same time it is being transmitted and displayed. Is there any viable argument (or court decision) that rebuts the conclusion that a free internet publication is no publication for the purposes of US copyright law but public performance/display?


texts:
Today I purchased a few new domain names, which are composed of very general words. When I attempted to purchase a different domain, adventure.app, I received warning of a trademark claim.

I chose to not purchase the domain (adventure.app), in fear of losing it through the trademark claim. However, the other domains I purchased are somewhat similar, though different topics. They are still composed of one general word.

For the domains I bought, I didn't receive a trademark warning. However, I am still afraid of losing them in the future, since if "adventure" is trademarked, I assume nearly every other similar sort of name will be trademarked.

Do I have any safety in now owning these domains before there was a trademark claim? Is there a place I can check for existing trademarks?

What about future trademarks? Should I try to buy the trademarks for these domains? I assume acquiring trademarks is a difficult process. I don't care about having the trademarks, as long as the domains aren't taken away.

One last addition - if somebody wanted to claim the domains through a trademark after I bought and own them, what would be the process? Would they be required to pay me for their value? Do I have any power to claim the domains as my own, since they are extremely general words? It seems like there should be a point where names are too general to be trademarked.

Note I don't have much experience with trademarks, which is why I'm here :)


texts: Can somebody, in USA, have an official and unofficial date and place of arrest?

texts:
Dumitru Popescu, the CEO of ARCA Space Corporation, (a strange mixture of a scammer, inventor and man with mental problems who made a lot of noise in newspapers regarding his inventions) was arrested in the United States.

Finally, he posted a video with explanations for his followers.

The problem is that D. Popescu claims he was arrested by custom officers, in Atlanta, on Oct. 24, 2017. However, in his arrest record, which is available on the internet, it is clearly written this:  "Arrest Date/Time: 11-08-17 06:15", "Location: JONESBORO, GA".

It is true, JONESBORO is close to the airport of Atlanta but is about 15 km away. Neither the location nor the date of arrest matches the ones claimed by D. Popescu. Who is lying who is telling the truth?

Jason Gibbs, the author of the article "Arca CEO Dumitru Popescu says he's innocent and will continue working" that appeared in Las Cruces Sun-News, is one of the people who remarked this discrepancy.

When asked why the place and date of arrest pretended by D. Popescu do not coincide with what is written is his file, ARCA SPACE gave this answer:

We noticed this discrepancy as well. He was arrested Oct 24th at the airport in Atlanta, and was transferred to police custody who took him to Clayton County Jail. It appears the error occurred when he was transferred from Clayton County to Doña Ana County. The arrest date of Oct 24th was acknowledged by the court during his first hearing in Doña Ana, so we aren't sure why it's listed differently on their website.

Can somebody have an official and unofficial date and place of arrest in the United States?


texts: Is it illegal for a driver to ask a young lady to get in?

texts:
This question has been induced by this news where the police is apparently searching for a driver who asked a 16-year-old lady to get into his car.

The age of consent in New Zealand is 16, therefore it would not have been a crime for an adult to date her. On the face of it, there was no force involved: he asked, she rejected and walked away — something that routinely happens all the time. Were there any laws broken?

Clarification

As the answers and comments point out, the news article may well be omitting details/evidence that would affect whether any laws were broken. However, this question does not aim to find out whether any laws were broken in that particular incident. It aims to discuss a hypothetical case where all that happened is what described in the article, nothing more nothing less. Specifically, let's assume:

A guy in his 30s-40s driving a car stops by a 16-year-old girl and asks for directions;
He then asks her inappropriate questions;
Finally, he opens the passenger door and asks her to get in;
The girl quickly walks away.

At no point the guy threatens or tries to force her in, and at no point she has to "fight back" as the police communicates what happened.


texts: Can the government outlaw excessive spending on defense counsel?

texts:
Suppose a jurisdiction in the United States wanted to pass a law limiting the amount of money that a defendant could spend on counsel, to try to prevent a very wealthy person from assembling a dream team of the best lawyers in the world and getting much better representation than the average person, or making a joke of the whole proceeding, as we've seen in some high profile cases.
I suspect this would not be constitutional, but why not, specifically?


texts: Use of published research for software development

texts:
I would like to create a suite of software tools (for commercial use) to be used by medical professionals in their daily practice. This will require that I utilize information published in medical journals.

For instance, there is a questionnaire that was validated (verified that it measures what it is intended to measure) by researchers; and the questionnaire was published in a medical journal.

In order for me to adapt it into a software tool, I will need to use the specific language that the validated questionnaire uses. If I change the language, it will invalidate the questionnaire.

My question is: What legal concerns should I have regarding the use of published research to create commercial use software? Is creating a citations page within the application that the end-user can view sufficient protection? Do I need to seek a license or written permission even though the information is published in a journal?


texts: How can sites like https://www.brandwatch.com/ crawl instagram legally?

texts:
sites like brandwatch.com and various other analytic sites crawl Instagram?

Instagram says in their terms and conditions:

We prohibit crawling, scraping, caching or otherwise accessing any content on the Service via automated means, including but not limited to, user profiles and photos (except as may be the result of standard search engine protocols or technologies used by a search engine with Instagram's express consent).


texts: Is opt-in now required for iOS app using Fabric/Crashlytics/Flurry due to GDPR?

texts:
It's been a while since I last pushed out an app to the iOS store, and since then the new EU requirements for data protection General Data Protection Regulation Compliance, GDPR, came into force. Most of what I can find in a Google search seems to come from entities pushing a commercial solution for GDPR in apps, and other snippets that don't look applicable or are just an over-the-top compliance advice.

I am a one person LLC entity, about to push out a free app, mostly to demonstrate my Swift coding ability. I plan to use both Fabric/Crashlytics and Flurry to monitor crash history and also analytics. Does anyone who actually has an iOS app recently submitted to the store know if I need to provide an opt-in screen on first run before enabling Crashlytics and Flurry? My inclination right now is to prevent the app being available in the EU to avoid legal issues.
Thanks


texts: Are problems created from planning to have an inheritance skip a living generation? (me)

texts:
I believe I am well-off enough from a retirement perspective.
I was considering asking my Father to change his will so my children would get his inheritance instead of me. Skipping me.

To simplify the question:

I'm asking about things that pass via a will
(Some things like life insurance don't)
No perceived need for a trust for the children
I will be alive when my Father dies, and will not contest it.
Just Federal considerations (since states vary)
This is to help me plan before talking to a $/hour attorney
(who will write a state-specific will)

His estate may or may not be above the threshold for Federal taxation at the time of his (future) death.

Are there reasons which indicate my Father should not do this?

I don't see any (good) reasons, but I know just enough about law to know that when I think something is obvious... it often isn't.

I'm interested in hearing about things that I should think through because they are either likely or they are unlikely but have big negative consequences.

For example I heard years ago that there could be absurdly large (50%+) additional taxes, but even if that were correct (then) the tax laws have likely changed a number of times since I heard this.

Or perhaps it is a big deal if I die before he does?
(I have no reason to expect this)


texts: A general question under Personal Data Privacy

texts: Suppose X is a student body that holds a database of comments made by its members about the lecturers of ABC University. Professor Y from ABC requests X to send him a copy of all comments about him. Should X comply, and if so, how?Additionally, Suppose there is a comment that says "Y is the worst lecturer in ABC University".Suppose the head of the History Department requests X for comments on all the lecturers of the History Department at ABC University, should he comply? My understanding is he doesn't need to comply in any of the three cases as other data users, i.e respective members who posted the comment controls the use of the data. Would that be right?


texts: Are you entitled to a copy of your employment background check?

texts:
In Ontario, Canada,  are you entitled to a copy of your employment background check? Does it matter of you were offered the job or not? Is there a time limit?
Background check consists of reference check,  criminal record and credit history.


texts: Law enforcement requesting passwords from companies?

texts:
Could UK law enforcement enforce s.49 of RIPA 2000 on a company outside the UK, say Snapchat, Facebook, or Google, in order to retrieve a user's hashed password from their database to log into that users account?
If they could, will the company comply and provide them with the user's details or just say no?
And even if law enforcement didn’t use section 49 from RIPA but still asked for the users password, what will the company say?


texts: Buying a business living in a community property state

texts: I live in a community property state. I would like to buy a business that is not in a community property state. Can I file for divorce and buy the business and my spouse have no claim to it. Or do I have to wait until the divorce is final to buy the business?


texts: Could Congress have ended slavery without the 13th Amendment?

texts:
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:

  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
  crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
  within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Without this or subsequent amendments, and with a 19th century understanding/interpretation of the Constitution and first 12 amendments, did the federal government have the power to end slavery?

Related question on the History StackExchange: https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/51511/what-was-the-south-actually-afraid-lincoln-or-congress-would-do-that-precipitate


texts: What is the latest that one can enter into a right/left-only lane in order to make a turn at the intersection in NYC?

texts:
Busy streets lanes near an intersection sometimes have arrow markings such as "straight only", and "right/left only":

If you are on the "straight only" lane, when is the latest that you may enter into the "right/left only lane" before coming close to the intersection in New York City?

If you had entered into the lane too late and gotten a ticket (1163a vtl for an  "Improper Turn"), what defense could you use at a court to lessen your judgement?


texts: Equity compensation for a foreign worker

texts: Can an employee working from India get equity compensation from the employer who is registered in the USA? The employee does not hold a work visa in the USA and the employer does not have a registered entity in India. If they are allowed to hold equity, then where do they pay taxes - in India or the USA?


texts: Vacating Tenant - Notice based on conditions

texts:
An excerpt from a mail sent to a real estate agent by a tenant in a situation where the notice for not renewing a real estate contract is 2 months. The time period of 2 months has been agreed by both parties at the time of contract.

My contract renewal is happening on the month of June 2017. I am happy to continue in the same apartment if we can  find a mutually agreeable rent amount. In the case that it is not so, Please do consider this as my notice for vacating the apartment.

Suppose the negotiation for rent breaks down in May, can the agent argue that the mail above does not suffice as a notice ? Does the content above serve as a sufficient notice of vacating ?


texts: What does it mean "attempt arbitration"?

texts:
Today there was an article on CNN about some kind of employee abuse case that referred to attempting arbitration. I couldn't find the article again to link to it but I found a lot more references to it.

The most interesting one seems to be this page from lexology where the summary of a US Supreme Court ruling seems to believe that the court believes that arbitration is something that can fail to resolve an issue. A "stay of trial proceedings until they have had a chance to attempt arbitration" doesn't seem to read as though they expect it to work reliably.

The court can't really be talking about the remote possability that the arbitrators don't take the case, nor the remoter probability of failing to remain an arbitrator long enough to finish it. Mind boggles.


texts: Is there any way to have access to PG&E cases in the recent bankruptcy court? Are they public?


texts: If a person is dressed up as non-human, and is killed by someone who sincerely believes the victim was not human, who is responsible?

texts:
I've seen several videos about pranks when someone dresses up as a zombie or other kind of monster, to scare people. I would assume that if such an actor dressed up as a monster suddenly attacks someone who out of sheer reflex harms the actor, then the victim of the prank is not culpable if a reasonable person would likely have reacted the same way (please correct me if I'm wrong). But if an actor dressed like a monster just wanders around the street, especially around Halloween, and is attacked by someone, then the attacker is culpable, as no reasonable person would have though the actor was a threat. (please correct me if I'm wrong)
But let's consider the following scenario:

Alice has a close relative, or boyfriend, or someone she cares deeply about, let's call him Bob.
Alice thinks Bob is too lazy, too comfortable, and wants to enact a scenario to thrill Bob up a little, and make him more self-confident and courageous.
So Alice hires Darren who is a well known stage illusionist / prankster / movie director, to put Bob through a scenario which seems dangerous (but is actually harmless), in order to instill some courage in him.
Darren creates an elaborate setup, for example fake news broadcasts made specifically for Bob, movie props, a big cast of actors, stage illusion tricks etc. to make it seem like there is an apocalyptic scenario, or that mythical monsters are real, or something similar, and the scenario is so professionally done that most reasonable people would be convinced it is real.
Charlie is one of the actors hired for the show, and is dressed up as a mythical monster (zombie, vampire, lich, whatever) which reasonable people in real life know not to exist, but due to the elaborate setup mentioned above, Bob is gradually convinced is real.
Bob attacks and kills Charlie, sincerely believing Charlie to be the aforementioned mythical monster. During this, Charlie wasn't actively attacking Bob, it's Bob who sought out and hunted down Charlie.
Neither Darren, nor Charlie, nor Alice intended this to happen. In fact Darren made all reasonable precautions to prevent such accidents, but despite all these precautions the tragedy still happened. Darren is a professional who organized similar events previously, without a single previous incident.

Who is culpable for Charlie's death? What will the three of them be finally charged with?
Addendum : would it be different if Charlie hadn't played the role of a non-human, but a human instead (like an evil necromancer who is responsible for the apocalyptic scenario), so Bob killed him knowing he was a human but believing to be a threat to the whole world, and believing the scenario to be truly apocalyptic?