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I live in a state of Maryland and the question I want to ask is that is a breach of privacy as a tort involves someone finding information that you expect to be private on a internet forum (like a private section of a internet forum about sexual activity), and then distributing that information via paper flyers in public, and then reposting the same flyer on another internet forum a victim participates in routinely?
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Mar 27, 2011 17:00
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| # ? May 16, 2024 13:39 |
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I have a United States question, really small question, really. I'm documenting doing some artwork for a book, and I use a lot of Photoshop. If I were to put screenshots of me working in Photoshop into a published book, would I run into issue with copyright with Adobe?
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Mar 27, 2011 18:07
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Jkid posted:I live in a state of Maryland and the question I want to ask is that is a breach of privacy as a tort involves someone finding information that you expect to be private on a internet forum (like a private section of a internet forum about sexual activity), and then distributing that information via paper flyers in public, and then reposting the same flyer on another internet forum a victim participates in routinely? I doubt it, but you may have a case for libel if you can prove the information was false and it did you harm. Crow posted:I have a United States question, really small question, really. From Adobe's website quote:Screenshots
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Mar 27, 2011 19:13
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Konstantin posted:I doubt it, but you may have a case for libel if you can prove the information was false and it did you harm. It's not libel as the private information may actually did occur, but the breach of privacy may cause personal injury harm via emotional and mental distress due to the outrage of the victim. Would that be a case of personal injury at least?
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Mar 27, 2011 19:39
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Jkid posted:It's not libel as the private information may actually did occur, but the breach of privacy may cause personal injury harm via emotional and mental distress due to the outrage of the victim. Would that be a case of personal injury at least? You're confusing multiple causes of action here. IIED, breach of privacy, and personal injury are three different things. Outrage is an element of IIED, and is measured as an objective standard, not subjectively of the victim. Leif. fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Mar 27, 2011 |
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Mar 27, 2011 19:59
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What you're really asking is, would it be an IIED case, and the answer is in MD probably not.
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Mar 27, 2011 20:04
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Just got the response to my request for validation of a gym membership debt All it is is a copy of the contract. There's nothing indicating any accounting of how they got the dollar figure they're quoting as owed. The contract was entered 12/5/08 and it said there would be 10 payments of $74 starting 1/5/08 (sic). I paid with my credit card, and I have statements showing ten payments from 1/5/09 through 10/5/09. What's my next step? Another letter telling them that what they sent me doesn't approach a verification as required by the FDCPA? Do I go straight to the "the contract says I owe you ten payments, here are receipts for the ten payments, gently caress off?"
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Mar 28, 2011 20:20
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SWATJester posted:What you're really asking is, would it be an IIED case, and the answer is in MD probably not. Depending on the facts disclosed and the restrictiveness of the forum on which they were initially published, he might have a case for public disclosure of private facts (assuming Maryland recognizes such a cause of action).
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Mar 28, 2011 22:26
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Follow-up re: default in Virginia: My 12-month membership signed 12/5/08 had me paying first and last upfront, followed by 10 monthly payments starting 1/5/09. The contract also says "Roll over to open-end/month-to-month starting 12/5/09." The contract also says "Memberships that roll over to a month-to-month basis require a 30-day written notice to cancel." The contract also says "The term of this contract is 12 months." The 10 monthly payments required by the contract were paid on time. No payment was made on the first roll-over month on 1/5/09. Here are my thoughts: I shouldn't owe anything, because I gave the gym manager a letter that said I didn't want to renew in November of 2009. They, of course, don't have a record of this. My evidence would be "They had my credit card which they didn't have any problem charging through October 2009. They told me that I wasn't renewing, and I never was charged in December 2009, so it looks like they got the message." If I can't prove that, I should only owe for the first month of the month-to-month. Upon not paying, I defaulted on the month-to-month agreement, thereby terminating it. No written notice is required, as there's no agreement to give written notice, as any such agreement expired 12/4/09 along with the contract. I don't see how they can prove that I owe more than one month of the month-to-month. Anything I'm missing? WhiskeyJuvenile fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Mar 29, 2011 |
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Mar 29, 2011 14:45
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:Just got the response to my request for validation of a gym membership debt Sorry if you covered this before, but is the company trying to collect the debt the same company that owns the gym, or have they passed it off to a third party collector? If it's a third party collector and you've already requested validation, send them a letter demanding the rest of the information or to cease all future attempts at collecting the debt as per the FDCPA. Also contact the credit reporting companies and have them remove the collection from your credit report. Whatever you do, do not provide any debt collector with more information than they have. If they can't prove you own the debt, don't send them copies of your receipts.
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Mar 29, 2011 16:59
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:Follow-up re: default in Virginia: Do you have a copy of the letter? They might argue the twelve month term being a twelve month membership. Response to that is it's just the length at which they've agreed to the price and other terms of the contract
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Mar 29, 2011 18:20
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Okay, so I am in the State of Minnesota, Hennepin County. Good ole' lakes and snow and poo poo. My question is about the legality of daily deal websites, like Groupon, selling coupons or deals that are redeemable for liquor at whatever restaurant is selling it. I have been reading up on the state's site, but it looks like most of the information hasn't been updated since 2003, when the internet wasn't such a big deal. So basically, I'm wondering what liability a site like Groupon faces, and is there any licensing required to promote these coupons. I've read the Groupon legal terms, but does that provide all the protection they need?
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Mar 29, 2011 20:35
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I've got a really minor question that's particular to Michigan law. I'm having an issue with my employer and I think they might be violating "Act 390 of 1978 Section 408.477" but I'm not a lawyer so I'm not sure how to interpret this. I'm not looking for a lawsuit or anything, (like I said, it's minor) but I'm considering making a complaint to career services where I work. I work at a public university library in Michigan as a student employee. My fiancé' has some books checked out that seem to have been lost during a move. The fines have been lingering around for a while, mainly because it's about $130, and we were hoping the books would turn up at some point before we graduated and not have to pay replacement fees. My boss decided to tell me today that I had to pay her fines, he assumed they were checked out for me (which she has done before, but that's not the case here entirely, we were both reading these books so it's not necessarily the case they were checked out "for" me or anything. Not sure how else to word it. We read a lot and share practically all of our books with each other.) I'm not being fired or anything, but I was told that I have to pay for them on Friday (payday) and cannot work anymore until they're paid for if I don't pay then. What's getting me on this is that it seems like a really sneaky way of garnishing my wages, but in a roundabout way. I'm not sure if this is some kind of violation of the act I mentioned. The text of it that I think is relevant says this; "(1) Except for those deductions required or expressly permitted by law or by a collective bargaining agreement, an employer shall not deduct from the wages of an employee, directly or indirectly, any amount including an employee contribution to a separate segregated fund established by a corporation or labor organization under section 55 of the Michigan campaign finance act, Act No. 388 of the Public Acts of 1976, being section 169.255 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, without the full, free, and written consent of the employee, obtained without intimidation or fear of discharge for refusal to permit the deduction." I'm hung up on the wording "directly or indirectly." Does this count as "indirectly" garnishing my wages? I'm going to pay it regardless, but I still wanted to talk with my universities career services if there was an issue here. Not to mention theres a big issue with him breaking the libraries strict confidentiality rules by telling me her fines, but that's not a legal issue really. So is this something worth bringing up? Or is it okay to deny me employment for not paying a fine on payday? Also, that same act says if I was to be forced into paying something, I'd have to agree in writing with one pay period before. I'm paid every other week and just found out about this today so that's not the case. Nothing was given to me in writing or anything at this point.
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Mar 29, 2011 22:43
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I have a silly legal question that I can't seem to find the answer for so I'm posting here. I'm in canada if this is at all important. My hobby is model trains, I'm a huge nerd. I'm also a cheap nerd who's sick of paying $50 for a tiny plastic building. What I'm planning on doing is getting some mold making supplies and basically mass-producing the basic bits for making modular buildings. This would be for personal use and probably giving to friends. This would be the model train version of making a mold and making my own lego instead of buying it at the store. Would I be breaking any sort of law doing this? Would I be making some sort of bootleg/knockoff product? What if I sold these to a wider circle of friends for cost? (ie they're paying for the casting chemicals and labour, not the design).
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Mar 30, 2011 00:27
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Baronjutter posted:I have a silly legal question that I can't seem to find the answer for so I'm posting here. It sounds like you're going to be literally copying someone's product exactly. Is that correct?
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Mar 30, 2011 00:36
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Loopyface posted:It sounds like you're going to be literally copying someone's product exactly. Is that correct? Yep, basically taking a model kit, taking the basic walls off the spru and making duplicates. I'm sure this is probably legal to do just for my own personal use, but what about giving to friends? It would be obviously made out of a different material and be of a slightly lesser quality. Imaging taking a casting of a GI-Joe figure, making copies as a one-piece blob of plastic without any colour or accessories and giving them to friends to use for what ever the gently caress.
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Mar 30, 2011 00:57
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forget it
oral tradition fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Apr 5, 2011 |
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Mar 30, 2011 03:39
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builds character posted:Do you have a copy of the letter? They might argue the twelve month term being a twelve month membership. Response to that is it's just the length at which they've agreed to the price and other terms of the contract trip report: spoke to a rep, and basically they were going to argue a bunch of dumb poo poo regarding the term of the contract that I don't feel like spending time on even if I would win, but in the end of the day they got $100 out of me to settle the $850 claimed debt and I guess I just paid the nuisance tax.
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Mar 30, 2011 03:46
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:trip report: spoke to a rep, and basically they were going to argue a bunch of dumb poo poo regarding the term of the contract that I don't feel like spending time on even if I would win, but in the end of the day they got $100 out of me to settle the $850 claimed debt and I guess I just paid the nuisance tax. That's exactly why they do what they do, I hope you see.
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Mar 30, 2011 03:51
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A little over a month ago I walked outside to go to work and this is what I came upon... I've only now come to discover the truth of what happened to my car. Long story short, some 25 year old male who was borrowing someone else's car on a suspended license, ended up losing control of their SUV, hitting another car, and then bouncing off into the rear end of mine. This caused my car to fly into two others. I've just now gotten the full police report and the driver was issued a ticket, but not arrested (I assume that means it wasn't a DUI and was probably a ticket for reckless driving.) I've been to small claims court and filed a lawsuit for $7,200 ($3,500 for the total amount we paid for the car and the rest in personal inconvenience/ lost wages) I ended up filing two summons, one for the driver and another for the owner of the SUV. My insurance is still trying to contact the driver's insurance. The police issued a court date this month for the driver to appear in court in regards to the ticket issued. I'm worried about the summons being successfully delivered and I'm wondering if it would be possible to attend that court hearing and if I see him in person, serve him myself? Is this possible? Is it a bad idea? Could I contact the police and notify them that he will be at the trial and see if they can serve him there? Otherwise I'm relying solely on him and the owner (separate residences) answering the door when the sheriff department comes a-knockin' Also, when I talked to the police at the scene of the accident, they gave me the court date in which the driver will be judged. They said that since I wasn't a witness to it that there would be no point in me showing up. I want to do as much as possible to be reimbursed for this, but it seems like they have a good point. What would I even have to say?
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Mar 30, 2011 04:12
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dvgrhl posted:That's exactly why they do what they do, I hope you see. Of course. Like I said, nuisance tax.
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Mar 30, 2011 04:43
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Scat Cat posted:A little over a month ago I walked outside to go to work and this is what I came upon...
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Mar 30, 2011 05:29
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I'm always under the impression that proper service is a jurisdiction-specific issue.
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Mar 30, 2011 06:24
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:Of course. Like I said, nuisance tax. I sure hope you did it properly. By agreeing to give them any money, you have basically admitted that the debt is yours and, depending on what you do/don't sign and whether they want to, they could probably still come after you for the rest. Even if they don't come after you, if they just mark it as "settled" on your credit, that's still not very good. Check out this thread in BFC. Of course, it's too late for you now, but maybe someone else reading this will see.
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Mar 30, 2011 11:56
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Is there a free way to get a copy of my criminal record? I completed deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor drug offense back in 2005, and I need to see if I can get the arrest sealed as well, or if it even shows up. I'm in Texas, by the way.
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Mar 30, 2011 14:43
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Hey folks. I'm contesting another speeding ticket in California (because I'm an idiot and get caught in speed traps doing 5-8mph over when I've been driving for a week straight across the country). I know the drill from the last time I posted here on this subject: do a trial by written declaration, then appeal it when they reject it, both times hoping the citing officer fucks up or fails to do some paperwork or show up. My questions: First, on the Riverside court website, it says that by doing a Trial by Written Declaration, you have to waive your right to appear in court: http://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/traffic/contesting.shtml Is that just for the first court appearance, or for all subsequent appeals? As in, if they reject my Written Declaration, can I still appeal that rejection and get a court trial? Second question: how do they, or do they at all, notify you that they've rejected your written appeal? The one time I submitted a Trial by Written Declaration before, I never got any notice back about their decision, and I very much want my second chance at appealing this one since I don't really have any money to pay this ticket. EDIT: also, any suggestions on how to go about this, and how to word my declaration would be helpful. I'm fairly confidant it doesn't matter how well I write it, they'll reject it. But the ticket was for going 80 in a 70 and while I know I wasn't going quite 80 I might have been going over 70: my car, being a piece of poo poo, starts to blow smoke out the rear end once you get over 78-80 or so, and it wasn't quite there yet. CaptainFuzychin fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Mar 30, 2011 |
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Mar 30, 2011 18:05
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Dramatika posted:Is there a free way to get a copy of my criminal record? I completed deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor drug offense back in 2005, and I need to see if I can get the arrest sealed as well, or if it even shows up. You can get your criminal record from DPS here, but a deferred adjudication doesn't automatically fall off your record. You may be eligible for an order of nondisclosure which will limit who can see your offense, but you'll have to file a petition for nondisclosure.
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Mar 31, 2011 01:47
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Dramatika posted:Is there a free way to get a copy of my criminal record? I completed deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor drug offense back in 2005, and I need to see if I can get the arrest sealed as well, or if it even shows up. Keep in mind that if you are applying for any kind of government law enforcement position or government security clearance, they will dig it up no matter what the local court says. Getting a record 'sealed' 'expunged' or whatever else means nothing in those instances.
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Mar 31, 2011 06:11
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Konstantin posted:Keep in mind that if you are applying for any kind of government law enforcement position or government security clearance, they will dig it up no matter what the local court says. Getting a record 'sealed' 'expunged' or whatever else means nothing in those instances. I just want to get back into college  I'm also not too certain about my job security right now, and I'm sure it'll be easier to get a new job without even a completed deferred adjudication on my record. edit - I looked it up and apparently it was changed to a guilty plea because I messed up community service. gently caress. Any chance of getting this expunged or sealed or anything? Dramatika fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Mar 31, 2011 |
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Mar 31, 2011 15:18
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I have a question about recording telephone conversations, particularly with customer service representatives. I understand one-party vs. two-party states. For the sake of this argument, let's assume that both parties are in two-party states (that should be the most strict, right?). If I call a company and get the typical "This call may be recorded for quality and training purposes", I know that me staying on the phone constitutes my giving consent for them to record it. However, can I then record the call as well, or do I need to first ask for consent from the rep who takes my call? I guess the question is, do they just need to know if they are being recorded by someone (which the company has told them is possible on any call), or do they also need to know every party that is recording?
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Mar 31, 2011 15:48
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Hillridge posted:I have a question about recording telephone conversations, particularly with customer service representatives. I understand one-party vs. two-party states. For the sake of this argument, let's assume that both parties are in two-party states (that should be the most strict, right?). Back when I did quality for a customer care reps at an outsourcer in a 1 party state, they were still all instructed to disconnect the call should someone call in and state their intentions to record the call. I can't speak to the legality of that, however, as I always thought it was a bid of a weird use case to make everyone aware of I've asked whenever I go to a new company and all of the companies I've worked for now have had some similar policy in place.
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Mar 31, 2011 16:12
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Yeah, I assumed this was the case, which was why I wondered if it were still legal for me to record without announcing it, provided that they had already stated the call was going to be recorded for their purposes.
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Mar 31, 2011 16:43
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I was convicted of a felony PWID and sentenced to 2-23 months. I finished my two months as weekends (30 two day weekends) in the end of January. I've been home for over 2 months now and the probation/parole office never contacted me. In the begning of march I started calling them every week to see if everything was cool, the clerk just told me they hadn't received any paperwork for me from... I forget, some other office I think? and to try calling back later. One week she double checked my mailing and phone, but said I wasn't assigned to an officer yet. Now, I just figured since I was sentenced to 2-23 I was going to have parole after the 2 months, was I wrong? am I actually just done at this point? I am in PA I guess the simplified version of my post; if I was sentenced with a min-max sentence, served the min, do I automatically get parole for the remainder? I don't remember my judge or attorney saying anything about parole.
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Mar 31, 2011 19:59
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My girlfriend has been the victim of sexual harassment on a daily basis. This includes: -On the day after her boss's birthday he asked if she had sex on his birthday -He gives her the middle finger on a frequent basis -Touches jewelry on her neck (this happened today, he grabbed a pendant that was on her breasts) -Has on occasion called her a bitch in a 'haha, I'm cool because I can call the women I work with a bitch, lol" way -Constantly looks down her shirt -Invited his staff (all female) to a local "burlesque" show with nudity and sexually explicit material (dildos, etc) -Made other inappropriate sexual comments "know what I'D like to do you to?" -Other things, too numerous to cite She has expressed her discomfort from time to time, but not directly because she's afraid to put her employment in jeopardy. Her job is our only source of income right now, and because of the way she is employed, unemployment benefits would be difficult to work out (she is technically employed through an employment agency). She is going to talk to another employee tomorrow who has expressed similar discomfort related to the boss (who was recently "fired" by having all of her hours cut). My question then is what can be done here? Does she have a leg to stand on in court for a sexual harassment case? She's applying to other jobs, but I feel like this guy is going to keep doing this kind of poo poo to all the women he employs if we don't do anything. With all these details I'm hesitant to say what jurisdiction we're in, but we're in Michigan. Dolphin fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Apr 2, 2011 |
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Apr 1, 2011 23:59
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BOOTY PIRATE posted:I was convicted of a felony PWID and sentenced to 2-23 months. I finished my two months as weekends (30 two day weekends) in the end of January. I've been home for over 2 months now and the probation/parole office never contacted me. In the begning of march I started calling them every week to see if everything was cool, the clerk just told me they hadn't received any paperwork for me from... I forget, some other office I think? and to try calling back later. One week she double checked my mailing and phone, but said I wasn't assigned to an officer yet. Ask your attorney. If you have any more contact with the parole office, I suggest doing it in writing, specifically asking for exact clarification of any parole responsibilities you have. That way, if they ignore you and you get picked up later on parole violations, you have at least a pretty drat good mitigator if not a full defense. Dolphin posted:Sexual Harassment Document stuff and/or record stuff and/or get written statements from witnesses. Talk to the HR department and/or union if she has them, otherwise find an attorney who will take the case on contingency. Trust me, you don't often win employment discrimination lawsuits unless you have an attorney.
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Apr 2, 2011 00:27
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BigHead posted:Talk to the HR department and/or union if she has them, otherwise find an attorney who will take the case on contingency. Just keep in mind, the HR department is not on her side. Their job is to make problems for the company go away. There's a very good chance that her interests will line up with theirs, but if they don't feel the same way then they will gently caress her over without hesitation.
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Apr 2, 2011 20:47
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Edit: FTGE
KidDynamite fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Apr 10, 2011 |
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Apr 2, 2011 21:01
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KidDynamite posted:Does anyone know of a good criminal defense attorney in Hudson County NJ for aggravated assault? This poo poo just ruined my day. Also what could happen to me? IANAL - but you should look up the statute which is very complex in NJ and depending on your specific circumstances and the sentencing rules used in NJ courts would give you an estimate of what you are facing jail-time wise. It depends on if you actually hurt someone, what the circumstances are, who they are, whether there are any mitigating factors (self defense, consensual fighting, etc.) A lawyer would be able to parse the details down and pretty much give you a good idea of what you are facing. The police charges may already spell that out - but there are varying degrees you could have been charged with.
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Apr 2, 2011 21:36
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Edit: FTGE
KidDynamite fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Apr 10, 2011 |
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Apr 2, 2011 22:13
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This is a question about rental/tenant law in Massachusetts. We just moved into an apartment in an owner-occupied building. We have been here about a month. Everything started out great, but our landlord seems to have taken issue with one of our roommates. She claims that our roommate is stalking and harassing her - specifically walking around above her (we live in the top floor unit) and watching her. She claims that she is using 'witchcraft' to do this. I should mention that she seems to be happy with the rest of us, she's always friendly to me. Obviously we were pretty much totally baffled by this, to the point we weren't sure how to address it. We've assured her that we want to be good tenants and good neighbors, that no one is trying to harass her, and to please let us know if we are being too loud doing something specific that is unacceptable. This evening she left a rambling voicemail with our roommate, saying that if she doesn't stop she 'cannot have you here any more'. She asked to speak with us all tomorrow night about these 'issues'. At this point I am not really sure what to do. I am planning to try and stall her on this meeting until after Monday, so that we can call local numbers for tenants rights and landlord-tenant mediation. I guess I specifically I have the following questions: 1) I can't imagine that there are any grounds for her to actually evict us. If she tries, how hard is it for us to fight it? If she goes and tells the sheriff that we're using witchcraft to follow her, is it just going to get laughed out or are we going to have to potentially go to court and explain we aren't witches? 2) Do we have any recourse if she keeps calling us and knocking on the door about this sort of thing? We're already feeling kind of uncomfortable at this point. Would we potentially be able to break the lease on the basis of harassment? 3) If she creates a hostile environment for us that forces us to move, would we have any claim against her? Moving was a huge pain in the rear end, and if we're forced to go through the time and expense of moving again, I would like to be able to make her pay for the costs. I would also appreciate any advice or thoughts on stuff that I might not have considered. All of us are keeping track of our encounters and emailing them to each other so we have a record of what has happened.
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Apr 3, 2011 00:19
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