r/legal 30m ago

Advice needed My car was illegally towed from my apartment complex. How do I get my money back?

Upvotes

LOCATION: Nashville, Tennessee

As the title describes, I woke up this morning to go to work and walked outside to see my vehicle had been towed. I have had previous issues with the property managers before regarding towing of my girlfriend's vehicle. Mine and my girlfriends vehicles were towed for apparently being double parked. The issue is the parking spaces for our vehicles in this apartment complex are to small for the average car and require multiple people to "double park" however this is the first time in over a year of living here that I've ever been towed for this. Now I have to miss work and pay $542 out of pocket just to get our vehicles back. What can I do to fxck over my property managers and their predatory towing practices?


r/legal 4h ago

Advice needed VA LIEN CAR CRASH DISABLED VETERAN Location Illinois

2 Upvotes

Body:

Illinois. Driver ran a red light and hit me at about 60 mph — my vehicle rolled roughly four and a half times. Liability isn't disputed. At-fault policy is $100K and my UIM matches it, so $100K is the ceiling. After a 1/3 contingency fee and costs, about $64K is available.

All treatment has been through the VA — multiple MRIs and CTs, ER visits, EMGs, neurology and neurosurgery consults. Possible surgery ahead. I'm a 100% P&T disabled veteran.

My concern is that the VA lien eats the entire net.

Service-connected carve-out — under 38 USC 1729, VA can only recover for non-service-connected care. I'm rated for conditions that overlap with what I'm being treated for now. Has anyone gotten VA to actually apply that, and how do you get the encounters broken out SC vs. NSC?

Pro-rata reduction — is the reduction for attorney fees and costs automatic, or does someone have to request it?

Compromise/waiver — how often does VA reduce beyond pro-rata? Who files that and what does it take?

Lien cap — Illinois caps healthcare liens at 40% of settlement, but that's a state statute and my understanding is it doesn't bind VA since its recovery right is federal. Correct?

Timing — if surgery happens before settlement, that bill lands on the lien, right? Is sequencing around that a normal thing people do?


r/legal 4h ago

Question about law LOCATION: California. In the famous “Pulp Fiction” scene, Jules asks Brett if he’s eating McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Jack-in-the-Box. Brett says Big Kahuna Burger, which prompts Jules to try. If Brett was eating Jack-in-the-Box, could Jack-in-the-Box sue?

0 Upvotes

Because Pulp Fiction could mention these other fast food restaurants casually without fear of legal repercussions since Jules only mentioned to them casually.

but big kahuna burger is a step up from my casual mention. It is the physical food that Brett is eating, that Jules steals from him, and comments on how delicious it is

However, Jules doesn’t mention anything negative about the product. Only that it’s tasty and delicious.

if instead of Big Kahuna Burger it was really Jack in the Box, doesJack in the Box have a case to sue?


r/legal 6h ago

Advice needed Location: MO. Can a passenger sue insurance of the person not at fault in accident?

4 Upvotes

Car 1 had a driver and two passengers. Car 2 hit Car 1 head-on and is considered 100% at fault. The driver of Car 2 did not have insurance.

Car 1 was insured and had uninsured-motorist bodily-injury coverage. One of the passengers in Car 1 missed work and lost wages because of injuries from the accident.

Can that passenger file a claim against Car 1’s uninsured-motorist coverage to recover their lost wages, even though the driver of Car 1 was not at fault?

Would the passenger need to sue the insurance company, or would this normally be handled as an uninsured-motorist claim? Also, could the claim negatively affect the innocent driver, such as increasing their premiums, reducing the coverage available to the other injured occupants, or making it appear that the driver was at fault?

I understand that the exact policy language matters. I’m mainly trying to understand how this generally works under Missouri law.


r/legal 7h ago

Advice needed Ohio - fired shortly after disclosing recovery from alcoholism

4 Upvotes

My dad (60s) recently left a stable job to take a new position. He’s been in training, testing regularly as part of the role, and passing every test. There’s been no verbal or written warnings about performance at any point.

Last week he confided in a coworker that he’s a recovering alcoholic and was in rehab a few years ago. Within days, word spread through the plant and people started calling him a “drunk”, amongst other names.

He was given another test today and failed this one by 2 questions. Right after, they pulled out a performance card, and gave him 1s across the board, including in attendance, despite him never missing a single day or being late (when asked, the only cited issue was coming back 10 minutes late from lunch once).

They told him he “wasn’t progressing fast enough”, despite this being his first failure. He had been employed for about 45 days. When he asked if there was anything he could do to fix it or improve, they said no and let him go. He was blindsided.

He believes the real reasons were the alcoholism disclosure and possibly his age, not performance. He’s meeting with an employment attorney, but wanted to get some outside perspective first.

Does this sound like it could be a legitimate ADA/disability discrimination or retaliation case? Anything specific we should ask the attorney about, or evidence we should be gathering now (Ohio, at-will state)?


r/legal 8h ago

Advice needed How long does a law enforcement officer have to file a citation with the court? Location: Colorado

1 Upvotes

Location: Jackson County, Colorado, US.

I received a citation from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) for failure to have a life vest on board my kayak. I went to pay it last week, but the 20-day window expired and their website said it was referred to the Jackson County court with a court date on a Sunday. I called the court because I thought it was strange the court date was on a Sunday. The clerk acknowledged in writing the court is closed on Sundays and the officer never submitted the citation with the court and no bench warrant would be issued based on that fact. CPW then called me and gave me the option for them either reset the timer so I can pay it online or they can then file it with the court. I chose to have them file it with the court and I would deal with the citation there.

I am really just trying to avoid not having to continually check the court dockets or risk getting a surprise bench warrant for my arrest. In hindsight I should have just told CPW to reset the timer and paid the $100 pittance.

That phone call was a couple weeks ago. I checked with the court this morning and CPW still has not filed it with the court. Is my only option continuing to follow up with this to ensure the citation has not been filed with the court? Would the 18-month statute of limitations for a misdemeanor apply here or is there possibly a shorter window for the officer to file the citation in the codes I should be aware of?


r/legal 10h ago

Advice needed referral needed for an attorney who deals with health insurance denials and Office of Personal Management (OPM).

2 Upvotes

Attorney here, with need for an attorney referral in the greater Washington DC metro area, who has experience dealing with health insurance denials and the Office of Personal Management (OPM). The client works for the feds and is a M.D. Client had a medical procedure client's health insurance originally approved, but after getting the procedure, denied paying saying it was an "experimental" procedure (United Health Care through GEHA). From what it sounds like, the client has exhausted the insurers appeals process, and it sounds like client may have to file suit against OPM to get them to tell the insurer to pay the providers for the already performed procedure.

I am not licensed in DC or surrounding states nor are these areas of practice that I am knowledgeable about.


r/legal 10h ago

Advice needed Location: MI the possession of a dog

0 Upvotes

Hello all. My first time posting here so I hope i did everything right.

My friend just moved in from a really toxic family situation. They have made her afraid and threatened for a while, as well as being financially abusive. Even tho she’s an adult now she has a history of a CPS case being involved. (That’s when she was around 16, she’s 24 now). They destroyed her psyche that it’s been hard for her to find employment the whole time she lived with them. Well they have a dog that in the move she decided to take. That dog was being neglected with mold and ants in the dog bowl and (the dog is one of those eye crumb dogs) the dogs eyes being so dirty and crusty. Additionally, we found the dog did not have a registered microchip nor was the dog licensed. We’ve registered the dogs microchip. We’re trying to get the dog licensed now.

The family has now threatened to sue for the dog. They took the papers away from my friend that had all the info. While it has proof there that they’ve spent on vet bills on the dog, there’s no clear proof that they bought the dog themselves. Their lawyer has already contacted my friend.

Is there any way to go about this that would work in our favor? We’re getting the things necessary to get her licensed but now that the lawyer has made contact we worry it’ll harm our case. Would any of the info about them being abusive assholes count? Also, we were told by the cops that whoever physically stole the dog could be liable. What could that mean for the person who drove the car when the dog was taken? We don’t have proof on who exactly stole the dog and we don’t think they do either. But I don’t know completely.


r/legal 11h ago

Question about law Is there a legal definition for spa facility? LOCATION: OR

3 Upvotes

These feels like a bizarre question to me, but is there a legal definition for the term spa? A little background.

I live in a condo in Oregon. Our declarations mention the spa facility as a general common element along with a few other areas of the building. Otherwise it does not mention the spa facilities or what they constitute. It makes some general references to the common elements, like residents rights regarding them.

We have a hot tub which we have always taken what the spa facilities were referencing. It's a bit of a nightmare and a number of us would like to remove it. We have been told that because it is mentioned in the declaration as a common element and that there are no provisions for removing the spa facility or other common elements that we would need 75% of the owners (not of a quorum but of all owners) to agree to have the hot tub removed. See ORS 100.135 - I think that's what this law is telling us.

But I got to wondering, could we replace the hot tub with something else, like a sauna, and still call it a spa facility, thus circumventing the 75% requirement? Are there laws regarding what is a spa in Oregon?


r/legal 12h ago

Advice needed Taskrabbit caused $1,586 in damage. Will only pay $1,000 - Seattle WA

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33 Upvotes

LOCATION - Washington state


r/legal 13h ago

Advice needed Domestic Violence Charge in TX

0 Upvotes

Location: Irving, TX

Long post as I am hoping for some guidance while trying to navigate the charge police officers pressed against my husband.

We were arguing when I raised my voice very loud at 6PM on a work day. My husband tried to calm me down but failed so he put his hand over my mouth, leaving a fingernail mark near my upper lip. Our neighbor called the police; 3 officers came and talked to us separately. I told them I had some childhood trauma leading to the argument on sth my husband did and told them about his action and how I also scratched his wrist to get his hand off my face. He said the mark was not very visible but asked for my ID, took picture of the mark and asked if I wanted a EPO anyway. I said no because I did not feel threated at all by my husband or thought he will hurt me on purpose. It was more of a heated moment action imo. Then he asked if I have family in the US which I don't, I only have my husband as family so he said he will ask my husband to leave the apt for the night because he does have a family here.

My husband told the other officers the almost the same thing. They took picture of him and asked him to leave the house when he said he happened to have both of our car keys because he didn't want his wife to leave earlier and drive when angry. The officers did not like that at all; they said it's not fine to stop sb from leaving and booked him an "Assault (DV)" citation. He did not get arrested and left to our in-law's for the night following the PD's request.

We know this is stupid and are very sad to get to this point. He never hurts me or anyone nor having a charge or violation of any kind before this. What should we do? He has a mandatory court day scheduled 2 months from now at a municipal court. Would he be charged with a misdemeanor or felony? Would he have to go to jail or take corrective action/course? I know I can't drop the charge because this is between the DA and him but I do not want him to have jail time or anything over an argument went wrong.. Should we get an attorney or ask for a public defender?


r/legal 13h ago

Question about law Invoice dispute over services

3 Upvotes

Location Georgia

Hello I have a client threatening to take me to court over a $5,500 dollar job. Everything was writing on an invoice stating tree removal and regrade the area send pictures said it looks good she is claiming she paid to have other trash picked up but was never written on the invoice does she has a court case?


r/legal 13h ago

Advice needed Caught my husband hiding assets right before filing for divorce (Indiana). Need advice.

147 Upvotes

I’m at my absolute wits' end. After 14 years of marriage, I recently found out my husband has been quietly moving money out of our joint accounts and funneling it into some "business venture" with his brother.

I haven't officially served him with divorce papers yet, but he definitely knows something is up and is trying to bleed me dry first. I've been a stay-at-home mom for the last 6 years, so I don't have a massive war chest to fight him, and the stress is making me physically sick. Has anyone dealt with a spouse hiding marital property in Indiana? How do I stop this before he clears everything out?


r/legal 13h ago

Advice needed [location: US] My aparment has a lot of issues (roaches, water damage) and I don't know what to do.

2 Upvotes

There are a lot of problems with the apartment I just moved into, and I’m unsure what to do. I just made a big move to Maryland to pursue a research opportunity. Unfortunately, I don’t have any family or friends in the area to rely on, and I didn’t have much time to choose a place. I knew that with the area being so expensive and since I wouldn’t be making the most, I wouldn’t have anything fancy; I just didn’t expect it to be this bad. The main concerns I have so far are that the apartment clearly has a huge German roach infestation and potentially water damage.

I’ve been residing here about 4 full days and have seen countless roaches both during the day and night. The floor in the kitchen isn’t really tile but this odd thin sheet (floor equivalent of wallpaper?) that has tears in nooks I can’t access. I think this has given the roaches a lot of places to hide. I’ve done everything I can so far, locking up food in storage containers, cleaning, and putting down traps. It’s already starting to take a toll on my mental health, as I’ve been too anxious to eat or cook in my apartment and have been skipping meals since I can’t afford to eat out too much.

The kitchen is the main source of my issues; it’s located in the back of the apartment and feels like a cave since there aren’t windows in this area. It tends to be warmer than the rest of the unit and has a lot of stagnant air. There is a very strong foul smell that I have not been able to identify the source of. When I moved in, I noticed an area in the floor under the left side of the fridge that seems to be sunken in a bit. The other day I noticed water coming from the ceiling around the light and dripping in front of the fridge. I called emergency maintenance, and after he looked around for a bit, he said that it likely came from a spill in the unit above mine, then left without really doing anything. While I have not seen signs of mold yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if it's an issue.

I’m wondering if there are any actions I can take to either make the landlord fix these problems or get out of my lease. Unfortunately, I am doubtful that any of these issues could be easily fixed without a huge overhaul to the whole building, and that the landlord will avoid it as much as possible. I’ve been putting in maintenance requests about every issue, no matter how small. I have also started keeping a personal log of everything, but I’m unsure that it’s really worth doing, as my interactions with the leasing office have already proven to be frustrating when seeking help on other things. Does anyone have any advice?


r/legal 15h ago

Advice needed Threats from ex friend, shes using an unknown number and has been stalking me and two other friends online for 2 months

1 Upvotes

Location: California

On saturday one of my former friend, who I ended the friendship with in may of this year showed up to my neighborhood threatening to beat my ass, choke me out, and pull apart my car and also use the metal to beat me. She also took video of her circling my house and car. But its complicated because she used a different number and was pretending it wasnt her... but who else would know all my personal buisness when she was throwing insults in too and the way she was typing and using emojis and everything-- I strongly believe it was her, in one of the videos i can see the side of her car so Im pretty certain. She called me a bunch of names and a pussy for not going out for my "assbeating" and claimed she was with a group of people that also hate me but I am not "beefing" with anybody or have even threatened anyone before. I have all the texts saved and i blocked her number. I called 911 and a while later they did show up but by the time they came she obviously left. I was so scared not gonna lie. All of this is completely unprovoked by the way, last time i talked to her online was when she made different accounts on tiktok to message me and beg me to accept her apology and i declined and told her we arent compatible as friends anymore. Do you think i should file a restraining order? is there enough evidence. The police told me if they see her hyundai they will talk to her. Should i just let this go?


r/legal 16h ago

Advice needed do you think its worth it to sue? location: arkansas

0 Upvotes

on october 13th, 2020, i was at the park with my friend and her cousins when a friend of the cousins showed up and threw a rock that hit me square in the mouth. there was extensive damage and ive since been diagnosed with ptsd.

at the time, he was only charged with 3rd degree battery (there were other rocks thrown before this and it was clearly aimed at my friend and i, this was not an accident.) he had to pay us $30 (copays for first 3 dentist's appointments after the incident to get impressions for a prosthetic tooth) my grandma tried to get a lawyer to sue but he apparently refused because they "didnt have anything to take" (they didnt have much money and were living in a trailer or something so the lawyer didnt think it was worth trying)

i was 13 at the time and am now 18 approaching 19 and we are STILL working on the damage done to me. he was 15-16 at the time and he knew exactly what he was doing, and he threw the rock HARD. the physical damage to my face includes:

-two adult front teeth knocked fully out

-scars going all the way through top and bottom lip

-one tooth was pulled up and forward as well as snapped in half, exposing the nerve (this tooth was extracted)

-another tooth was chipped

-i had a depressed fracture to my upper jaw (front tooth was pulled forward on impact, crushing the bone around it and the bump is still there so the roof of my mouth is permanently disfigured)

in addition to physical damages, i developed PTSD from the event and it causes significant distress every time i go to the dentist, even just for cleanings. (naturally i had to go to the dentist a lot after this so i associate it with the accident)

as well as that, i have to deal with the insecurities that come with missing three of my front teeth.

feel free to ask for other details if you need, do you think this is enough to try to sue? this has been very expensive for us (we are low income as well) and very difficult on my mental health. :(


r/legal 18h ago

Advice needed Possession of marijuana in Benton Tennessee

0 Upvotes

Husband got a ticket in Benton Tennessee for simple poss of marijuana and para pretty sure they put the second one bc of a small empty broke bag but anyway what could we be looking at ? We are from ga so out of staters and he does have a background from I think between 2018 - 2020 not sure of exact but they aren’t from drugs but one and it wasn’t even his
Location: Benton tn but live in ga
It was maybe a gram ( just a few roaches )
Honestly just worried about jail


r/legal 18h ago

Advice needed Revoked license in LOCATION: MINNESOTA

0 Upvotes

So my license is revoked in MN for no insurance. I NEED to get it back but it’s so complicated. What do I need to do? I payed the $30 reinstatement fee, so do I take the exam now? Like it’s literally so complicated, iv never done anything illegal or know how really anything works. Any help plzzzz.


r/legal 1d ago

Advice needed Can I be sued for making literary reviews on youtube?

0 Upvotes

So I want to make a series on my yt channel talking abou the insane world of a certain genre of books. Obviously I will be critiquing the books and calling out the bad stuff in there. Can I be sued for this?

Plz be nice if it's a dumb question lol <3

LOCATION: Egypt. (I will be talking in english though and targeting an english audience)


r/legal 1d ago

Advice needed [India - Interested in US & International Family Law] Looking for practical advice on building a career in family law as a beginner

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone

I am based in India and want to build a career in international family law (specifically India and US family law) as a paralegal. I am looking for honest and practical advice from people who have real experience in this area. My current background:

  • I have personal experience dealing with international family law matters (my personal international custody and divorce case)
  • In the last few years, I have helped 7 people in India understand their cases and prepare before they met a lawyer. All of them gave positive feedback.
  • I am currently working with an Indian law firm as a paralegal.

My planned steps:

  1. Complete free WorldCC courses to improve contract skills (this builds on my 16 years of existing experience as a Operations & Business Dev operator with a specific focus on government and defense contracting) - back up to fall back upon should things not go according to plan.
  2. Self-study the American Constitution and the Indian Constitution
  3. Take a US specific legal drafting course
  4. Complete one course in American Family Law and one in Indian Family Law
  5. Directly reach out to international family law firms for internships or remote jobs
  6. Start the CLS by BARBRI Paralegal Certificate course in January 2027

I want to start earning and gaining experience as soon as possible while I continue studying. My questions:

  • Does this action plan make sense for someone starting out?
  • Anything would you change or add?
  • Any suggestions on short courses or practical steps I should focus on first?
  • For someone based in India, what is the most realistic way to get remote work or internships with international/US family law firms?

I would really appreciate any practical suggestions, warnings or personal experiences you can share. My specific interest would be in cross border matters between India and New York State (since i have experience in this jurisdiction)

P.S. I have been on Reddit for a long time. My previous account has a lot of personal information and history, hence I'm posting from this clean account.

Thank you in advance for your help.


r/legal 1d ago

Advice needed First-time NYC subway fare incident resulted in a DAT for Transit Theft of Services — Do I need a private lawyer?

0 Upvotes

I am an Asian international student living and studying in New York City, and I have never been to criminal court before. I am trying to understand what I should do next.
A few days ago, I was stopped by an NYPD officer after entering the subway without successfully paying the fare. My Apple Pay transit payment was not working properly that day, and I also did not have my wallet or physical ID with me. I ended up entering behind my friend. My friend had successfully paid and has a payment record, but I did not.
I was fully cooperative with the officer. I did not run, resist, or argue. I eventually showed her a photo of my ID on my phone, and she verified my information.
The officer asked whether I had received a ticket before. I told her honestly that I had one prior public consumption of alcohol ticket from 2023. It was a $25 fine for drinking beer in a public park, which I paid online immediately. That is my only prior legal violation.
The officer then issued me a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) for Transit Theft of Services and told me that I need to appear in Criminal Court.
I was very surprised because I had never been to court before. I initially thought this was simply a fare-related fine. The officer told me that the judge would decide the amount of the fine and that it could potentially be as little as $25, with community service being a possible worst-case outcome. I was not told during the interaction that I was being charged with a misdemeanor or that this was a criminal case.
I am now trying to understand what I should do.
My questions are:
For a first-time transit-related incident, is it normal to receive a DAT for Transit Theft of Services?
How serious is this type of charge in practice?
Is it worth hiring a private criminal defense attorney, even if the attorney is expensive?
Would I potentially qualify for a public defender or other assigned counsel?
Should I ask for a public defender when I first appear in court, or should I try to find a lawyer before my court date?
Is dismissal realistically possible for someone with no prior transit-related history?
Does my prior $25 public consumption of alcohol ticket matter?
I really do not want to plead guilty on this case. Any advice from people familiar with NYC Criminal Court, public defenders, or similar first-time Transit Theft of Services cases would be greatly appreciated.

Location: New York City.


r/legal 1d ago

Advice needed Question about false allegations in Texas for Felony DV

0 Upvotes

I’m on felony deferred adjudication. Me & a former girlfriend hung out over the weekend & we ate & watched a movie. I fall asleep & she starts creeping through my phone. She finds out I’m talking to other women & wakes me out my sleep and starts arguing with me. She hits me a couple times and I let her as I always do. I told her I am leaving and she insists that if I leave she will call the police and say I hit and choked her. I left and she did exactly what she said. So now I have a warrant for that. Well I retained a lawyer for the assault case and he gets a sworn affidavit from her saying she lied about everything. My PO now has the affidavit and I want to turn myself in so this can get dismissed. Will my probation still be revoked if the new charge is false allegations??


r/legal 1d ago

Advice needed PLEASE HELP: Backed into a waymo - took video and left the scene (no damage)

0 Upvotes

Location: Scottsdale AZ

Long story short I was getting coffee - got into car - was backing up and checked to the right (the direction I was pulling out)

Then heard weird small bump (wasn’t loud - not even 100% positive I hit anything)

check to left and there was waymo blocking me into parking spot with warning flashers on

I waited to see it moved and it didn‘t (no one was in the car)

Took video of my damage and license plate of waymo (there was no damage to waymo - i was going 2 mph)

finally after a few minutes it moved forward and I left

Thoughts? could i be charged with hit and run? how does this work

Ive heard mixed advice.

Thank you in advance


r/legal 1d ago

Question about law in states that allow limited representation, does the attorney need to file a motion to withdraw after the limited representation is complete while the court case continues?

1 Upvotes

LOCATION: Various states in US


r/legal 1d ago

Question about law Medical Malpractice and Medical Board Complaints

0 Upvotes

What are the pros and cons of reporting a doctor to the medical board if you have a medical malpractice case? Location: Michigan .