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Murmur Twin posted:Do I have any recourse here? Other than picking unstable roommates and failing to get basic-seeming things in writing, I feel like I'm getting totally screwed in this whole thing. IANAL at all, but it seems pretty obvious to me your initial plan was a no-go. Assuming the apartment is in order, she owes you all your security deposits back; she can't just arbitrarily take his money for other purposes because you're having a disagreement. Unrelated, but you painted over chalk? Like, the dusty powdery stuff kids use to draw on sidewalks? (Just confirming because that seems like a strange thing to color your walls with.) I hope you scrubbed that poo poo off the walls before repainting or there's a decent chance you've hosed some future tenant who is going find paint flaking off left and right.
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Apr 9, 2012 21:25
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DuckConference posted:Threatening to kill someone is a crime. I'm no lawyer, but she should probably avoid committing criminal acts against her husband. Haha. I know it's a crime to kill someone (and as redneck as she is, I think SHE might even know), but I think it's more like an enraged, "I swear if I saw her I'd strangle her!" kind of thing, where she is so angry she just doesn't know how to express it. I was just worried that they might somehow get her texts and show them in court and she'd get in trouble for making terrorist threats or something. I don't know. She has become unhinged and I'm trying to help her not go completely overboard. (Oh, and before anyone asks, no, I'm not trying to hook up with this woman. I'm just trying to help her as her friend. Just a 180 pound muscular, handsome friend (me), helping a 300 pound, un-muscular friend. . . .. if you know what I mean) 
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Apr 9, 2012 21:42
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peepoogenderparts posted:Wow this is a big thread. peepoogenderparts posted:Second, the lawyer told her that, even though her husband admitted to cheating (with multiple people), and everyone besides her knew about it (even her daughter), that she would need more than that in court. peepoogenderparts posted:And finally, being a spurned and angry woman, she repeatedly gets on the phone or texts her husband or the woman and says that they are going to get theirs, and that if she ever got hold of this woman, she was going to kill her. Even from a logical standpoint, this is not helping matters, but if the divorce got ugly (uglier than it already is) can they somehow use those threats against her? peepoogenderparts posted:Any advice would be helpful. I went through a divorce two years ago, but it was literally the most civil divorce in the history of divorces. We filled out the papers together and everything. This situation is like the complete opposite of mine, and I really have no idea what to tell her. Even "wait and talk to your lawyer" doesn't seem like good advice if she ends up following her usual routine of going to a shyster and getting screwed. http://www.lawv.net/legalassistance how-to legal background
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Apr 9, 2012 22:23
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Peepoopepeoepoopoopants: Just to add to what joat mon said, though I'm in VA not WV: A period of separation is often required to get a no-fault divorce. It's 6 months in VA. Even in cases of adultery, people typically do no-fault anyway. Unless there's some big property to fight over, there's no practical difference other than fault-based divorce costing a lot more. Proof of adultery is tough. Her husband would of course say he never admitted it, so it's her word against his. It can be strangely tricky to prove something that everyone "knows". But again, unless they have property worth fighting over, it doesn't matter. SHE SHOULD STOP MAKING THREATS. Tell her to assume that every word she says, texts, whatever, will be played back in open court in front of a judge (because that could happen). If he's the bad guy, but the only evidence in court is her being a nutbag, then she's going to look like the bad guy. Not to mention that he can get criminal restraining orders against her, etc. She should only say things to him that'd she be comfortable hearing played before a judge. (My guess is that an el-cheapo divorce attorney is OK for her, as long as there is no property worth a fight.)
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Apr 9, 2012 22:56
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Choadmaster posted:IANAL at all, but it seems pretty obvious to me your initial plan was a no-go. Assuming the apartment is in order, she owes you all your security deposits back; she can't just arbitrarily take his money for other purposes because you're having a disagreement. That's kind of my thinking. We paid the first/last/security in one big check, not with a "25%" clause. Everyone that signed the lease paid it, and everyone still left on the lease gets it back - if Andy chose to leave the lease and forgoe his claim to it, tough poo poo to him. I just wanted to see if that argument holds water before I talk to the landlord tomorrow. quote:Unrelated, but you painted over chalk? Like, the dusty powdery stuff kids use to draw on sidewalks? (Just confirming because that seems like a strange thing to color your walls with.) I hope you scrubbed that poo poo off the walls before repainting or there's a decent chance you've hosed some future tenant who is going find paint flaking off left and right. Yup! Kara used to be a professional housecleaner and seemed convinced that she knew her poo poo when removing it. We did a bleach spray/wash with hot water sponges, followed by a full scrubbing with Magic Erasers (these kick rear end) to the point where we used up 8 or so of them, followed by a first coat of paint, followed by a second coat 2 days later. The walls look great - if she hadn't done a walkthrough in March I'm 100% positive it would be impossible to tell chalk had been there. We definitely would have preferred to paint the walls and just paint them back to white when we left, but the landlord was against that.
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Apr 9, 2012 23:29
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Sounds like you knew what you were doing with the paint!Murmur Twin posted:That's kind of my thinking. We paid the first/last/security in one big check, not with a "25%" clause. Everyone that signed the lease paid it, and everyone still left on the lease gets it back - if Andy chose to leave the lease and forgoe his claim to it, tough poo poo to him. I just wanted to see if that argument holds water before I talk to the landlord tomorrow. Is he actually off the lease? How so? If he and the landlord already agreed to release him from the lease I would think they'd have covered the security deposit issue at that time. If you're thinking he "left" the lease just because he decided to move out of the apartment, I (who am still not a lawyer) don't think that'll hold water at all (unless there's some clause in the lease specific to this).
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Apr 9, 2012 23:49
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Okay, I get it. So the separation just makes it easier all around? It was just weird to me that he was all, "Don't get a divorce right now." I will tell her again about the threats. I doubt she will listen. She is pretty excitable. I've told her she needs to not do this stuff at work, but she's not above calling her husband or his mistress and screaming at them. So I don't know if she will listen to me about the threats. Thanks everyone!
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Apr 9, 2012 23:55
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Choadmaster posted:Is he actually off the lease? How so? If he and the landlord already agreed to release him from the lease I would think they'd have covered the security deposit issue at that time. If you're thinking he "left" the lease just because he decided to move out of the apartment, I (who am still not a lawyer) don't think that'll hold water at all (unless there's some clause in the lease specific to this). You're not a lawyer, but your answer gave me the angle that I needed to properly frame our argument! Either we're treated as individuals (not getting his share of the security deposit) in which case I don't feel we can be held accountable for his rent, or we're treated as a unit in which case we should get the full 100% of the security deposit (which we would then apply to his rent). Either way we should come out even, which is all I want. Unless any lawyers want to point out if that's flawed?
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Apr 10, 2012 00:00
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Removed because apparently it wasn't a good idea.
Arianna Moon fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 00:54
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Arianna Moon posted:Stuff for a lawyer. We can't give you peace of mind. Sadly, you need to speak to your public defender. The laws may be weird in your jurisdiction, and there may have been other crimes you've been charged with. Is it likely? I have no idea. Probably not, but I have literally no way to know and am speaking straight out of my rear end. Plus I'm not a lawyer. Moreover, I am not your lawyer. You need to speak to your lawyer. Generally speaking, if they collected evidence according to legal procedure, and crossed their t's and dotted their i's, even if they aren't charging you with the originally contemplated offense, that evidence is probably admissible should they choose to charge you with a separate offense (even an unrelated one, like drug possession or manufacturing or whatever). Arcturas fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 01:52
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Arianna Moon posted:Any advice would be appreciated. If the tampering charge was viable before the autosy came back, it's still viable now.
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Apr 10, 2012 01:57
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Arianna Moon posted:help would be appreciated. I prosecute criminals for a living. You need to shut the gently caress up on the internet and speak to your lawyer. Christ.
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Apr 10, 2012 07:28
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BigHead posted:I prosecute criminals for a living. You need to shut the gently caress up on the internet and speak to your lawyer. Christ. I'd add that you should have shut the gently caress up from the get. When you're clearly the main suspect, even if perfectly innocent, you shut up and get a lawyer. This is how wrongful convictions happen. Sounds like you might have been pretty lucky the autopsy came back the way it did. Autopsies aren't exactly reliable in this country. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/post-mortem/second-chances/ nm fucked around with this message at 07:41 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 07:38
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Arcturas posted:We can't give you peace of mind. Sadly, you need to speak to your public defender. The laws may be weird in your jurisdiction, and there may have been other crimes you've been charged with. Is it likely? I have no idea. Probably not, but I have literally no way to know and am speaking straight out of my rear end. Plus I'm not a lawyer. Moreover, I am not your lawyer. You need to speak to your lawyer. You should edit your post to remove the quote. What a colossal idiot though. She even links to stuff she writes and self publishes under presumably a pen name in her profile that probably has her real name on the profile Lord Gaga fucked around with this message at 12:50 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 12:47
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Lord Gaga posted:You should edit your post to remove the quote. Thank jesus that she isn't too worried about jail or sad about her friend dying that she stopped working on "My Masters Big Black Cock" released today! Some people have the most interesting lives I swear. Hey Arianna Moon your profile has exactly where you live in it by the by so you should probably take that out. Oh for gods sake. Hey Moon go and edit out your first post on SA that has your actual name and where you live in it you moron. Queen Elizatits fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 18:26
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Lord Gaga posted:You should edit your post to remove the quote. Whoops, sorry. Thanks.
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Apr 10, 2012 18:30
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How legal is it for craigslist ads to state a race/age/gender/sexuality preference? I see it a lot on housing/job ads and its a bit odd.
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Apr 11, 2012 02:17
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az jan jananam posted:How legal is it for craigslist ads to state a race/age/gender/sexuality preference? I see it a lot on housing/job ads and its a bit odd. Depends how legal it is to apply those same criteria to looking for someone to fill the position. For instance, while I have not reviewed employment law anytime recently, it is probably not okay to look exclusively for white people when hiring, or exclusively for women. My hunch is that the same would apply to a craigslist posting looking for a worker. Similarly, if race is a protected class for housing in your area (presumably through a state or municipality level regulation), it would be inadvisable to say that you're discriminating on those grounds in your craigslist ad. That said, people probably do it all the time.
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Apr 11, 2012 03:23
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For housing ads, it's a little more complicated than just whether it's a protected class - it also depends on who's posting the ad, and in certain circumstances sex preferences are treated differently from other preferences. However, while it may not be legal to advertise a preference, it is legal to have a preference, at least in some circumstances (except when it comes to race, under HUD's interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866). All that said: it probably isn't going to be enforced against a random person renting out a room.
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Apr 11, 2012 03:52
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So I am going to be talking to a lawyer about a potential lawsuit I may be filing in the near future, but I figured I'd just ask real quick in here so I can get poo poo rolling. Without going into massive amounts of detail, I live in Oregon, the offender lives in California, he ripped me off over the internet, and now I want to sue him. I have all the evidence I need to prove beyond a doubt they are in error and owe me the money, but I am not sure which county/state I need to file the lawsuit in. I have gotten an unsure response of "I think you can do either one," but I'd like to know for sure. Obviously I'd prefer to file here in Oregon to force the fucker to fly up here for court, but I want to be sure. Also: Since state laws vary, do any of you know if California has a loser pays law (if I have to go down there)? If so, would he be liable for airfare in order for me to attend court (I'm in the Portland area, they are in L.A.)? Thanks. P.S. I'll probably be hitting this thread up more after I talk to the lawyer cause I can't afford to actually hire one.
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Apr 11, 2012 05:45
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If the amount falls under California's Small Claim's limit, our system is actually pretty awesome and lay person friendly. Lawyers are banned.
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Apr 11, 2012 06:46
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USMC503 posted:So I am going to be talking to a lawyer about a potential lawsuit I may be filing in the near future, but I figured I'd just ask real quick in here so I can get poo poo rolling. Not a California or Oregon lawyer, definitely not YOUR lawyer, but you generally can't go wrong if you file where the defendant resides. If you want to sue him in Oregon, you're going to have to be sure that Oregon courts can exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant. This is usually accomplished through a device called a "long-arm" statute and there is no way I or anyone else on the internet can give you advice as to whether any of the defendant's conduct would allow you to sue him in Oregon. As to loser-pays, the only state in the union that I know of with a true loser-pays rule is Alaska. Most states will allow the prevailing party to recover reasonable costs associated with the litigation, but this is usually small-potatoes type stuff, like the filing fee, copying costs, witness fees, etc.
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Apr 11, 2012 14:01
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A friend of mine has a situation (this is in Rhode Island). His grandmother re-married around a decade ago and her spouse recently died of terminal illness. The family believed that the house was left to my friend's grandmother. Turns out that a short time before his death, his will was changed leaving everything to her husband's children (first marriage). Additionally, the deed to his house was transferred to the surviving children as well, recorded the day after he passed. Does my friend's grandmother have any recourse? She's really low on funds (there weren't a lot of assets aside from the house) and can't afford to fight a potentially losing battle. She's afraid that she's going to be forced to leave the house since it is now the property of his children. Thanks!
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Apr 11, 2012 18:35
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Victory Yodel posted:A friend of mine has a situation (this is in Rhode Island). General Laws of Rhode Island section 33-25-2 posted:Life estate to spouse Grandma needs an attorney. Has she checked with the kids to see if they're going to kick her out? If they're willing to let her stay, she should probably consult with an attorney anyway, but she won't have to pay lots of money to the attorney to prosecute an action the kids are already OK with.
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Apr 11, 2012 20:11
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King of the Cows posted:Not a California or Oregon lawyer, definitely not YOUR lawyer, but you generally can't go wrong if you file where the defendant resides. If you want to sue him in Oregon, you're going to have to be sure that Oregon courts can exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant. This is usually accomplished through a device called a "long-arm" statute and there is no way I or anyone else on the internet can give you advice as to whether any of the defendant's conduct would allow you to sue him in Oregon. Looked into the Long-arm Statute, and we do have one and I do believe it would apply in this case, though I am going to verify with my lawyer because legalese is quite cryptic at times. Another question I had is how subpoenas work in a civil case. The dude who ripped me off, while I have evidence to prove wrongdoing, the dude is hiding behind an internet business and is renting a private PO Box (not USPS) in California, and seems to be paying an office building to use their address as a business location without actually having an office there. I am hopeful I will be able to get information from these places without too much issue, but if it comes down to it, how does one get a subpoena for information on someone renting a place/service? The only roadblock I have in this whole thing is the dude's anonymity.
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Apr 11, 2012 20:41
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So I just found out my lawyer died 2 days ago. My first superior court appearance is this Monday. What is likely to happen and what do I need to do about this?
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Apr 11, 2012 20:41
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2SiBi posted:So I just found out my lawyer died 2 days ago. My first superior court appearance is this Monday. What is likely to happen and what do I need to do about this? Get a new lawyer immediately, have him bust his rear end to ask for a continuance.
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Apr 11, 2012 20:44
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If you can't find a lawyer by then, you still need to show up obviously, and requesting a continuance in person to find a lawyer would be a good idea. I'd still try to find a lawyer before then.
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Apr 11, 2012 21:05
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USMC503 posted:Looked into the Long-arm Statute, and we do have one and I do believe it would apply in this case, though I am going to verify with my lawyer because legalese is quite cryptic at times. Yes, you need to go over the long-arm statute with your lawyer because, even though state statutes may be similar, the courts' interpretation of what constitutes doing business in the state can vary depending on the circumstances. Service of subpoenas is also fairly state-specific and states have different laws about honoring foreign (i.e., out of state) subpoenas. If California has adopted the Uniform Foreign Depositions Act or something like it, serving an Oregon subpoena on a California non-party would be pretty straightforward (although enforcement in the event of noncompliance may still require you to hire a California attorney). Some states, however, will require you to jump through a bunch of hoops in order to serve a vaild subpoena. Your attorney should be able to help you with this, too.
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Apr 11, 2012 21:48
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King of the Cows posted:Yes, you need to go over the long-arm statute with your lawyer because, even though state statutes may be similar, the courts' interpretation of what constitutes doing business in the state can vary depending on the circumstances. A quick google search indicates California is a signatory of UIDDA, so this shouldnt be an issue! Thank you very much.
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Apr 11, 2012 21:58
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CaptainScraps posted:Get a new lawyer immediately, have him bust his rear end to ask for a continuance. If you can't in the time needed, go to court and say your lawyer died. If my lawyer died isn't good cause, nothing is. Ask for a continuance to hire new counsel.
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Apr 11, 2012 22:31
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nm posted:This. And if your lawyer was local, the judge will likely grant you a continuance because he or she knows that lawyer died.
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Apr 11, 2012 22:59
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The house question made me think of this: House is owned by step dad who is getting older. The will isn't public, but step dad says mom gets to live in the house for as long as she wishes, after which it will be sold and the proceeds divided between the kids of the first marriage. There has been bad blood between mom and these kids going back a long time. So this situation seems like a massive probate battle waiting to happen. Is there any way for mom to protect herself? Hate to get all csi, but what happens if something mom dies mysteriously?
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Apr 11, 2012 23:35
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There's a standard legal thing called a "life estate" which is what you describe. Your mom has all rights to the house until she kicks the bucket, then the rights revert to other people. If step-dad setup his will correctly, then that setup will stick and no one can dispute it. If mom dies mysteriously, then the evil murdering kids still get the house.
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Apr 12, 2012 01:17
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Ron Jeremy posted:The house question made me think of this: What state is she in? If she dies, she won't be able to stay in the house, no matter which state.  e: beaten. Kept that window open a little too long... Most states don't make it as easy to disinherit a spouse as RI does.
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Apr 12, 2012 01:30
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Hey, I just found out (like, today) that my roommate and I have a serious problem. Not with each other, with the management company. Basically, here's how this happened: Both of us are grad students here in Florida. We got this apartment in September. A 6-month lease was too short, because we needed to be here until at least the end of April, but we were pretty sure we wouldn't be around all summer and that a 12-month lease would be too long. We were also told that we couldn't sublet. However, the manager told us that we had the option to give 2 months advanced notice, pay 2 months rent in advance, and end our lease early if we indeed needed to leave town in May for our summer work. In February, it became apparent that we needed to move out at or near the beginning of May, since our grad program doesn't include a summer stipend, she got funded to go to Athens over the summer, and I got a summer teaching job elsewhere that pays better. We went to talk to the manager and...it turns out that 1) the company that owned our complex has since sold it to a new company, and 2) the lease as written, contrary to how it was explained to us, ACTUALLY says that we need to pay a 2-month PENALTY in ADDITION to our regular rent. This is not something either of us can afford. Eventually we get to talk to the regional manager of the new realty company. He is sympathetic, and says that even though he is constrained by the letter of the lease agreement, he is willing to make it easy for us and thinks they can re-rent our apartment, and he will advertise it for May and let us off the hook if we pay through May, if that's what we want to do. Phew, thank god we got that settled. I gave him a call at the end of March--he wasn't there, but I left a message, and he'd been good about getting back to me in time. Now that that's over I can concentrate on my term papers and grading my students. Then we just found out that the reason we haven't heard back from the regional manager is that he is no longer the regional manager. The manager on site won't let us move out in May, unless we pay the penalty fee RIGHT NOW. They (the company) also say it will be complicated for us to get someone to simply take over our lease--we'll have to sign a "roommate release," whatever that is (they did not offer to explain it). What recourse do we have? What can we do? Neither of us has enough money to drop an extra $770 on this, nor do we have money for a lawyer, nor do we have TIME to deal with this because of our workload and the fact that we need to be gone in a month. We were explicitly told things by people who have since vanished without leaving any paperwork saying what they told us, and it looks like we're screwed. Help me goons.
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Apr 12, 2012 05:13
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Apollodorus posted:Hey, I just found out (like, today) that my roommate and I have a serious problem. Not with each other, with the management company. How much money do you/your roommate make per month? This is the kind of thing legal aid does, and if you're on a constrained income you might qualify. Here's a website that may help: http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/840090c16eedaf0085256b61000928dc/a949d517a480a5a685256b2f006c5c77?OpenDocument
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Apr 12, 2012 07:25
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USMC503 posted:Another question I had is how subpoenas work in a civil case. The dude who ripped me off, while I have evidence to prove wrongdoing, the dude is hiding behind an internet business and is renting a private PO Box (not USPS) in California, and seems to be paying an office building to use their address as a business location without actually having an office there. I am hopeful I will be able to get information from these places without too much issue, but if it comes down to it, how does one get a subpoena for information on someone renting a place/service? The only roadblock I have in this whole thing is the dude's anonymity. (IANAL!) If you're just trying to get the guy's info so you can serve him directly, here's some good news: In California you can serve a private mailbox (not actual PO boxes though, I assume because they're owned by the federal government). Meaning you don't have to track him down, you can just send service to the mailbox; anyone renting a private mailbox in CA is required by law to sign an agreement allowing the operators of the mailbox to accept service on their behalf. This keeps people from being able to hide behind an anonymous mailbox (and even closing the mailbox doesn't help - the agreement applies for a full two years after you've stopped renting that mailbox). Some infos here.
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Apr 12, 2012 08:37
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Choadmaster posted:(IANAL!) If you're just trying to get the guy's info so you can serve him directly, here's some good news: In California you can serve a private mailbox (not actual PO boxes though, I assume because they're owned by the federal government). Meaning you don't have to track him down, you can just send service to the mailbox; anyone renting a private mailbox in CA is required by law to sign an agreement allowing the operators of the mailbox to accept service on their behalf. This keeps people from being able to hide behind an anonymous mailbox (and even closing the mailbox doesn't help - the agreement applies for a full two years after you've stopped renting that mailbox). Some infos here. Hell yes. This is awesome. This will save me so much time and effort.
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Apr 12, 2012 16:27
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Apollodorus: This is not legal advice. I am speculating on a hypothetical while probably drunk... With that said, let's say you vanish from the apartment in May without a forwarding address. The management company will want to come after you and sue you. Without serving you properly, they cannot obtain a judgment. What address of service will they have? The reality is that even if you moved to 5 minutes away they won't know where you are. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Legally, the lease is the lease, period. So legal recourse for you will be limited. woozle wuzzle fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 17:47
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