texts: Are there any examples of selling unsealed videogame as "new" being illegal?

texts:
Contest: over the years, a mayor videogame reseller company that operates in many countries worldwide has made a practice to unwrap the games it sells, putting only an empty box on display. When you buy the game, the shop clerk would then pull out the actual game disk (or cartridge) and put it into the original box. As far as I know this has been described as a way to decrease shoplifting. Searching for info about this on the web seems to indicate that the practice is commonly referred as "gutting".

Anyway, having to buy "gutted" (unwrapped, open box) games annoyed many customers: pretty soon wild accusations (both with and without proof) started to appear on the web, with people claiming this is just a way to cover up more shady practices (like selling used games as new). I am not really interested into delving into such accusations.

What is more interesting though is that many people also often claim that practice is illegal, because "an open game is an used game". Sadly, people making those claims usually can not back them up, instead resorting to vague guesses like "it violates the game EULA" and such. And since I lack any professional level knowledge in the matter, I though it could be interesting to ask this question here.

So, what I am asking is simple. Can anyone think of a law, legal precedent or EULA term that would support these claims? I don't really see why this would be a thing (games don't deteriorate like food - selling an unsealed bottle of milk would probably be very different) but I can't help but wonder.

As you can see, the question is pretty open (I hope this isn't too much, I have searched the Meta site and it seemed that question like "Are there any examples of X being illegal?" should be tolerated). Feel free to both refer to any local law you may know about or common clauses in videogame license contracts that would provide ground to the claim.

EDIT: Following some comments from Paul, I was able to find some clues about why some users point at game EULA contracts as a possible ground for infringements.

Basically, it seems that many EULA (especially the ones for online games) contains some sort of clause that allows the buyer to ask for a refund - at the condition that the game is still sealed. So far I couldn't find any actual proof of this (the closest thing I could find was an EULA that stated that the game must still be sealed if it was sealed when you bought it), will try to update the question if anything new emerges.


texts: What can be done if you find out another co-worker got you fired?

texts: What can someone do if they find out that another co-worker was responsible for getting them fired? This person was an asset to the company, and the other co-worker was purposely submitting bad reviews and talking negatively to management to get the person fired, however these were factual, if blown out of proportion. Every little thing was targeted.


texts: did you consent because you could have seen a poster?

texts:
Instead of a signed release, in recent years I'm seeing posters saying that if you walk in an area you consent to the commercial use of your likeness for unlimited purposes without payment. At least once, I've seen this on a public sidewalk, it wasn't clear where one might walk that would be subject to this release by poster, and the release purported to apply to unaccompanied minors. The language was written the way lawyers write. If the company was smart, they had a video camera to record who saw the poster in case of a lawsuit later, but I doubt most of the companies bother. No one talked to me about it. Since a person reading the poster and walking in the intended area does not thereby receive consideration, there is no contract.

I wonder if this has wider implications. Suppose I have a house for sale and it has a walkway to the front door. Could I put up a poster saying that if you walk on the walkway you bought the house, including a mortgage with an interest rate I set, and would the poster be binding? Could I create a website offering website design services with my email address and say that if you email me that constitutes your buying my high-end service as soon as I access your email? Could I paint a poster on the side of a truck with a camera and photograph two million people and say that here are two million identifiable people every one of whom loves my brand of soda and urges you to buy a case? Suppose a park is frequented by published writers, musicians, artists, and inventors of some repute; could I put up a poster by which I acquire all of their intellectual property because they happen to be in the park? The possibilities of consent by poster seem infinite.

Or, although I've seen posters like this for at least 5-6 years (one back then was in a business location open to most of the public), has this never been tested in court and is the poster system probably not a valid substitute for a signature, even for mentally competent English-fluent adults not in a rush and allowing that certain contexts wouldn't allow it (e.g., civil court settlements and plea bargains couldn't rely on the poster system)?

Or if you didn't have a reason to read the poster (surely no one has to read every writing that's visible) and simply walked through the area in question without reading it you're not bound by it but someone who did happen to read it must accept its terms?

If the geographical boundaries are unclear so that reading the poster gives you no clear remedy by walking away, does that change the law on the validity of consent by poster?

Website terms often say that using the website constitutes consent to the terms and often reading the terms to discover this requires using the website before you start reading, but I doubt that's legal consent, but maybe consent will be found after you've read them and didn't try to revoke consent, e.g., by not using the site any longer.

In the United States, this all might well vary by state and may depend on common law.


texts: Is EU treaty law supreme over domestic legislation?

texts:
European Union law is supreme over domestic legislation.

So European Union regulations and directives take precedence over domestic legislation.

But does this also mean the law contained within EU treaties (TEU, TFEU) is supreme over domestic legislation (eg. acts of parliament)?

In the Costa judgement this appears relevant:

  It follows from all these observations that the law stemming from the
  treaty, an independent source of law, could not, because of its
  special and original nature, be overridden by domestic legal
  provisions, however framed, without being deprived of its character as
  community law and without the legal basis of the community itself
  being called into question

This implies EU treaty law is supreme?


texts: Why weren't the US Navy and Marines added to the Posse Comitatus Act in 1956?

texts:
The Posse Comitatus Act was originally enacted in 1878 to restrict the use of the United States military in many domestic matters. Originally, the act only covered the Army, which doesn't seem particularly surprising - as I understand it, the law was in reaction to events like the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, in which federal troops were used, including the US Army, whereas the Navy was not particularly involved. Therefore, it makes sense to me that the act would only focus on the Army.

However, in 1956, it was amended to include the Air Force - and no other branch of the military. Why weren't the Navy and the Marines (in particular) added along with the Air Force? They're now effectively subject to the same restrictions by dint of DoD regulations, but those regulations were only added over three decades later.


texts: What constitutes having a history of violent behavior against the person or another according to Maryland firearms law?

texts:
According to Maryland statutes, Title 5, Subtitle 2, § 5-205 (b) (6) (my emphasis), someone who

  suffers from a mental disorder as defined in § 10-101(i)(2) of the Health - General Article and has a history of violent behavior against the person or another;

is disqualified from possessing a "rifle or shotgun".

How is having a "history" of violent behavior defined? More specifically, is this based on clinical factors specifically related to violence as a symptom of the person's mental disorder (meaning that whether any person is disqualified can be determined by reviewing medical records), or is it a practical definition, evaluating the behavior of the person independent of any specific legal or medical findings of violence or risks of violence? One might argue that having a "history of violent behavior" means having a conviction for such behavior, but the statute in question already provides for several ways of disqualifying a person as a result of past criminal convictions, implying that this is intended to be interpreted separately - i.e. that a person might have a "history" of violent behavior despite never having been formally convicted of any of it.

I already checked 10-101(i)(2) and it does define "mental disorder", but not a "history of violent behavior" associated with such a disorder.

Most of the other disqualifying criteria in the statute are more specifically defined - for example, one of the other factors is being (my emphasis) "a habitual drunkard as defined in § 5-101 of this title" rather than "a habitual drunkard". That definition itself is conviction-based - that is, just drinking a lot, or even "problem" drinking is not enough to trigger firearms disqualification - one must fulfill the very specific criteria for quantity and recency of alcohol-related convictions.

Title 5, Subtitle 2, § 5-205 (e) provides a means of seeking relief for a disqualification under (b) (6), but I'm asking about the criteria that triggers the disqualification itself. That is, it appears that there are two categories of people with mental disorders here:

Persons with history of violence (but no disqualifying convictions for such violence), who must petition for relief under § 5-205 (e).
Persons without a history of violence, who need not seek relief under § 5-205 (e) because they were never banned from possession in the first place.

The question, then, is what distinguishes these two populations. Is it bare facts of the past? Is it based on formal adjudications of violence not rising to the level of a criminal conviction (e.g. lawsuits, school discipline, etc.)? A formal clinical determination by the diagnosing clinician? A determination made by a special state behavioral specialist?

The process for petitioning for relief also requires (Title 5, Subtitle 1, § 5-133.3 (d) (1)) that one disclose "a complete and accurate statement explaining the reason why the applicant is prohibited....", meaning that this procedure would appear to be useless for determining whether a person is currently disqualified. That is, someone who doesn't know whether they have a disqualifying "history of violent behavior" can't at the same time disclose this history.


texts: Why aren't all people with warrants arrested immediately?

texts:
I've been watching a lot of episodes of the TV series Cops lately. A common scenario in this show is that when the police catch somebody who ran from them and ask why they ran they get the answer that the person in question had a warrant on him/her.

If somebody has a warrant on them, can't the police just go to their house and pick them up already? Or are all these people homeless/hiding from the law?


texts: What does “belief” mean in the context of The Equalities Act 2010?

texts:
The Equalities Act of 2010 (applicable in England, Scotland and Wales) says at Section 10 (in part):

  Belief means any religious or philosophical belief; and a reference to
  belief includes a reference to a lack of belief.

It goes on to describe, in Section 26, harassment which includes the following:

  A person (A) harasses another (B) - if A engages in unwanted conduct
  related to a relevant characteristic, and the conduct has the purpose
  or effect of violating B’s dignity or creating an intimidating,
  hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for B.

This seems quite broad. Would a belief that all female short lists are ethical be considered a belief in terms of this act? Or indeed a belief such as “the sky is not blue”? Or indeed any idea subscribed to.

If I was to argue with a coworker that the sky is not red but blue, and he takes offense, am I breaking the law?


texts: How to interpret coverage trigger in this business liability insurance?

texts:
How to interpret following language from business liability insurance policy with respect to coverage trigger for advertising injury:

  "Personal and advertising injury" means injury, including consequential "bodily injury", arising out of one or more of the following offenses:

  a. False arrest, detention or imprisonment;

  b. Malicious prosecution;

  c. The wrongful eviction from, wrongful entry into, or invasion of the right of private occupancy of a room, dwelling or premises that a person occupies, committed by or on behalf of its owner, landlord or lessor;

  d. Oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that slanders or libels a person or organization or disparages a person's or organization's goods, products or services;

  e. Oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that violates a person's right of privacy;

  f. The use of another's advertising idea in your "advertisement"; or

  g. Infringing upon another's copyright, trade dress or slogan in your "advertisement".

First, I am perplexed about point b. Malicious prosecution;. Would it trigger coverage when:

the insured is accused of Malicious prosecution; or
the insured is victim of Malicious prosecution?

Second, if it is really #1, then wouldn't it be moral hazard in sense that insurance company would come to defend "bad guys" who are accused for "Malicious prosecution", "False arrests" when they file dubious lawsuits? Or are triggers mentioned in a. and b. actually for public benefit that are just not obvious to me?


texts: How can you legally openly carry rifles to the Michigan governor's office?

texts:
I'm British, and was befuddled to see this picture on /r/Cringetopia of lockdown protestors carrying guns right up to the Michigan's Governor office door. How's this legal?

There are just so many dangers to this open carry. Did the security at Gov Gretchen Whitmer's office tail these protestors? What if Gov. Whitmer doesn't have enough bodyguards, or if they don't have enough firepower  fight off these protesters, if they start shooting with their rifles?

Are  these Reddit comments correct?

  themosey.
  42 points 23 hours ago

  Honest question: are they allowed to carry guns in the statehouse, legally? Most states have metal detectors and laws against it (not from Michigan just following the news).

  Same for “demanding” to see the governor and the house floor.

  And if it is illegal (and they are straight up terrorists) why aren’t they arrested? They can call it civil disobedience but that still makes them terrorists.

  uniballout. 35 points 22 hours ago

  Yes, they are. I think a few years ago they had a bill to stop it. Instead they voted to allow guns, but prohibit protest/political signs. My guess is the black marker and poster board lobbies couldn’t outspend the gun lobbies. So now we have AR-15s waving at our legislators as they vote.

Kingslyman. 946 points 1 day ago

Protestors are somehow allowed to carry guns right up to the Michigan's Governor office door. : pics

  They are “allowed” to carry guns in the governor’s office because their own laws allow for it

  “The Michigan State Police describe Michigan's open carry law as follows: "In Michigan, it is legal for a person to carry a firearm in public as long as the person is carrying the firearm with lawful intent and the firearm is not concealed. You will not find a law that states it is legal to openly carry a firearm.”


texts: Can a sitting U.S. president be imprisoned without impeachment?

texts:
A sitting U.S. president can not be indicted for federal crimes as a matter of constitutional separation of powers and DOJ policy, among other reasons.

The president's constitutional protections and powers (e.g., pardon power, etc.) do not extend to the state level. For example, POTUS can pardon people (including himself) on federal crimes. But can not pardon people for state crimes.

Now imagine a scenario where a POTUS, while sitting in office, is indicted by a particular state Attorney General for a crime, say murder, under state statutes. In that scenario, can POTUS be tried, convicted and jailed for those crimes without being impeached?

As a practical matter, could it actually happen? How would it actually play out given the supremacy clause and other practical considerations of jailing the chief federal executive?

Edit

I do not think this question is a duplicate of Can a sitting president of the United States be indicted by one of the states?. That question is limited to the issue of indictment only. This question assumes indictment powers and deals with trial, conviction and, most notably, imprisonment. Given the existing answer to that question, these differences seem relevant and could lead to different or more qualifications on the existing answer.

And, finally and perhaps more importantly, this question also seeks to extract the details of the logistics of how an arrest and/or jailing and imprisonment might or might not be feasible and/or actually occur.


texts: Is it illegal to claim a patent when you don't have one in the EU?

texts:
This company is claiming they are using "patented technology"
https://marx-shoes.com/pages/technologie
sourced from a company call "powerinsole". The only patent associated with this so called technology that I could find is
A 60002/2018
http://seeip.patentamt.at/NPatentSuche
which is abgebrochen (cancelled)
Title   pi performance chip
Application No  A 60002/2018
Patent No
Application Date    03/01/2018
State   Registration Canceled
Zugehörige Schutzzertifikate
Applicant   Martin Masching, Pfarrhofweg 1a, 5162, Obertrum (AT)

I have asked the company, 'Marx Shoes', to produce the patent number or document for any current patent but they have deleted my questions on their social media site.
Is it illegal within the EU to claim to have patents when you do not?


texts: Is being a masked vigilante who fights crime legal?

texts:
My client has disclosed to me that he is secretly a masked vigilante in a major metropolitan city in the state of New Jersey, United States. Under this identity, he stops crimes in progress and turns the perpetrators over to the local police.1

We are trying to determine whether or not these actions are illegal (there are concerns of corruption in the city's police department, so we cannot rely on their tacit approval of his behavior). Furthermore, we would like to make sure that the individuals that my client turns over to the police will not be able to escape justice due to the manner in which they were captured, so we would like to know if there are any major limitations to what he can do that he should be aware of.

1 We will neither confirm nor deny rumors of other activities, including property damage, fighting other costumed individuals over personal vendettas, or driving an unregistered car without a license.


texts: Is there a penalty for late registration of self employed status in Germany?

texts:
I believe it is the case (please correct me if this is wrong) that if someone earns money in Germany on a self-employed basis, then they are supposed to register as self-employed with the local finance office, even if the actual income from this work is very low.
What would happen in the case where someone had been working for about a year as self-employed but earning an extremely low income from this (far below the threshold to pay tax) and hence did not realise they needed to register? Upon realising that they should register, would they be subject to a fine or other penalty for not having registered in a timely manner?
Edit: the work in question is conducted online, and does not involve any element of physical risk.


texts: How do you know if person agreeing to contract is agreeing as an individual or binding company?

texts:
Related to this question What is the point of authority to sign clauses in contracts?
The simplest example I can think of is a work contract. Manager Bob signs a contract saying you will get paid $20/hr to work at Jo Pizza. Is the contract between you and Bob or you and Jo Pizza (an incorporated business)? Are there any common terms in contracts that make it clear? Do 'authority to sign' clauses have anything to do with it?
Is this why contracts are often written in the form:

This Agreement is entered into by and between Sam (an individual) and
Jo Pizza (a Delaware Corporation).
Sam will make good pizza and get paid $20/hr. Payment happens on ...
In witness where of:
Sam's signature:
Bob's signature (general manager of Jo Pizza):


texts: Can I be sued for violating an NDA if I refund what I was paid?

texts:
I have a client who ordered art from me that they asked be private between us, due to it's embarrassing nature.  The extent of the agreement was "Don't post this online" to which I said "Okay."

My commission rate is less than 50 dollars.  After completing their work, I discovered that this client is a very wealthy and divisive politician.  This presents challenges and risks to myself that, had I known prior, would've changed my price to reflect the burden.

I have contacted them and made clear that I must increase my price to 150,000 USD, or I will have to refund them because I cannot reasonably secure the art against a sophisticated attack that a political opponent can mount, and may just release it to the public to eliminate their interest in me, for my own safety.

They have threatened to sue me for defamation and black-mail.

Do they have a legitimate case against me if I release the art and give them a full refund?  I won't interpret any answers as legal advice, I am only doing preliminary research while I save money to consult an attorney.

Addendum: It's worth noting that the "NDA" in question was very weak and never specified a duration, penalties, scope, and was never in formal writing, merely as a casual email exchange.


texts: How to access US court proceedings if not a US citizen?

texts: How do you access US court proceedings/records if you are not a US citizen?  I've tried using the Pacer website, however, they require a verification code, which is posted to you (if you live in the US) or a US bankcard for immediate access to searching.  Is there any other website?  How do non-us press access court proceedings for example?


texts: Workplace law for dismissals and probation extensions

texts:
I posted a large amount of background info here.

In short:

I began working for a company in the UK on the 1st June this year.  My 3 month probation was extended by one month.

The notice to extend my probation was given to me after 1st August (a couple of days after) and backdated to be within the 3 month period.  It was not signed.

On Friday of last week 2nd Oct, I made a mistake and acted unprofessionally towards another colleague relating to hygiene issues.

On 5th Oct I had a meeting with my manager, he congratulated me on passing my probation. At the end of the conversation I mentioned to him the incident.

Today (8th Oct) we had a "2-minute" informal meeting that turned into an hour long dismissal meeting.  I wasn't dismissed, I'm not sure if I could've been.

He mentioned that he has spoken to HR and they have said that it's legal for them to fire anyone within 2 years for anything whether you're on probation or not.

They will extend my probation by two months and have given me a final chance.

Are employers allowed to extend probation periods in this manner?  There's very little in my contract that touches on probation which leads me to believe it's intentional.

Is there a law that allows an employer to terminate a contract in the way described?

Can I be given a 'final warning' without any prior warnings, verbal or otherwise?  Does the company have to follow a standard procedure or is said procedure determined by the company?

Is the company within their right to extend the probation in this manner and more importantly, can they fire me on a whim?


texts:
When prosecutors look at a statute, how do they determine the requirements to prove intent?

For example, look at this statute:

  “Whoever knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer and the value of such use is not more than $5,000 in any 1-year period;” (U.S. Code Sec. 1030, par. 4)

How does one determine what is necessary to prove a defendant acted “knowingly and with intent to defraud”? For example, do they need to prove the defendant knew he didn’t have authorization? What about intent to defraud — do they need to prove he knew it was against the law, too?

(tl;dr) My specific question: How do prosecutors determine the elements necessary to satisfy the mens rea requirements attached to certain laws?


texts: I have a money judgment against a stripper  for a few thousand  dollars. All her income is in cash and she reports nothing on  her 1099. Can I ask the judge to impute her 10-20k monthly that she actually makes on the job and get a court order for the police or club to seize her cash? I know this can be done in alimony cases but not sure about debt.


texts: How to handle photos made of an event where the permission to take photos was withdrawn afterwards

texts:
I hosted a workshop event on Friday and Sunday. I invited a photographer to take pictures of workshop participants and I had every participant sign a permission statement that these pictures could be used in a final presentation.

Now, there was one girl, which was 14 years old and her parents signed the permissions to let her take part and the permission that I can use the photos.

The parents weren't happy with the workshop and they won't let her take part on the Sunday event. Also they withdrew the permission to take photos of their child. They wanted the permission back physically and I couldn't do much but giving it to them.

Now I have the problem that this girl is on most of the photos and I need photos for the final presentation. Is it OK to use the photos but pixelate or obscure the child's face?  Or do I need to even respect the parents' request to not use the photos?

Notes: I gave the parents the permission back, also I'm 18 and this is my first workshop or event I'm planning so all the people I'm working with don't trust me very much.


texts: Was is the Copyright status of audio files created with Microsoft's Text-to-Speech engine?

texts: If use Microsoft's Text-to-Speech engine on text whose copyright I own, who owns the rights to the resulting audio file? Do I own it in every instance, or are there restrictions of the IP rights I have over the resulting audio files?


texts:
Married couple + child. Own a house (with a mortgage) and a few savings accounts.
Want to leave everything to each other in the event of death. If both die then to our child. Also want to select a guardian.

What do we need? Joint / separate wills? A trust? Should we go with a lawyer or can this be done independently with online software?

Thanks in advance!


texts: What legal action can be taken against a very careful "snake oil salesman?"

texts:
I have a particular product in mind, but more generally if a company sells a product that people are given to expect will perform a certain function (eliminate mosquitoes, for example), is there any action that can be taken when the product is, by design, incapable of performing the expected function (i.e. "Mosquito Eradicator 9000" is just water).

Companies tend to be very careful to make sufficiently vague claims that are TECHNICALLY true, but also induce consumers to expect something that is not true. But surely, there's a feature of modern legal systems that can cut through this kind of double-speak, right? I'm in the US, but I'm thinking this is probably similarly true elsewhere.


texts: Can a person appear in court pro se with counsel?

texts:
I already know about the possible folly for doing this, so my question is not how wise would this be, but rather:

In some criminal trials, defendants have multiple attorneys working the case. In OJ Simpson's I believe at one time it was 7 with 5 on the table (not sure).

Is it possible to be pro se and represent yourself at trial with the ability to, for instance, raise objections at trial, and also be represented by one or more attorneys?

Would the defendant also need to "register as counsel" as attorneys do prior?


texts: Is there any point in having Force Majeure in a contract?

texts:
Isn't force majeure statutorily implied in every contract whether or not explicitly stated.

Further, is there any point in having a definition of force majeure as "including, but not limited to... - Act of God, - etc".

If the definition is "not limited to" wouldn't it revert to a commonly recognised definition in any case ?


texts: Are pictures posted on social media protected?

texts: Let's say someone posts an original picture they took on Instagram. Then someone else uses that picture without permission for commercial purposes. Could the owner of the picture reasonably pursue monetary compensation?


texts: How will credit card purchases NOT fall under the guidlines of the new Supreme Court ruling?

texts:
The intent of this new ruling by the Supreme Court is for anonymous networks but, when doing forensics on a wire in such a manner as to present to a judge, you can't tell what's inside those packets.

Also, an encryption session from the peer to peer client WASTE has a 256 encryption key in the header and that is it. WASTE would certainly fall under the criteria under the new ruling BUT, as soon as you class WASTE into the mix, a regular credit card purchase fits like a glove too!

Tor ban article:
http://themerkle.com/fbi-can-obtain-a-warrant-if-you-run-tor-come-december/

The ruling:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/frcr16_mj80.pdf

The part that sucks:

  'A magistrate judge ... has authority to issue a warrant to use remote
  access to search electronic storage … if: (A) the district where the
  media or information is located has been concealed through
  technological means;'

Whats to prevent to cops from busting down your door for making a credit card purchase?


texts: Can someone consent on behalf of someone else for a call-in radio show?

texts:
There's a morning radio show that airs here (and I'm sure there are plenty others that do something similar) that does something like this:

Girlfriend/wife suspects boyfriend/husband is cheating
While girlfriend is secretly listening, the radio show hosts call boyfriend pretending to offer a free romantic gift
Boyfriend says to send gift to someone other than his girlfriend
Girlfriend catches boyfriend, lots of on-air drama, etc

What I don't get is right before they call the boyfriend to trap him they ask the girlfriend something like "do we have your consent to put your boyfriend on the radio?"

Why is that? If this is about recording a phone call then wouldn't they already have permission to record everything once she consents (at least in one party consent states)? If something more is needed, what legal right does she have to consent on his behalf?


texts: What semantic notions underlie '(equitable) tolling' and the lay meanings of 'toll'?

texts:
I quoted this lawyer as seeing use of 'toll' as a noun and verb, educates more than seeing its use as a noun. What connects the lay meanings of 'toll' to the legal definition?
What explains this semantic specialization of meaning?

  A Minneapolis, Minnesota business attorney knows that equitable tolling [all bolds mine] focuses on the plaintiff’s ignorance of a claim, not on any possible misconduct by the other party. This doctrine tolls the limitations period when the plaintiff, “despite all due diligence, is unable to obtain vital information bearing on the existence of his claim.”  In other words, the question for equitable tolling is “whether a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position would have been aware” that his rights had been violated. The requirements for equitable tolling are: (1) timely notice to the defendant; (2) no prejudice to the defendant; and (3) reasonable and good-faith conduct on the plaintiff’s part.

Another interpretation of 'tolling' by Laura S. Flynn, BS, JD.

  Under the principle of equitable tolling, a statute of limitations will not bar a claim in cases where the plaintiff, despite use of due diligence, could not or did not discover material facts about the injury or the identity of the defendant until after the expiration of the limitations period, and the defendant already had notice of the claim. Equitable estoppel, on the other hand, may preclude a defendant from raising the statute of limitations defense when the defendant’s promises, threats or representations actually induced the plaintiff to forbear filing a lawsuit.


texts: Waiving moral rights to Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

texts:
I have a contract of employment for a new job, with the following clause.

15.6.  You agree to permanently waive all moral rights (if any) conferred by Chapter IV of Part I of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 for any work to which this clause applies.

The part mentioned: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/part/I/chapter/IV

The part referred to (as I understand it) is to do with the right of a creator to be recognised as such, but I'm not sure I fully understand it. Is the clause there so the company can claim to be the creator of any works I create while there?

Edit

Note, this contract is for an engineering job. The specific clause in the contract looks to relate more to artistic works which is why I am unsure of its true meaning.


texts: Is it obligatory to store ToS and Privacy Policy consent for a web app?

texts:
I've been trying to find if it's obligatory to store in a database the consent given by an user regarding the ToS and Privacy Policy, but at best what I can find is sentences saying "should".

So my question is, is it obligatory to keep track of said consent in a database or is it fine enough if I prevent an user to use my services if they don't consent to my ToS and Privacy Policy (with the possibility of withdrawing said consent and the possiblity of renovating it in case the documents got changed)?


texts: Automated analysis of potentially illegal material using a web spider

texts:
I work in information security, and one project I have been considering undertaking would involve using a bot (automated web spider) which crawls Tor hidden services for analysis. I am currently in the process of writing the code for the bot. I am concerned that I will run afoul of laws regarding child pornography or copyright infringement, as some hidden services contain such material. The current implementation of the bot does not make a distinction between legal and illegal sites. It does not query me for permission before performing an action (I never give it the "go ahead").

Some relevant information:

The bot will be running remotely on a rented server in US jurisdiction.
No web resources, legal or otherwise, will be saved to persistent storage.
I will not be viewing any material the bot accesses. I will only view its analysis.
I cannot keep a site blacklist. The bot will crawl as far as it can.
The crawling activity will not interfere with the functionality of the website.
Only public resources that can be accessed by anyone will be crawled.
The bot may attempt to sign itself up to websites if registration is necessary.

I believe that it is likely, if not certain, that the bot will end up accessing illegal material at least once. When it does so, it will fetch the webpage into memory and analyze it. This analysis will be saved to disk. The analysis will contain information regarding anomalies in image file formats, obfuscated JavaScript, non-standard use of CSS, rare HTML tags and uses, etc. It will also save the URL. After analyzing the page, it will continue crawling as a typical web spider, following links.

Am I responsible for any laws broken by the bot, given that I am not intending for it to access illegal material but am aware that there is a  distinct possibility that it will? Is there anything I should be aware of to reduce the risk of the bot taking an illegal action which I would be responsible for? Given that one could argue (correctly, but out of context) that I am writing a program that signs itself up to illegal websites and downloads illegal material, this makes me very weary.


texts: Ownership of real estate in event of fraud: signed APS but deed not transferred due to real estate fraud

texts:
In this account I am speaking from the point of view of someone close to me. Suppose a couple years ago I sold my house in Penan to somebody else (both of us are foreigners), whom I'll refer to as B. I agreed to co-host the lawyer B provided for the sale. Malaysia requires that cash payments be transferred through a lawyer, which B did (he has proof he paid). However, after verifying the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (I signed that), the lawyer absconded with the money. The lawyer did not finish transferring the deed, so the deed is still in my name.
Right now neither B nor I can use the house for our purposes. B and I can either settle or take the matter to court. I'm just trying to understand better about what might the court say about who owns the house, which parts of the APS would be relevant to this situation here, and what should be done? I will have the APS in a day or two, I posted because just wanted to get a general idea of what's going on first.


texts: Why are courts usually reluctant to use video cameras for record keeping?

texts:
In recent days, due to Covid, some court hearings have turned to Zoom. It would thus be extremely natural to just record the sessions for record keeping. However, they usually are not, and the courts usually just have a scribe/assistant who take records.
Very few courts in the U.S. use video cameras for record keeping. What is the reason?


texts: Licensing a code which imports other module

texts:
I made a discord bot using discord.py...and want to publish it in GitHub but what license do I publish it in? the discord.py is licensed under MIT and it states that "the distributors include the copy of original MIT license with the distribution code"...do i need to license the code under MIT?
And I also used a module in my bot's code named "chatterbot" which is licensed under BSD 3-clause license. And that also states that "1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer."
I didnot copied any code just imported them and used it in the code, does that count as redistribution of source code? and Do I need to license my GitHub repo as they state?


texts: Does being in DHS custody awaiting criminal prosecution count as “time served”?

texts:
A few months ago, Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented a "zero tolerance policy", requiring the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute every single person caught crossing the border illegally. This has resulted in large numbers of children being separated from their parents. So President Trump passed an executive order intended to end the family separation issue. Here is what it says:

  The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary), shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, maintain custody of alien families during the pendency of any criminal improper entry or immigration proceedings involving their members.

So it orders people awaiting criminimal prosecution for illegal entry to be held by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  This is in contrast to the standard practice before this, which was to keep people awaiting criminal prosecution for illegal entry in federal jail until their trial.

I’m wondering about how this will affect sentencing.  Before the executive order, judges would sentence most people convicted of illegal entry to “time served”, i.e. their sentence would be the jail time they already served before their trial, rather than an additional sentence after the trial.  But my question is, how does this work if a person is kept in DHS custody rather than federal jail while awaiting criminal prosecution?  Can time spent in that sort of DHS custody count as “time served” for sentencing purposes?

The reason I ask is that if judges don’t have the “time served” option, then they may opt to sentence people to federal prison, where they’ll be away from their kids.


texts: What is the difference between typeface derivative works and a "document created using the font"

texts:
I like the Humor Sans font and have been using it to create infographics. These are png/jpg files and do not contain information about the font typeface, nor do they contain any of the source code of the font ttf files.
The font/ttf files are licensed under this license, which states;

[This license] allows the licensed fonts to be used, studied, modified and
redistributed freely as long as they are not sold by themselves. The
fonts, including any derivative works, can be bundled, embedded,
redistributed and/or sold with any software provided that any reserved
names are not used by derivative works. The fonts and derivatives,
however, cannot be released under any other type of license. The
requirement for fonts to remain under this license does not apply to
any document created using the fonts or their derivatives.

My understanding of what constitutes derivative works comes from this online document, which states that;

A derivative work is based on a work that has already been copyrighted.

My initial assumption based on this was that producing an image file that is generated using the font is a form of derivative works. However, this assumption has led me to some confusion, as I am now reading the two bold sentences as contradictory:

The fonts and derivatives, however, cannot be released under any other
type of license

This seems to tell me that my image has to be licensed under the same license.

The requirement for fonts to remain under this license does not apply
to any document created using the fonts or their derivatives.

My lay understanding here is that an image file is almost certainly a document created using the font. So this seems to suggest I am exempt from any licensing requirements.
So which is it?
I live in Australia, but my content will be published from a webserver in the United States.


texts: Sex Offender Information is public to an extent. If I become aware of a sexual offender in an area and simply post a link to the registry with the intent to merely inform others and not harass nor hinder this person in any way. Is there any way my actions could be perceived as illegal? When I made the post I made it clear that my intent was to merely inform and nothing more, yet some users claim I could be sued for slander even though there is evidence to support my claims.


texts:
Is it legal to copy a website design?
I'm a developer not a designer, and I found a very cool website.

I made an exact replica of the website every shape, navigation is in the same place that the original, the two website look to be the same.

But I coded it from nothing, I never copied a line of code or any images, icons, text, font from the website. The only thing I used from them is their colors.

I don't know if it's important but the original website come from a U.S. company and my company is based in France.


texts:
What legal systems are there in the world and are they directly related to political structure?

I guess something like:

You're wrong until proven right
You're right until proven wrong

Also what is the proper terminology for a law system?


texts: Do men lose custody of children if they are found to not be the biological father?

texts: My nephew is 2 years old, and my brother just found out the mother has been cheating for at least two years. He wants a paternity test, but is scared he will not be the father. He is a fantastic father! If he is not the father, would he still be able to be involved in the child's life?


texts: Does an employee terminated for refusal to say "Be Blessed" have grounds for legal action?

texts:
The owner of a local fast-food restaurant has enacted a new policy that requires employees to say "Be Blessed" to all customers as they leave. If an employee refuses to say it, disciplinary action is taken up to and including termination.

Does an employee terminated for refusal to follow this policy have grounds for any legal action such as religious discrimination?


texts:
As I understand it the rigor required of a provisional patenta is less than that of a non provisional patent.  A US provisional patent is to be filed this month for a device and I would like to understand if there is a disadvantage / penalty if the claims / description is too:

1) Narrow: the concern here is that if the device description is very detailed, then any required evolutions to the device between provisional and the non provisional utility patent may be invalidated when opened.

2) Broad: the concern is that non provisional patent is invalidated because claims are too broad (not specific enough) and jeopardize the foundation and filing of the non provisional patent.

If it is possible that either of these scenarios can jeopardize the non provisional patent, how does one go about honing one's judgement of whether the scope (claims) are in the 'Goldilocks' zone: not too broad, not too narrow?  Any examples are appreciated: Thank you


texts: Can a physician refuse to see patients that are not referred by their primary care physician?

texts: In Massachusetts, USA, can a physician refuse to see patients that are not referred by their primary care physician? (Even patients whose health insurance does not require a referral for the appointment to be covered?)


texts:
In NY, justice courts are to record proceedings, except when there is a court stenographer.

Are these recordings court records?

If they are court records, and the case has not been sealed, or the criminal case not been dismissed, are they inspectable by the public?


texts:
Here it seems all european(EEA) countries and iceland have their own privacy laws . Do we have to follow all of the laws as many do not seem to allow legitimate interest. I mean, is following GDPR enough for Europe?
Explanation and example:
If you look at laws of Finland or Iceland as stated here all require probably consent for collection.
In accordance with tg the given links there is no legitimate interest and Iceland also offers imprisonment. Are these binding or will legitimate interest and liability up to euro 20 million final.


texts: Can the president veto a bill that was passed by 2/3 of each house?

texts:
Can the president veto a bill that was passed by 2/3+ of each house?  I mean, would it be sent back with the objections and they would have to do another show vote at least?  Or is a veto-proof majority literally veto-proof?

(Also, is it 2/3 of each house or 2/3 of each house's members present and voting?)


texts: Manafort plea deal and DOJ’s policies and procedures

texts:
I was reading about Manafort's plea deal on Politico when I came across the following paragraph:

“What is most concerning to me is that Mr. Mueller, who is a part of the executive branch and is supposed to follow all of DOJ’s policies and procedures, is specifically seeking to impede the ability of the president to exercise his constitutional pardon authority,” said David Rivkin, a Justice Department official under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

The part of concern is described (without naming a specific rule or policy) in the article as follows:

“These waivers are troubling because they have to do with future events we can’t predict,” University of St. Thomas law professor Mark Osler said, referring to provisions in the plea deal.

Later on in the article someone else's take is presented:

However, the Harvard professor called the prosecutors' stance in the Manafort deal aggressive but not a breach of any rules or standards.
"They’ve gone about as far as they can go without getting up to the red line," he said. "But I don’t think they’ve crossed any red line."

The first quote suggests that mister Mueller "is specifically seeking to impede the ability of the president to exercise his constitutional pardon authority", but the last quote argues the opposite.
It remains unclear to me which specific DOJ policy or procedure is not followed and why. Could anyone point to the policy or procedure the first quote refers to and explain how the deal violates that?


texts: What is the copyright on scans of old books?

texts:
Let's consider a very old book (1600s) which is definitely on the public domain now. The book it's very rare and thus few people own physical copies of it.

One of these owners chooses to scan its copy of the book and makes the images available for free on the internet.

Are these images subjects to copyright?


texts: Is social security constitutionally protected public debt?

texts:
Section IV of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution says "The validity of the public debt of the United States... shall not be questioned."

The Social Security trust fund is currently projected to run out of money in 2034, though there is still projected to be significant income into the social security system even when the trust fund runs out.

Are the US's promises to make payments under the Social Security program constitutionally protected?

Please consider 3 cases:

Just before the trust fund runs out, Congress passes a law cutting benefits effective immediately.
Congress does nothing about Social Security and the trust fund runs out.
Government shutdown way before the trust fund runs out (e.g. over border wall funding).


texts:
I was contacted by this phone company, who are trying to sell their service to me.  They say that if I purchase a $19.95 credit on their phone plan, then I can get some discounts; also the $19.95 will be applied to my account, expiring in six months -- and I will not get billed until I use it up.  However, when I went to sign up, this is what their terms said:

With activation $ 19.95
Promotions:
• 5% dsctose. by automatic debit
• 5% of Bill E - 1st, 2nd, 3rd Bill
• 30% dsctose. In the (favorite Number) frequently called
• RETURN ACTIVATION FEE $ 19.99 from 6 months reflected in the bill

Not knowing this phone company well, I am afraid they'll take my $19.95, and not offer anything in return.  Will they be liable if they do so, with the above Terms and Conditions, given that I was provided a verbal assurance of what I described above?


texts: Would there be any legal repercussions to the senate's actions during the impeachment trial?

texts:
In an interview with CNN at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Lindsay Graham said "I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here". In an interview with Fox News, senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said "Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House Counsel."

I'm still doing a lot of reading about what is involved in an impeachment trial (as I'm an Australian, and this is very interesting to me), but the main question I have is:

If someone in the senate says "I'm not going to bother looking at the evidence, I'm just going to vote against impeachment", or if someone else says "I'm working directly with the president to ensure we both get the outcome we want", is that illegal? Are there any repercussions for that?

If I were on trial and I said "I spoke with the jury beforehand to get the outcome we both want", I'd probably be in a lot of trouble. Likewise, if I were a juror and announced before the trial "I don't care about the evidence, I've decided they're already guilty / innocent", I'd also be in a lot of trouble.

Are there similar repercussions for members of the senate? Or is an impeachment trial completely different from your everyday trial?


texts: Do hospitals have to provide wheelchairs at the entrance to patients and visitors?

texts:
I was performing a project at the hospitals and the number of missing wheelchairs, I was just wondering if hospitals must provide wheelchairs at the entrance per ADA regulation or some other regulation?

The hospitals in particular that I am interested in are in Wisconsin in the US, specifically Mayo Hospitals.


texts: Consumer rights (UK) - OEM operating system purchased on the basis on invalid requirements

texts:
Let's say I purchase an Operating System (let's call it, Microsoft Windows 10 Home Edition) from an online retailer. It turns out this is an OEM license, so perhaps not entirely as legitimate as it should be.

I purchased this OS on the basis that the software I wanted to use (from the same vendor) suggested that it would meet the requirements (Microsoft Visual Studio)

It then transpires, due to incorrectly published requirements - that the features I particularly wanted to make use of, are not in fact supported on that platform.

Through no fault of my own, or of the retailers - I have purchased an operating system that does not meet the actual requirements of the software I intend to run. I should have purchased the 'Professional Edition'.

Now, the retailer refuses to refund or replace the product.
And the software vendor refuses to admit liability, telling me it's up to the retailer.

As a consumer, what rights do I have?
Does the operating system fall under the 'Not fit for purpose' clause of the consumer act, despite it actually functioning as designed?

Do I have a case against Microsoft, and is it ultimately their responsibility to make me whole - or to at least provide a solution?

Or do I go back to the retailer and make noise, despite this being outside of their control?

Advice much appreciated


texts: Are there de facto limitations on freedom of speech in the us?

texts:
Consider someone hacking the super bowl and playing a Holocaust denial ad.

Ignore the trivial charges like hacking that occur regardless of the content.

Is there any further prosecution of the content itself?

For example, would the hacker be prosecuted for harassment due to the content negatively affecting Jews?

If a Jew died of a heart attack as a result of the content would the hacker be liable for that? Since this is fairly likely is there a de facto restriction on the content?


texts: Can someone win a defamation suit based off some voice recordings?

texts:
This guy I was seeing, we'll call him A, is now accusing me of defamation of character. He and I ended our sexual relationship approximately 3 months ago. He was someone who had a girlfriend, and slept with multiple women on the side without his girlfriend knowing (I was one of these women). He and I were very close friends and I knew of his pattern with women.

Before I started my relationship with him, I was involved with another man (call him B) and after being raped by B, I engaged in activity I probably shouldn't have but did (i.e.: getting him fired from his job). Prior to A and I consummating our sexual relationship, he found out about the things I did to B. He still had no problem getting involved with me. After we were sexually involved, I spoke with A and confessed to all of the bad things I did to B, because I thought A was my friend and he would understand why I did all of these things. I told him about everything I did but we didn't talk about the rape, it was mostly just detailing the things that I did. I told him that doing those things to B made me feel better and I'm glad I did it because B deserved it (at the very least) in my opinion.

Later on, A admitted that because he was scared that I might do the same thing to him as I did to B (i.e.: get him fired from his job), he decided to voice record all the conversations we had, without my knowledge. We stopped seeing each other after a few weeks of that and it was mutual.

Recently I found out that someone sent his job a letter describing sexual assaults perpetrated by A. As a result he was fired from his $150k job. He told a friend who told me that he is suing me because he thinks I did this and he has evidence because of the voice recordings. I have no idea what kind of damages he is going for and I am very poor. I can't afford a lawyer and what's worse is that I haven't committed any of the acts he's accused me of, I haven't spoken to him in months.

I should mention that we are in NY so the law of one-party consent applies to him recording me.
Does it seem like he has a substantial case against me? Is it possible that these voice recordings will substantiate his claims that I somehow got him fired?


texts: Did the prerogative writ of prohibition ever have a Latin name?

texts: Four of the five prerogative writs are known by their Latin names (habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari), but I have never seen the fifth referred to as anything other than 'prohibition'.  Did this writ ever have a Latin name, and if so, what was it?


texts: Bright-line or Litmus Test for Sedition?

texts:
The media is crediting Donald Trump, Giuliani and Trump's son with inciting the protesters to march from the Ellipse to and breach the Capitol building on 6 January 2021, interrupting the electoral college finalization.
Is there a bright line or litmus test that can be applied to determine if sedition has been committed?


texts: Can a database format/schema be copyrighted separately from the data?

texts:
I came across a map tile format which requires attribution for use, regardless of the license of the data it contains.  The format specifies how and what map features (roads, water, etc) should be included, but that's basically all it does.

The website for the format says the following:

  The vector tile schema describes how the vector data is organized into
  different thematic layers and which attribute and values each layer
  contains. This is useful for writing a map style and allows for
  alternative implementations of a schema.

  The OpenMapTiles schema is open (CC-BY) and you are free to use,
  extend or build upon the existing implementation (BSD license). Please
  reference OpenMapTiles if you build upon the schema.

It seems they're requiring I give them credit for rearranging my data according to their "rules".  Does this requirement have any legal force, since it doesn't cover the actual information stored with the format?


texts: My husband (now ex husband) was arrested for domestic assault after pushing me so hard my head hit and broke a table. I didn't press charges at the time because I was afraid of him and under duress from his constant threats, emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse. Years later I was diagnosed with severe and complex PTSD. I've been in treatment and now finally have a voice. Can I press charges now even though it happened 6 years ago?


texts: Does "so as to" limit the application of a permission, or define it as a possible use case

texts:
I have been asked to sign an employment agreement which includes

  The Employee irrevocably appoints the Employer as the Employee’s lawful and authorised attorney to sign a document or do any thing and generally to use the Employee’s name so as to give to the Employer the full benefit of this clause.

in the clause relating to Intellectual Property.

My main concern here is that so as to reads to me as if it was an example of possible usage, and not a limitation of authorisation. Something along the lines of "appoint us as your attorney so we can sign paperwork, such as those required for this clause, on your behalf."

Using the example from https://english.stackexchange.com/a/129573

  Ensure that the firewall is properly configured so as to prevent an attacker from infiltrating our network.

could seem to support this since a "properly configured firewall" can do more than just protect your network from infiltration.

If the phrase for the purposes of was used instead it would read as though authorisation was being granted, but would be restricted to this one specific use case.

In terms of legal documents (and probably everywhere else?) does so as to restrict the authorisation to only the provided purpose?


texts: Is the invalidity of the Data Retention Directive completely retroactive and what are the implications w.r.t. the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

texts:
On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared the 2006/24/EC Data Retention Directive (DRD) invalid because it violated the rights guaranteed by Articles 7 & 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The CJEU's press release (PDF link) clarifies the retroactive effect of the invalidity in a footnote:

  Given that the Court has not limited the temporal effect of its judgment, the declaration of invalidity takes effect from the date on which the directive entered into force.

While the DRD entered into force in 2006, the Charter was only formally incorporated into the EU treaty framework on 1 December 2009. Though the Charter has existed since 2000, its legal status was uncertain prior to incorporation.

How can the DRD be retroactively invalid prior to 1 December 2009 when the invalidity is based on the Charter incorporated on that date?

Trying to find the answer to this question led me down a number of related questions that may help, but I've not found a definitive answer to any:

Is the press release incorrect? When CJEU invalidates a statute without specifying date, does that really imply complete retroactivity? While this decision is silent about it, is there other case-law that might help here?
Has the Charter been determined to have legal force before its formal incorporation by the Treaty of Lisbon? Would that have been the presumably treaty-level force necessary to strike down a Directive?
Recital 22 of the DRD specifically cites compliance with Articles 7 & 8 of the Charter, but are recitals a sufficient basis for invalidating the Directive's substantive Articles? The CJEU decision quotes the recital, but doesn't explicitly make use of it in its ratio decidendi.


texts: Website Registration Terms Agreement - Implicit With a Blurb or Need Checkbox?

texts:
During sign-up, the user must agree to the terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Is it sufficient to state: "by registering, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy" (where the words "terms of service" and "privacy policy" are hyperlinked to their respective documents, and where the blurb is placed directly above the "Sign Up" submit button)

Or, does there need to be a check box so that the user must explicitly click it to indicate agreement?

I see both of these scenarios all over the web. I would prefer not to have the user click something e.g. to reduce friction at sign-up time.


texts: Is compromising a user considered legal if it is to inform them?

texts:
Today my mother received an email from herself, containing the following message

  This is an automated message by an email validator.
  If you are receiving this email it means that your email address and password have been compromised. I would suggest and urge you to change your password as soon as possible. This email was sent using your credentials (see sender) as proof of it.

I confirmed it was not just some scam mail posing as my mother email, but it really was sent and received from her own email.

Would the usage of an compromised email address in such a way be considered illegal? Or would it be considered a gray zone, due to the nature of the send email?


texts: Are police reports public records? For example, if I know about a crime, either through first hand knowledge or a news article, and I request in writing the police report on the crime, do I have a legal right to that document?


texts: If i want to use an audio and/or video recording of a live event with comercial purposes, who are the parties involved that i need to contact?


texts: Can police receive prison time for misconduct?

texts: Suppose that someone is a victim of police misconduct and the officer who was on duty at the time is eventually found guilty of police misconduct. Usually the victim walks out with award money (lawsuit or from suing an officer). Let's say the crime the officer committed was a felony or the victim isn't satisfied with the amount of money offered to them. Can they request that the alleged officer receive a (hefty) prison sentence rather than being awarded money of some kind? (Referring to U.S.)


texts: In small claims court, can I sue for the time I spend putting together my case?

texts:
That is the time I spend gathering the necessary documentation and doing other things like filing at the court, going to court, collecting, etc., etc.

I would be representing myself obviously.


texts: What jurisdiction of law governs diplomats & any immunity?

texts: Headlines regarding a US Diplomat's wife striking (Killing) a motor cycle rider in the UK have sparked discussion regarding immunity.   What is the governing law in this case?  Are there any bright lines that provide insight and clarification regarding diplomatic immunity?


texts: Do US laws apply worldwide? Which US laws apply worldwide?

texts:
Do US laws apply worldwide?

Kim Dotcom, never in USA, yet court proceedings for extradition from New Zealand to USA ongoing.
A Chinese arrested in Canada during layover for breaking US sanctions law.

Both not US citizen. Both not on US territory.

Which US laws apply worldwide?


texts: Which country's law applies when scraping / crawling web pages?

texts: I'm interested in the legal aspects of gathering (scraping) data from web pages with web robots / scrapers / crawlers. I am not sure which country's law applies in the case that a website is hosted in one country and accessed from a crawler program hosted in another country. Does the situation change if there are user publications on the website, from users living in none of the two countries?


texts: Is a summer REU considered OPT/CPT training for F-1 visa?

texts: I am a student under F-1 visa in the US. I was offered a paid Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program for the upcoming summer 2017 from a different school. Is the REU considered Optional Practical Training/Curriculum Practical Training (OPT/CPT)?


texts: Youtube Ad Revenue + Guitar tutorial video - Can I make ad revenue from teaching copyrighted guitar songs?

texts:
On youtube, can i do the following whilst collecting ad revenue?

Teach someone to play a copyrighted song on guitar (i.e. ed sheeran)?

Is this an infringement of copyright? I have found some research that suggests it may be ok:

The NMPA National Music Publishers Association seem to enforce artist copyright rights.
It appears Youtube have an agreement with NPMA to royalty share link


texts: Where does the "liquidated" in "liquidated damages" come from?

texts:
An answer to a recent question mentions that "all the money you have" is not a valid liquidated-damages clause in a contract.
The main use of "liquidation" that I'm familiar with is in the context of bankruptcy, where it does indeed mean (roughly) "all the money you have". (Well, strictly speaking it means converting all your assets to cash, with the implication that you then give all the money you have your creditors.)
Are these usages of "liquidated"/"liquidation" related? Or more generally, where does the term "liquidated" in "liquidated damages" come from?


texts: Can a Union CBA circumvent Right to Work?

texts: if an employer is in a Right to Work state, Can a union create a contract with an employer that requires the employer only keep union employees on payroll?


texts: To what extent can question of morality be a part of question of law?

texts:
I just read this news where a man did not leave anything to his daughters in his last will, and that has been effectively corrected by the court because the man "breached his moral duty to his daughters".

A quick search shows that the roots of this kind of judgment come from case law involving the Family Protection Act 1955.

So far I have been under the impression that, in Western English-speaking countries, law does not deal with morals. Law is the same for all. Morals are subjective and therefore should not be judged by (even though morals affect what the law is).

To what extend is this view not true? How frequently do phrases like "moral duty" appear in judgments nowadays?


texts: Can a search based on evidence obtained illegally be a legal search?

texts:
I was watching a TV programme last night and the main characters broke into a building to look for something however they didn't find anything. While receiving a dressing-down for their actions from a parent the main characters said 'we were going to tell the police if we found anything.'  The parent, who is an attorney, said 'nothing you found would have been admissible anyway.'

This didn't ring true to me.  It lead me to the question I have.

If the police are provided with information that was obtained during the commission of a criminal act by another party, would a search based on this information be admissible as evidence?

For the purposes of the question, please assume that all other steps by the police are followed scrupulously.

I'm tagging this as United States because that's where the programme was set but I'm interested in an England and Wales perspective too because that's where I'm from.


texts: Could a foreign power remove an Australian member of federal parliament by declaring them a citizen?

texts:
Recently a number of Australian members of the federal parliament have been referred to the high court because they might have a foreign citizenship. The first was a simple oversight by the politician in question, but the rest start to get a little obscure.

My understanding is that if a person has a citizenship of a foreign country they cannot serve as a member of federal parliament. The catch is there appears to be no requirement for the person who is a citizen to have used it at some stage or even have known they applied for it.  For example, Senator Matt Canavan became a citizen of Italy because his mother applied for it without his knowledge.

So, with this background, could a foreign government mess around with the Australian parliament by giving citizenship to the federal members of parliament? Could North Korea give Malcolm Turnbull (Current Australian Prime Minister as of 2017) citizenship as a way to disrupt the parliament?

What does the law say? How could it be interpreted?


texts: Is failing to report a bank error in and of itself a crime?

texts:
(Related to discussion at https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/133263/how-should-i-handle-money-returned-for-a-product-that-i-did-not-return/133270 )
Suppose a customer receives a deposit into their bank account due to an error by the bank.  They decline to mention this to the bank, hoping that the deposit will not be reversed, but they keep the entirety of those funds in the same account ready for return in case it is.
The customer's contractual agreement with the bank surely has a clause that enjoins the customer to promptly notify the bank of any errors and they will have violated that (although perhaps in plausibly deniable fashion).  However for the crime of theft to have been committed, we need "intent to deprive".  To me (not a legal expert) it seems that merely failing to inform the bank of its own mistake does not rise to the level of intent to deprive, and no crime is committed unless/until the customer takes further action (such as spending the money).  Am I wrong?
Even if it is technically illegal, as a practical matter I assume that no bank would pursue this over merely reclaiming the funds.  Is there any precedent for someone being punished purely for failing to report a bank error?
(Jurisdiction note: the initial discussion centered around UK law, but as this is a hypothetical question, answers from other jurisdictions are also interesting.)


texts: Why was my digitized signature rejected?

texts:
I really dislike printing out an electronic form (i.e. PDF) just to sign and re-scan it, especially if I'm going to just send out a digital copy anyway. So, usually I just paste a scanned image of my signature into the signature block of the form, then send the file without ever having to go through the print/scan cycle.

However, I recently did this with a stack of forms where the receiving party apparently noticed that all my signatures were identical and deduced that I used a digitized signature instead of manually signing the forms. They rejected the forms saying that they needed "original" signatures. I pointed out that the signature becomes digital when I scan the form anyway, but they insisted that I manually sign, then scan, then email the forms. All illogicality aside, is there any legal reason for this policy?

BTW, this is in the United States, though I imagine if there is a legal principle behind this that it would be fairly universal.


texts: Use of other calendars in copyright notice and contracts

texts:
Year
If I look at a copyright notice, I see Copyright (c) <YEAR> <OWNER>. The part this question is about is the definition on <YEAR>.
The number represented in <YEAR> is based on the Gregorian calendar and shows the number of years passed since Anno Domini (or Common era). As there exist various different calendars around the world, I was wondering how this could affect the legal side, when using another calendar for copyright notice, or in contracts.

Context
I came across the Holocene calendar which counts years since the Holocene epoch instead of Anno Domini (or Common era) as the Gregorian calendar does. As the Gregorian calendar date can be defined with <YEAR> AD or <YEAR> CE the Holocene calendar year can be defined with <YEAR> HE. So I was wondering if such a year definition format could be used in a contract and especially a copyright notice (for example Copyright (c) 12021 HE <OWNER>).
As there exist a variety of other calendars, I guess this question also regards those.

As a programmer I know that you should not touch a running system. So using another calendar in the current already well established system makes things more complicated and confusing. But sadly I have not found any resources defining a restriction on which calendar year to use.


texts: What if 2 different sites have different licences for the same object?

texts:
I have 2 related questions:
What happens if 2 web pages allow to download the same image but with different licence usage? i.e. one site allows the image for basically every use and the other restrict the usage to only some specific cases
Also, what happens if one author creates one object, and publish it with a very unrestricted licence (like MIT), then after some time he changes his mind and changes the licence to a more restricted one, what happens with the derivative work?


texts: What is the process for having a trial record corrected?

texts:
I litigated a case successfully last year and some time afterwards I re-read the record, the trial transcript, and noticed that there were a lot of errors of various kinds in it.

Is there a process for having the record corrected?


texts: Under what circumstances do civil cases go before juries in the U.S.?

texts:
In a criminal case, per Rule 23, either party may demand a jury trial (and the defendant usually does).

A civil case, however, is often decided by a "bench" (judge) trial. Under what circumstances is a civil case likely to go to a jury trial, and under what circumstances can a party either demand, or prevent a jury trial (aside from a contract where both parties waive their rights to a jury trial)?


texts:
A person is accused of two counts of murder, because the victim was a pregnant woman.

The lawyer representing the defense makes the proposal that it couldn't be two, because legally, only one death involved was human.

Assuming the accused is convicted of the murder of the woman herself, what about the second death? Is it still considered murder? Why?


texts: What to do if a Company terminates your contract before 1 week of joining date?

texts:
Working in Malaysia I got a job offer from one of the famous MNCs 1 month ago under another Company's payroll. I got the offer letter and all the documentation is complete. I resigned from my current Company and my EP is canceled too. The documents for new EP has already been submitted by the new Company.

1 week before the joining date, I was informed that the project is canceled. Now I am stranded. Can I sue the Company?


texts:
As far as I know there are countries with extraterritorial jurisdiction when it comes to protect their citizens, so in the latter's favour.
If for example a PR of Italy beats up and injures severely a tourist from the US visiting Italy, to the point of causing them massive physical damage, and the perpetrator is caught, which istitutions would the case be assigned to, Italian or US courts???

Has it happened  in any istance that a criminal has been sent to a foreign country to attend the court for a crime he has committed against that country's citizen, even though the criminal's never been in that country itself?


texts: Can a will order private property be destroyed?

texts:
I'm just wondering if you can will that all your personal property, and real property be destroyed or discarded in a will? To what extent is such a request legal, or illegal and can we predict if the courts will uphold that for inanimate property?

If this isn't legal, to what extent would a command to destroy cell phones and personal records be illegal?


texts: Which small claims court to use if paid by paypal?

texts:
I have had a monetary loss in Atlanta but I live in a state far from Georgia. Can I file in small claims court in my state (which would be convenient for me) or do I need to file in Atlanta (which may be prohibitively inconvenient)?  Or does it depend on the rules of the specific small claims courts?

On reflection, perhaps the crime took place over the internet. I paid by paypal and the other party did not use the money as agreed upon, pocketing it instead. So, where did the crime take place?


texts: What if someone's testimonial account changes and contradicts itself?

texts:
I am curious to know what happens if someone gives testimony in Court 2 times, and there are contradictions or discrepancies between the two statements.
As an example, how might the following two statements be reconciled or handled in Court?

Statement #1: I was jogging along a trail when all of a sudden in
became foggy, I was able to see a man who threatened a lady and
punched her.  The other 3 people with me couldn't see anything, but
they did hear the lady yell.  Once the man ran away, I fainted and
within a few minutes I woke up.
Statement #2: I was jogging along a trail when all of a sudden in
became foggy, I was able to see a man who threatened a lady and
punched her.  The other 3 people could see what I saw, but they didn't
hear anything.  Once the man ran away, I fainted and after 1 hour I
woke up.

Assume this is the only testimony of the event.
Would this witness's testimony still hold up in court?


texts:
Is it legal to use a name for a company that uses part, or all, of another trademarked name in it?
For example, if I was creating a company that uses Google's software, could I name my company Googley Eyes, LLC? Does the answer depend on whether the name is "Googley" vs "Googly"?
I found this question and the answer says

Since "orbitz" is a coined term its protection is stronger, there is
no natural object or concept this can refer to. "AppleMoving" is less
likely to be confused with "Apple Computers" because apples are real
things and need not refer to computers.

Does that mean that since googly eyes are a real thing it's more likely to be ok? The key difference from the linked question being that the company would be in the same industry of computer software, as opposed to a totally different industry (computers vs. moving).


texts:
What is Admiralty Law and where are the origins of it?
What jurisdictions is this type of law applicable?
What relevance does this have in the United States legal system?


texts: Is it legal for an individual to raffle a car in Pennsylvania?

texts:
I am currently trying to sell my car.  However, it is very rare and relatively expensive, and finding a buyer is a slow process.  However, everywhere I go I get compliments and people say they would love to buy it if they could afford it.

I often see charities raffling cars.  In those cases they may sell $200,000 worth of tickets for a $50,000 car.  I've been told it is illegal for anyone other than a non-profit to do this; I never verified that but it makes sense to me.  I do not wish to run a raffle to make an unfair personal profit.

If I limit the number of tickets so that total ticket sales are lower than the bluebook value of the car, would it be legal for me to run the raffle as a means to sell my car?  Assume this is in Pennsylvania, Washington County specifically.


texts:
My partner and I, now 22, were adopted together when we were 12.  The adoption agency believed we were very "sisterly" towards each other and encouraged our adoptive parents to accept both of us into their home.  What they didn't know however was that we were intimate at the time.  We've continued to be girlfriends in secret, but we hope to now marry and spend the rest of our lives together.  Idaho law allows for same sex marriage, but we've been told that it is illegal for adopted siblings to marry, no matter blood relation (we are not blood related)

My question is, does this actually apply to us?  And if so, is there anything we can do to annul our adoptive relationship, or perhaps there is a state that will allow it (as a last resort, uprooting now would be ruinous)

Thank you for your opinion, none of the answers will be construed as legal advice.


texts: Licensor's words against license, what is valid?

texts:
There are times that the owner/creator of the product gives a license, but tells something that is against the license.

Let's say someone posts a picture and says:

  Feel free to use this for commercial use. License: CC-BY-SA-NC

CC-BY-SA-NC clearly says that it doesn't allow commercial use, however the owner is saying that he allows it.

In this kind of situation, what is valid? The owner's words or the license?


texts: Putting farm you do not own into a living trust

texts:
Here is the deal:

Owner Adam of a farm gives the farm in 2003ish to son-in-law Hank via quit claim deed. Owner Adam becomes just Adam. Adam continues to live on the farm. New owner Hank doesn't record the deed with the county, but pays property taxes henceforth.

Fast Forward to 2014.

Subject Tango (Son of Hank) moves into farm. Tango apparently has a motive to acquire the farm and Adam (now 99 years old) decides they want Tango to have the farm.

Tango brings in an attorney and the farm is put into living trust without Hanks knowledge or consent. After Hank finds out, he believes that since Adam signed the quit claim deed they have no basis to put it into the living trust and the farm is still his.

Does Hank have the power to dispute the farm being in the living trust? Can there be consequences for the attorney who put the farm into the trust despite knowing there was a quit claim deed? Is the new quit claim deed inside the trust worthless or is the quit claim deed from circa 2003 worthless?

Thank you for any insight or information/experience you have.


texts:
I was wondering if there was a minimum speed limit? I.e. if the speed limit is for example 60, is there a limit to how slow I can go before it counts as breaking the road rules? Is it relative to each speed limit or is there just one minimum?

If that is too broad, I live in Australia, so the rule(s) for Australia is enough.


texts: Questions regarding legal aspects of John Oliver's debt forgiveness giveaway

texts:
John Oliver made news a few months ago by purchasing nearly $15 million in outstanding medical bill debt for $60,000 -- less than a penny on the dollar.

But, I read that cancellation-of-debt ("COD") is taxable income.  How Oliver got around this ("...no tax consequences whatsoever...") seems odd...

Oliver set up a dummy corporation ("CARP") and then as CEO of CARP, he negotiated the debt purchase (presumably from some other collection agency).

But, rather than forgive the debt directly, CARP turned around and donated the debt to RIP, a charitable organization.

Am I to understand that this second transfer was necessary in order to explicitly avoid the tax consequence of COD?  I do understand that COD is taxable income, but "gifts" are not.

CARP is a simple $50 setup-fee LLC (and presumably not a charitable organization), whereas RIP was/is an established 501(c)(3) charity.

I'm assuming that Once CARP purchased the debt, it then had rights of ownership with respect to debt collection, i.e. it could (1) continue pursuing collections from the debtors, (2) do nothing with the debt, (3) forgive the debts individually or en masse, or (4) donate it to a charity (which is what it did).  After CARP gave (donated) the debt to RIP, then RIP was free to forgive the debts (which is its explicitly-stated mission).

Had CARP pursued option (3) above, then does that mean all that forgiven debt was/is taxable income as COD?

ADDENDUM:

I just now realized that, in a theoretical situation where CARP chose option (1) -- attempt to collect on the debt.  Pretending that CARP successfully collected e.g. $1 million, is this simply money that CARP can keep?  (Subject to corporate income tax, of course.)

I'm also assuming that "purchasing" debt gives the purchaser rights of ownership such that any collected money from a debtor cannot be further claimed by previous creditors.  Is this indeed the case?


texts:
I have a project where a customised email is sent out to clients and there is a link that takes them to a landing page, with a form, that currently gets populated by way of query string variables e.g. domain.com?email=larry@test.com&firstname=Larry, etc.

However in light of GDPR is this still an okay thing to do? If not the only way I can think of getting around this is by using something like having a form on the html email that 'posts' the data to the landing page, but I'm not sure if that would work.


texts: Are there legal consequences if Trump's tax returns are not handed over?

texts:
In an April 13 letter that appeared to move Democrats closer to a federal court battle against the Trump administration, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal warned the IRS that failure to comply with his request for six years of Trump’s individual and business returns by April 23 would be interpreted as a denial.

source

My question is - since

  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday that Neal was “just picking arbitrary dates” in setting deadlines and said it was more important to get the decision “right” to ensure the IRS would not be “weaponized” in a political dispute.

although he also said

  I do intend to follow the law. But I think these raise very, very complicated legal issues. I don’t think these are simple issues. There are constitutional issues

Can anyone be prosecuted if those tax returns are not handed over by the deadline?


texts: Can an American material witness be forced to "learn" what s/he does not know?

texts:
My understanding is that a witness is supposed to prepare for a deposition. My first concern is how well prepared or knowledgeable for a deposition.

Suppose a material witness made a point of studying his adversary's liabilities thoroughly, and his own side's superficially. The witness then recites chapter and verse about his adversary's liability, and honestly says, "I don't know" about his side's. Can the opposing lawyer ask him, with effect, "why do you know so much about some topics, and so little about others?" Will the witness have fallen short in his duty? Can s/he be forced to learn more to be more responsive to the opposing lawyer's questions?


texts:
CONTEXT

A tenant in Florida passes away. Based on this attorney's evaluation

  In this instance, Florida law prevents a landlord from recovering
  possession of the rental unit except when the last remaining tenant
  dies, personal property remains on the premises, rent is unpaid, at
  least 60 days have passed after a tenant’s death, and the landlord has
  not been notified in writing of a probate estate or the name of a
  personal representative appointed by the Court. Only after recovery of
  the rental unit, may the landlord begin the process of removing the
  personal property of the tenant.

The excerpt indicates all 5 conditions must be met before rental unit 'recovery'

the last remaining tenant dies,
personal property remains on the premises,
rent is unpaid,
at least 60 days have passed after a tenant’s death,
and the landlord has not been notified in writing of a probate estate or the name of a personal representative appointed by the Court.

As I understand all 5 of these conditions must be met before recovery can take place. What would happen if #5 is not met (i.e. landlord is notified): would the rental property remain 'unrecoverable' indefinitely?

Update

For the purpose of this conversation, recovery refers event / state where the landlord legally regains control of the rental property.  The cited article indicates:

  Only after recovery of the rental unit, may the landlord begin the
  process of removing the personal property of the tenant.


texts: Must the Privacy Policy be Included In-App, or is a Hyperlink Good Enough?

texts:
The title says it: I'm wondering if my company has to have a copy of our app's Privacy Policy included in the actual software package.

On the one hand, I could see a copy of the Policy being required, as otherwise users who are not connected to the Internet would have no way of knowing their rights and/or which data the app collects. On the other hand, most users are connected to the Internet (at least when they download the app and are most likely to want to view the Policy), and a hyperlink could always point to the latest update of the Policy, which is better than waiting on review of a package update with the app store before the new Policy is available in-app. I know the answer probably depends on which privacy laws with which my company is trying to comply, but please assume that we are trying to comply with "all the laws".

Bonus question: Same question, regarding Terms of Use and Licences :)


texts: Is the United States in a state of war with Iran?

texts:
As of January 7, 2020, Is the US at war with Iran?

What is the litmus test to determine if the US is at war with Iran?


texts: Will using a cover of a song in a film free me from legal obligations?

texts:
I want to use the song "Whole Lotta Love" in my upcoming film. Obviously the song is copyrighted by led Zeppelin. So I'm planning to get a few musicians and cover the song and then use it as a background score for my film.

Will that free me of the legal obligations?


texts: Landlord forcing tenant to sign that lease has been fulfilled?

texts:
While reading over a lease agreement I saw this:

  At the request of the Landlord, the Tenant shall sign a letter stating that the Landlord has fully performed all of the Landlord's agreements in this lease.

This seems like a terrible clause from the tenant's perspective. My interpretation is that the tenant is being strong armed into agreeing the landlord has held up his end of the agreement, whether or not the tenant feels this way.

Is this not suspicious?  As a potential tenant, is there legal justification for my concern in signing this?


texts:
We would like to build a model of one of the America's Cup team boats (team NZ-winner).
Like the attached image.
My question is about all the trademarks on the boats.
Will it be possible to replicate the boat with all trademarks for commercial purposes?(selling the model boats)

We are interested in selling in New Zealand first.

Can you help me what to do in order to make this?


texts: Is there a law establishing the procedure by which a U.S. senator resigns?

texts:
This question on politics.stackexchange.com isn't getting any answers, so I'll try a similar question here.

Is there some statute or provision of the Constitution of the United States or case law saying that the way a U.S. senator resigns is by submitting a letter of resignation to the governor of the state that the senator represents, rather than to some other person such as the president of the senate (who is also the vice-president of the United States) or other federal officer?
Is that considered the proper way to do it only because someone set a precedent and others follow precedent?  If so, when was the precedent set?  And might it be considered law if there is no Constitutional provision or statute or case law?


texts: Can a "legal" type DNA test be conducted in the state of Ney York without a court order?

texts:
Suppose two people who are over 18 wish to do a "legal" type DNA test to prove they are related, and one of them resides in New York, and the other one resides somewhere else in the United States.
Can those private individuals do such a test without a court order?


texts: Against the law to create a social media account of a deceased person?

texts:
Is it illegal to create a, say, Facebook/Twitter account under the full legal name of a deceased person and try to mimic or imitate their living likeness, such as using it as if you were them (like they're alive).

I mean you can't be stealing from them directly if they're not alive. It may be indecent, but is it illegal to impersonate the person who has passed? Will it count as "posing as another" if the "another" is dead?

Most importantly, is it illegal?


texts: Are law enforcement officers obliged to apprehend a subject committing a crime at the earliest possible opportunity?

texts:
Inspired in part by this question: if a person is committing crimes of increasing severity, are law enforcement personnel obliged to apprehend them at the earliest opportunity? Specifically, are they obliged to prevent a crime at the stage where it is a conspiracy, or attempt, to commit it?

If so, in what circumstances?

For the sake of simplicity, let's consider only US cases.


texts: What happens to copyright owned by a defunct publisher company?

texts:
I'm especially interested in books that do not have any commercial value (i.e. the cost of publishing is much higher than any foreseeable return).

I know that the answer may vary depending on country.


texts: Can I become a US citizen if my mother is a US citizen?

texts:
I'm looking to get my US citizenship, and I am wondering if it is possible to obtain a U.S. citizenship because my mother is a citizen and was so when I was born. I am looking at This Page but I am confused about a couple of things.
I believe the following applies to me:

In a general, a Child Born Outside the U.S. is a Citizen at Birth when
the Child’s Parents Are Married to each other at the Time of Birth
IF...
One parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of birth and the birthdate is
on or after November 14, 1986
AND...
The U.S. citizen parent had been physically present in the U.S. or its
territories for a period of at least five years at some time in his or
her life prior to the birth, of which at least two years were after
his or her 14th birthday.

Does November 14, 1986 refer to the birthdate of the parent or the birthdate of child (me)?
Assuming this applies to me, does "citizen at birth" mean I am already technically a citizen, or would my parent's have had to fill out some paperwork when I was born? The Page also mentions the age of 18. If my parents didn't file the paperwork for me to become a citizen at birth or before 18, does that mean it's impossible for me to get a citizenship through this method since I am over 18?
I was born in Canada and have a Canadian citizenship. I'm not sure if that makes any difference.


texts: What time protection does the Fraud Act of 2006 offer to the accused?

texts:
A person has been threatened with Fraud Act for a claim he made a year back. The claim was approved by the other party and there was a payout. After a year, the party threatens to charge with fraud and says the claim was fraudulent. Unfortunately, due to the time lapse, the person does not recall the specifics of the episode and why he made the claim. Gathering of evidence also is difficult, and the accuser is also wrong in not having done the due diligence in approving the claim.
What provisions does the Fraud Act of 2006 carry to protect the accused? What does it take to argue that the accused was intentional in his act of making the claim?


texts: Divorce legal proceedings, 3rd party information

texts:
My wife has been approached by a friend who is going through a tough divorce, and has now fallen into an unofficial therapist role for this person.  The things they have discussed, while not criminal, would certainly lead to a divorce (or two) and would absolutely make my wife's friend's divorce much messier should it become generally known (as in, if my wife's friend's husband found out).

Is my wife putting herself at risk (legally) should it come out that her friend has confided information that is relevant to one (or more) divorce proceeding(s)?  Could she (and by extension, me) end up getting tangled up in depositions and whatever if any of these proceedings end up going to open court?