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    Home Unlabelled Legal Advice [Chicago] I was robbed by my AirBnB host. Looking for legal advice.

    Legal Advice [Chicago] I was robbed by my AirBnB host. Looking for legal advice.

    June 17, 2019

    Legal Advice [Chicago] I was robbed by my AirBnB host. Looking for legal advice.

    [Chicago] I was robbed by my AirBnB host. Looking for legal advice.

    Posted: 16 Jun 2019 11:13 PM PDT

    This all took place over the past weekend (Friday/Saturday, June 14-15) in Chicago. I already filed a police report, as well as brought this to the attention of AirBnB both over the phone and on Twitter.

    Unlike my posts about this incident elsewhere, I'll be as thorough in explaining the situation here as to get the most relevant advice possible. I apologize in advance for the essay, but please read all of of it if you want to give advice, to make sure you get the whole story.

    I was in Chicago for the weekend for Pokémon Go Fest - for those unfamiliar, it's an all-day paid event hosted at a park, this year it was at Grant Park. My ticket date was for Friday the 14th.

    Earlier that week (Monday I think?) I went on Airbnb to look for affordable options. By this point, all the hotels in the area were close to $300 a night, and most Airbnb's within a mile or two of Grant Park were either already booked or also that expensive. I found what looked to be a good deal south of downtown for around $85 a night. The host had mostly positive reviews, with the only negative review saying that he felt the price was too high for a single bed. Fine, nothing to really be concerned about there. People said the host was nice, that he made them breakfast, really no reason to think there was anything fishy going on.

    I requested Thursday through Sunday (checkout on Sunday) through Airbnb, and the host accepted my request later that day. I put in the comments (where it says to tell the host about yourself, and they encourage you to share why you are traveling) that I was in town for Pokémon Go Fest and would be gone most of the day, and just needed a place to sleep at night. Arrived in Chicago, went to meet my host Thursday evening. The Uber driver warned me that it wasn't the best place for an Airbnb and that it was one of the unsafer neighborhoods in Chicago. Well OK, nice to know, but I really didn't have any options at this point.

    Messaged the host that I was there, he came out to meet me and show me up to the room. I took all of my belongings with me (I had a laptop worth about $2000, a suitcase with my Nintendo Switch among other things, phone chargers, clothes, medication), and said I would be back later, that I wanted to go get some dinner. I asked him if there was a key for the place he could give me (as that's usually what Airbnb hosts have done at past trips I've taken, even if it is just for a single room and not the entire place), and he said he doesn't have a spare key, but to just message him when I need to be let in and he'll come open the door. Again, he seemed friendly so I didn't think anything of it, and said I would be back later.

    I got back, messaged him to let me in, and he came to open the door. I went to bed, didn't talk to the guy at all. He had the TV on all night, or at least until I fell asleep, I was lying in bed at 1:30am hearing his TV.

    Next morning (Friday), I got up, showered, took my medication and left. After all, that was the day of Go Fest, where I would be busy in the park from 9am-7pm. The host knew this, I told him in my initial request to book that I would be gone all day.

    So here I am in Grant Park at about 9:30, after just getting started with my day, when I got a message from Airbnb support. They told me "your host is no longer able to accommodate you, let me know when I can call and discuss this with you." Already pretty pissed off at this point as I was trying to enjoy my day, but I told them go ahead and call whenever. I got a call from a "resolution manager" maybe 15 minutes after I sent that message, and the lady explained that, for whatever reason, the host was no longer able to host me and that, as compensation, they would give me a $200 voucher and give me links to other listings in the area. Great, I said, but what about all of my stuff? I'm busy all day, I can't just go get my suitcase and laptop, having nowhere to take the stuff, nor can I check into some Airbnb at 9:30 in the morning. The lady said she'd check, and call me back. She called back another 10-15 minutes later and said "I talked to your host, he said he would be there all day so you can get your things when it's convenient." I said great, then I won't leave the park and just go get my things after 7pm when the event is done. I asked the lady if he gave a reason for cancelling my trip (at this time, I was too preoccupied to even ask if he had a right to do this, I just went along with it), and she said that he said something about "not liking the communication", whatever that means. Um, okay.

    Fast-forward to 12:30pm. Host messages me through Airbnb (note that, the entire weekend I hadn't ever talked to the host outside of Airbnb - I had his number and he had mine, but I didn't receive any text messages from him or any calls, and I didn't message/call him either. Given that the whole "I don't have a key for you" was already sketchy enough, I wanted all of my communications with him to be logged through Airbnb so their staff could see it in case of incident.) saying "Your checkout time was noon and you didn't come to get your stuff. I'm going to put it under the stairs." I wrote back saying that Airbnb support told me you would be home all day, what are you talking about? My checkout time was noon ON SUNDAY, not in the middle of the day on Friday! If he wanted to cut my trip short, that was on him, but he's not going to inconvenience me like this. (okay, I didn't say all of that to him, just the first part about what support told me). He wrote back saying "I don't know what you two talked about but I definitely will not be home all day, I suggest you come get your stuff."

    Well, considering that the front door to the building locks, I figured my stuff was safe under the stairs, only tenants of that building would be getting in anyway, and if he wasn't home later I could probably ask one of the other tenants to open the door for me.

    So around 6pm when I had a bit of a break, I looked for another Airbnb. Found something much closer that cost more money, since they were giving me a $200 voucher after all - tried to book one, but the voucher wasn't working. I called them and they said they'd "look into it", and I basically said look, I'm running out of time, just give me $200 back to my credit card and I'll get a hotel, I'm done dealing with you guys. They agreed, under the condition that I gave them the hotel receipt. So I booked a hotel.

    Fast-forward to Friday night around 8:30pm. Finished Go Fest, ate dinner, got an Uber over to the place. I actually told the Uber driver I was going to get my stuff, and then need a ride to the hotel, he said he can just add a destination to our trip, and agreed to wait while I got my stuff. The front door to the complex was locked, but the night before it had opened after I jiggled the knob a few times. I'm standing there jiggling the knob and trying to push the door in when some lady gets out of her car with a young child. She sees the Uber driver parked there watching me, asks him what's going on, he explains to her that he's waiting on me, etc etc. This lady's naturally a bit spooked, as she sees some strange guy trying to, what looks like, break into her apartment building while someone in a car is waiting for them. Definitely seems sketchy from her perspective. I explain the situation to her and she's shocked that anyone would rent an Airbnb in that building, but she agrees to open the door for me. I get in, look under the stairs, and my luggage isn't there. Wanting answers immediately, I attempt to actually call my (former) host. He doesn't answer. She said she'd try to call since she lives across from him, I gave her the number - she calls, gets his voicemail, leaves a message. Oh, and meanwhile the Uber driver alerted me that someone else was added to his queue so he has to leave. I say thanks for the ride and that I'll book another when I'm ready. Now I'm by myself. While we're waiting for a call back, I walk up to her apartment (which is directly across from his) - as she handed me a couple gallons of milk to carry for her while she unlocked the door for me. I set the milk down in her apartment and, just for the heck of it, I open the Tile app on my phone.

    Before I continue my story, let me explain real quickly what Tile is and what it does. Tile is a small tracking device that you can attach to objects that you think you might misplace - in my case, my car keys and wallet. I have one in my wallet and one on my key ring. If your phone is within Bluetooth range of these devices, you can make them play music to help you find the device - and if you ever lose it, the app will tell you where it's last seen.

    So, anyway - much to my surprise, the Tile app tells me that my keyring is in range right now! Literally, as I'm standing outside the guy's apartment that I can't get into, my car keys (which were in my luggage) are within a few hundred feet of my phone! The guy calls her back and says "look, I told the guest this too, I put his stuff under the stairs, if it's gone then someone probably stole it and it's his fault for not coming and getting it when I told him to." She relays the message to me, but I say no... that's not true, the stuff is here right now, and I show her my phone. She tells him this, and I hear loud yelling over the phone. He starts cussing her out, saying it's none of her [expletive] business, and hangs up. Okay, now I'm starting to get the picture. He probably saw this as a great opportunity - I said in my notes that I would be gone all day for an event, he sees that I have valuable items, what a great idea! He can end my stay early, know I can't get my stuff because I'm gone at an event, CLAIM he put it out for me and "oh, it's gone, someone must have stolen it". Meanwhile, he pockets all this valuable loot that he can do whatever with. Except... he wasn't planning on me being able to prove that my belongings were in his apartment that night when he wasn't home. As soon as she tells him this, he flips out, realizing I'm onto him. The lady calls the landlord. Landlord comes out, I explain this all to him. He advises me to file a police report. Says that even though he has the key and can let me enter his apartment, he doesn't have the legal right to do so, and that the tenant (my Airbnb host) could try to sue him for illegal entry. The landlord also puts a notice on the guy's door, saying he's going to evict him, that it's totally against his lease to let guests stay there. He was appalled that the place was even listed on Airbnb.

    We called the police, waited about half an hour for them to show up, making small talk in the meantime. He told me he was gonna evict the guy soon anyway because of how shady he is, and that this whole Airbnb thing suddenly makes sense, because the guy was always late paying the rent and kept coming up short, but that mysteriously a couple months ago he was able to pay it (after the landlord threatened to evict). I keep telling the guy, look, that's all well and dandy but I just want my stuff back. I do understand where he's coming from, and that's why I was glad to wait for the police. If police can write up a warrant and let me in, great! But after about half an hour of waiting, he said "let's just go down to the station" so he drives me there.

    I run this by them, the cops basically say they can't issue a warrant off of that alone and that I have to attempt to get my stuff back directly from the person first, then I can file a report if he doesn't comply, then they can do something. So the landlord tells me - the guy's usually home Saturday mornings. Call him, call the police, they'll go up together and see what they can do.

    So I'm staying completely empty handed at a hotel Friday night, hoping I can resolve this matter in the morning.

    Saturday morning comes, I do exactly as instructed. Call landlord, call police. Police escorts come out, landlord comes out a bit later. I call the host, who of course does not answer, so landlord gets his spare key and we start walking up to the place - me, landlord, and an officer. Knock on the door, no reply. Police knocks and says they're the cops, here with landlord and guest, the man opens the door ajar (leaving it chained so they couldn't force entry), starts filming and making this whole spiel about illegal entry and how they're infringing his rights. He says to me "I messaged you lots of times and you ignored me", I say no you didn't, I don't have a single text from you and only the one message from Airbnb and he says "that's bulls*** and you know it". I say fine, show me your phone then where you sent me texts, and of course he refuses because that's not true at all. The cop basically says look, at this point you tried, but you'll have to file a report for stolen belongings, we can't break into this guy's place. Meanwhile, I'm checking my phone while standing in front of his apartment like the night before, and the Tile shows it's no longer there. Says it was last seen 10:30pm Friday night (when we left to wait on the cops).

    So, the guy moved my stuff elsewhere after realizing we were onto him, also took the notice off his door. The landlord gave me all the information I needed to file my police report, and asked if he could see the Airbnb listing just to see what I even agreed to with the guy.

    Would it shock anyone at this point when I learned that he used a fake name on Airbnb? The name I had for him wasn't even his real name. Huge surprise. /s

    So anyway, I give the officer all this info, they write up a report. I give them the itemized list of what was stolen, they estimate it at around $3000 (I actually forgot to tell them about my Switch at this point), give me a "victim notice" and say an investigator will follow up with me in a week or so. Well, great, I won't even be there in a week, and he can easily sell my stuff before any of those serials I gave the cops get registered anywhere!

    I called Airbnb about this. I said first of all, I didn't think hosts could just cancel a stay like that and kick a guest out. They said "they can't..." and the guy on the phone said "your stay wasn't cancelled at all, it shows a confirmed reservation from June 13-14 with you checking out on the 14th at noon." I said NO, that's not it, look at my original confirmation. He checks and says "oh, huh, I see that now." Digs into it and apparently some supervisor overrode something that should not have been overridden, as it shows in the Airbnb app that I consented to the altered stay (I did not, and was simply told). I don't know what lies he told the Airbnb support people, but they somehow got their managers to override this and alter my trip to say I was checking out on the 14th instead of the 16th.

    So at this point I'm considering my goods lost, and I called Airbnb again and asked if there was any way they can take money from the guy (after all, if they deposit money into his bank account when people book stays with him, they can take it out too...) to reimburse me the $3000 he stole from me. They said "you can do that, but you have to fill out a request" and they sent me a link. The link only lets me request $87 back (one nights' stay, the other two were auto-refunded when the trip was altered). I explain this to them, and they said "just request the $87 back, the guy's not going to do it anyway, then after 72 hours you can escalate it to our claims division and they can go from there." Needless to say I'm less than pleased with Airbnb's support by now, I've talked to several different "case resolution managers" who all just keep giving me links to things within the app, and none of them assuring me they will ban the guy from Airbnb for being a fraud and stealing from his guests.

    I sent the guy a message through Airbnb saying, just FYI I gave the police all the serial numbers of what you stole, and I have GPS tracking on my items should you try to sell them (the second part isn't entirely true, since Tile requires a phone to be in-range of it to actually get the location. Since Friday night it hasn't been picked up by any phones. But he's not going to know that!) I said I'd be willing to drop the police report and Airbnb claim I filed against him if he returns my stuff (again, not true, I'm absolutely still keeping that police report open) No reply of course, so I text him the same message. Still no reply.

    Sunday morning I figure what the heck, I'll try one last time. I said something along the lines of "If you don't return my belongings, I will sue you for at least $3000 which is the value of the items you stole from me." Short and sweet. He messaged back "I filed a police report against you for phone harassment, don't contact me again"

    I called the non-emergency police number and explained this all to them. The lady said his supposed police report was complete bogus and that sending two messages asking for my stolen items back is absolutely not harassment, that it wouldn't hold up in court at all. But either way, it's clear he's not going to return my stuff.

    I'm now back in Michigan without any of my belongings. The guy's probably going to try to sell my stuff. He's also probably being evicted from his apartment but that doesn't help me in the slightest.

    Airbnb is still "working on the case and will contact you as soon as we can", and I'm not expecting to hear anything from the police investigator for a week.

    The lady at the police did say I can hire a lawyer in Michigan to sue the man in Chicago and not have to actually travel back to Chicago myself. Though I'm not sure I'd trust that, I want to testify against the guy myself.

    However, I've also never taken anyone to court before. Only times I've ever been to court were for jury duty and to contest traffic tickets. Hence why I'm asking for advice. What can I really do at this point? I've Googled the subject and most people are saying Airbnb just tells people to sue in incidents like this, they aren't a hotel and their insurance is to protect hosts from unruly guests and not vice-versa. So I'm really not thinking they'll do anything either, and the guy's listings are still up as well. Half tempted to hire someone else to book the place and go looking for my stuff, lol.

    But seriously, what should I do? Just sit and wait? Hire a lawyer? Any advice is really appreciated.

    A friend suggested I should sue for more than just what my stuff is worth, because of emotional trauma from the ordeal. I believe the limit for small claims court is $5000, so I'm considering asking for the max.

    tl;dr Airbnb host who knew I would be gone and unable to come for my belongings bent rules and ended my stay early, kept all my items in his apartment and lied to me saying he left them out for me to collect. Tried to play it off as someone else stealing them, freaked when I confronted him on the lie and now refuses to cooperate with police nor give my stuff back.

    submitted by /u/drfsupercenter
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    Wife severely burned from laser hair removal

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 04:54 AM PDT

    My wife had her last laser hair removal appointment on Friday and afterwards she called me and was crying because it hurt so badly, especially in the bikini area. She said she had never had this woman do her hair removal before, thinks she is new and wasn't properly trained, and thinks she didn't use a protective cover on the device either. We are in the USA, Massachusettes.

    I've seen her after these appointments and while there was some very mild discomfort, nothing like this has ever happened to her. When I saw her legs, my skin crawled because she had circular welts the size of the device and they were a very dark red and she refused to show me her bikini area because she said it was so bad. I finally saw it this morning since she is still in severe pain and can't wear underwear or anything other than baggy sweat pants. She said the skin closer to her vagina is black as well.

    My plan is to have her go back to the spa, grab the paperwork she signed and we go over it together. She also needs to see a doctor ASAP. I'm also thinking of calling a lawyer today as well.

    Does anyone have experience with this and can shed some light on the best course of action?

    EDIT: She went to the doctor, first degree burns in her bikini area. They gave her ointment to help the healing process. Still looking to pursue legal action as this is severe negligence in my mind.

    submitted by /u/RipCity56
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    Need to stop spouse from draining accounts because divorce is about to happen TN

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 07:19 AM PDT

    Gallatin Tn. How do I stop a spouse from draining the financial accounts? Long story short, nail the the coffin happened yesterday, divorce lawyer called this morning but appt not till July 23rd. Check the bank accounts this morning and a 10k pmt is pending as of yesterday for truck loan payoff.

    How do I prevent all the money from disappearing before any proceeding can begin? (Asking for my sister, she is scrambling)

    submitted by /u/trinitysmom
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    Wife’s half sister (17) lost her father to suicide. Their mother committed suicide three years earlier. We are trying to have legal guardianship of her until she’s 18.

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 07:31 AM PDT

    State of Wisconsin, County of Dodge.

    My wife's half sister is a very nice and quiet girl (let's call her KK) her relationship with her father was far from great up until his death. Her relationship with my wife, however, has always been great and we would have her stay over whenever she wanted.

    Her father had two brothers and a sister-in-law who came by after his death asking a lot of questions about items in his house (corvette,guns, etc...) even adding that they forced their way into the home and took at least thirty of his guns the day after he died so they would not get "stolen". They claim that they are putting the guns up for auction and that the money from the sales would go to KK.

    During this conversation the sister-in-law made a couple strange comments saying she could take care of KK and questioning our integrity and if we were capable of providing for her.

    We know KK hates this side of the family and the thought of living with any of them makes her sick. We just want to take care of her and help. My gut feeling is that her aunts and uncles are looking at potential money here and ignoring that their niece has now lost both of her parents and needs help.

    My wife is just getting off the phone and telling me that we are filing for a temporary guardianship in the county she resides in.

    What else can we do?

    Sorry if this is written poorly. Lack of sleep and stress is contributing to a scattered train of thought. Thank you.

    ——————————————

    EDIT: Thank all of you so much for all the information. It's been a very difficult and chaotic time for everyone involved in this mess and your advice and responses have been so helpful. This ordeal is far from over, but it's nice to know that there are people out there trying to help others.

    submitted by /u/lAMAraindog
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    If neighbor falsely calls police on me - do I have to I.D. myself if I answer the door?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 09:07 AM PDT

    Main Question at the end.

    The Backstory - My downstairs (apartment) neighbor believes I'm constantly eavesdropping and following them from upstairs. It's a stay at home mother who's husband works most the day. I work from home (audio engineering) and have headphones on + stay immobile for 4-8 hours. She's convinced that the silence is indicative of me trying to listen, and that I'm mirroring her movements somehow (?). She freaks out when I'm in the bathroom too long (bathroom acoustics can be heard by both of us. Thin floors and thin walls.)When I heard her crying every day I had a good feeling of why due to this being exactly the same situation I had before with a paranoid meth-head neighbor.

    I think she's projecting really hard, because I know for a fact she can hear every footstep I make because every step I take the ground shakes (even though I'm only 90 lbs) so she probably thinks I can hear her just as well. When in truth the only time I can even hear my neighbors is when we both end up in the bathroom, or when she's loudly crying. I'll spare the detail as to why or how I found out she's freaking out about me, due to length. (But if anyone wants to know you can ask)

    So my question is - if her paranoid delusion brings her to call the cops on me somehow and they knock on the door, do I have to I.D. myself when (or if) I open? Or can I refuse but still speak to them. I'd like this matter settled with her but I have a warrant from a traffic citation, so ID'ng myself to police I don't want to do. Also, I don't HAVE to open the door right?

    This is all really frustrating as I don't do anything but work all day and eat. I respect privacy more than anyone I know so being in this situation is ridiculous.

    Sorry for the sloppy story write up and length, the question is all I really should have asked. Thanks!

    I'm in TX btw.

    submitted by /u/NoSirNotMe69
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    My lawyer died

    Posted: 16 Jun 2019 06:46 PM PDT

    Texas.

    I was involved in a car accident accident about 5 years ago and recieved medical treatment without paying via my lawyer's letter to the doctor promising it would be covered.

    My lawyer had been working my case for a couple of years and I'd hear from him if I asked for an update. Life got busy, however, and I forgot to email him for a while. I wasn't worried since I'd recieved my treatment; would just check on the status occasionally.

    I've attempted to contact him several times in the last 2 years, but stopped receiving a response at some point.

    I found a former law partner of his online, and he confirmed my lawyer died.

    I don't know how long it's been and have no one from his office to contact.

    What am I supposed to do now?

    submitted by /u/revcanon
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    (New York) doctors office scammed me

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 09:04 AM PDT

    I went to a new doctors office (NY) and they told me they had to charge me a $150.00 copay. I paid the money and had my appointment. When I got home I called my insurance company and they told me that they cover all my charges and I should not have had to pay a copay. I called the doctors office and they forwarded my call to the billing office. The lady told me I should not have been charged (new receptionist made a mistake) and the $150.00 is sitting in my account as a credit to use later (the money was also already withdrawn from my account). I will never be able to use this credit because my insurance covers everything and I will not be making another appointment with this doctors office. The women on the phone told me she is also new and can not issue me a refund. I have called this doctors office three times, emailed, and went in to get my refund but no one seems to know how to give me back my money. I have also called and emailed the office manager multiple times and he ignores me. How can I get my money back? My bank usually won't dispute charges is the charge already went through (I'm not sure how it would work with a doctors office). I contacted the better business bureau. I have been trying to get my refund for three weeks. The money has also been paid by the insurance company

    submitted by /u/morgan4609
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    School gave away my health records and SSN to a stranger by accident.

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 11:28 AM PDT

    I've recently graduated High School and had my transcript mailed home. The mailing address and name was under my credentials. After opening the letter and reading some of the classes, I realized I had never taken some of those in High School. They've sent me the wrong transcript. These documents include full names, family names, health records, and a social security number. My concern now is that someone else recieved my transcript by accident and I'm afraid of any kind of malicious intent.

    Edit: Located in Florida.

    submitted by /u/Yama29
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    Parents bought a car using my money and put it in their name

    Posted: 16 Jun 2019 04:54 PM PDT

    Im 17 when I was 13 I was in a accident and my insurance gave me money, parents spent it and got me a car but put it in their name, they are now threatening to sell it if I go see my mother who has joint custody. What can I do? This is in Kentucky by the way.

    submitted by /u/SaltShaker1_
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    There is someone who comes around pounding on my house’s door and claiming that it is his house

    Posted: 16 Jun 2019 04:10 PM PDT

    Hey reddit!

    I am a sixteen year old high schooler, posting in my dad's behalf, since he doesn't know what reddit is. We live in California, Bay Area.

    Yesterday night around 12, someone started pounding on our front door, screaming at us to "get the fuck out of my house".

    We have lived in this house for two years, and I can assure you with one hundred percent that it is, truthfully my father's legally owned property.

    In our house was my father myself my mother and my five year old little brother. We called the police and while calling, he left. We called anyways and soon they came to our house. After describing the situation to them, they explained that since he technically didn't break any laws, they couldn't do anything. Then they left.

    After that time, he's come by twice more. At around 1 in the morning and at around nine today. We were at church at the third incident.

    We have a camera beside our front door, and it captured footage of him whenever he came by

    At the second incident, he attempted to open the door. At the second and third, we have footage (we were at church) of him checking out our home. On the one o'clock incident, he left his bike on our front porch and left for two minutes then came back and left. We presume that he checked our house and possibly even saw whether he could get inside.

    Edit: We contacted the past owners(specifically we contacted the real estate agent and he contacted them) and apparently they had two children and their daughter lives far away and their son is an army officer who lives in SoCal. They are within their trust.

    Excuse my profanity, but we're scared to shit. I think we're gonna get robbed, or worse. Any help would help. What should we do here?

    submitted by /u/HeeWNc
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    Lawyer threatening my company

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 07:25 AM PDT

    Good Morning LegalAdvice;

    I work for a delivery company doing home deliveries for a large national chain.

    Person purchases appliance from this store, the vendor ships it to us, we warehouse it, when it's time for delivery we load it on contractor's truck, the contractor delivers and installs the new appliance and hauls away their old appliance.

    This lawyer has purchased an appliance and is asking us to take a different appliance away, against policy. To remove this appliance we might cause damage to their home, which is why it's against policy for us to remove it.

    When we arrived at their home and saw it was an out of policy appliance we explained that we can't remove it due to the policy of the national chain. They claimed the store manager they purchased it from said all they would need to do is unplug it and we (the delivery team) can take care of it.

    We are standing steadfast with the national chain's policy behind us but the reason the store is trying to placate this customer is they had some issues on a prior order and the lawyer threatened legal action and got some compensation previously.

    I spoke to them and when I attempted to explain that this is the store's policy and we cannot break it they started threatening to name my business in the suit they're bringing against the store/chain and that I was breaking some federal law by quoting the policy. When asked what law I was supposedly breaking they just reiterated that they're a lawyer and not to be messed with, when I asked what state they are barred in they claimed they were barred in KY in which they live (not the one in which they practice, OH.) To be fair, they are neighboring states but they did misrepresent the state they were barred in.

    They also got wind of our company meeting with the store this and chain this week so they're threatening to "crash" this meeting to cause financial damage to my company by embarrassing us to our partner to get what they want.

    I'm thinking of filing a bar complaint against this lawyer. Is this lawyer acting ethically? Are they doing anything worthy of reporting to the Ohio State Bar Association? I have their registration number. What all should be said/touched on? Is there any particular issue with what's described here? How to best word it to ensure I clearly communicate that I don't believe this lawyer is acting ethically? Is this not extortion and/or intimidation of some sort?

    Thanks in advance for all the help!

    submitted by /u/SSJStarwind16
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    [NY] Landlord attempting to charge additional rent after editing the signed contract

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 09:11 AM PDT

    New York, Long Island location. I'll bullet out the major points to our situation:

    • Rental began in March, advertised as "4 Bedroom / $3,000 per month"
    • We took the rental with 3 people and informed the agency we intend to find another housemate for the 4th bedroom.
    • Tenants signed the contract and wrote-in "4th person TBD."
    • I scanned and emailed this signed contract to the agency and told them we will hand it in in-person later in the day, and did so.
    • We handed in the signed by tenants hard copy, I assume landlord also signed once back at office. We were not provided a copy.
    • In May we inform the agency we have the 4th person and they begin working out the details.
    • Come June, 4th person has signed his own paperwork (no change from our paperwork, same rules) and is fully moved in.
    • The day before June rent is due, we receive a brand new email from the company stating "there seems to be a serious misunderstanding" and that the total rent is now $3,600 per month with the 4th person added.
    • Attached to their email is the lease agreement. On the page and under where we wrote in "4th person TBD" there is now a hand-written "at additional cost" with the landlord's signature.
    • The edit was written in after tenants signed, and was never disclosed to us until the day before rent is due, asking for the additional new $600 per month.

    I emailed them back and attached our original scanned copy, and pointed out that the "at additional cost" edit was added after tenants signed and without our knowledge. I pointed out a few obvious points such as "would we have this additional cost if the rental started with the full 4 people?" and "why wasn't the rental advertised 4 bed/$3,600 if this was your intention?" I stated we intend to pay the agreed upon $3,000. The possibility of an added cost was briefly mentioned to one of the tenants during conversation with a secretary, but no follow up, specifics, or documentation.

    Landlord emailed back and as written; "without getting into contractual technicalities if possible" requesting an in-person meeting with just 1 of us to discuss rent .

    Advice on how to proceed?

    submitted by /u/organic_meatbag
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    Is public use of a video game system illegal?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 05:29 AM PDT

    I want to open a bar where the draw is retro video game systems like the original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, etc. If I own the systems and games, but have them set up for people to come to the bar to play them, am I doing anything illegal? If I charge a cover charge or a fee for play time would that be illegal? I'm not even sure what to look into to find out, would it be copyright laws? Thank you! I live in Ohio if that helps.

    submitted by /u/bacon_mustache
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    What to do about bully neighbor?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 11:16 AM PDT

    Throwaway for privacy. So I have this horrible neighbor who is a woman in her 40s and she's bullying me everyday since I moved here 3 years ago. She's a stay at home mom and stays at home all day long and anytime I leave my house she yells insults. She's evil, malicious and has pleasure in tormeting me. I've never done anything bad to her yet she treats me badly. Everyday she'll insult me. She calls me things like ugly, stupid, garbage, hideous etc.. If she sees an unnatractive man going down the street she'll point at me and say "Why don't you date her?" She'll torment me the whole day if she can. Sunday, I was mowing my lawn and she got around for about the 1 hour I spent outside, bullying me. She insulted every feature of my body and face. Everyday she says new insults and she laughs out loud. I'm just tired of it. I'm ashamed. I'm exhausted. I can't sleep most nights, I have anxiety, depression, stress. I fear staying at my own house because she will yell abuse.

    I live in Texas, US. So, I was wondering if I have any legal recourse against her? Even though I don't belong to any protected class and the bullying has never gotten physical. Is there anything I can do?

    submitted by /u/fneed
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    Skeleton on Property, Illegal to Own?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 08:53 AM PDT

    I rent a property in TN that is owned by an elderly lady who has been moved to an assisted living facility. The property has been in her family for 150+ years. Her family and mine are close and I have been discussing the property and various possessions with one of her cousins who lives out of town. The cousin informed me that a few generations back, Brother A, who was a doctor (I'm assuming he was a medical examiner/coroner) had a "John Doe" that no one ever claimed. After waiting for a period, he gave the Skeleton to Brother B (who lived at the house in question) who was a school teacher, to display in his classroom. To the best of the cousin's knowledge, the skeleton was stored in an outbuilding on the property after Brother B retired (long since passed away now) and should still be there. The cousin doesn't necessarily want to get rid of it, but I'm unsure what the legality of possessing the skeleton is. I haven't checked to see if it is even in the outbuilding in question yet. Is it legal to possess the skeleton? Is there any documentation needed? What is the best way to go about disposing of it if the cousin decides to do so?

    submitted by /u/SkeletonFinder
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    sharing of non consensual photos

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 04:57 AM PDT

    I'm currently going through a divorce and my soon to be ex husband thought it was okay to share private photos of me to strangers and post them online without my consent. It started when we lived in Chicago and continued once we moved to SF, some of these photos were even taking without me knowing. Does anyone know what would happen if I filed a police report? I do have evidence as well.

    submitted by /u/Kpedsnurse
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    Timeshare nightmares do not seem to go away. Can I foreclose without worry of garnishing of wages? What about a property lien?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 06:40 AM PDT

    I can no longer afford my timeshare payments. I do not even use it. The timeshare company does not have any assistance available, and I've already fallen victim to the third party timeshare exit company scams that promise to fight the timeshare company to get the customer ( me) to legally walk away from it. I'm out another 5 grand. This is a points based timeshare, so I am not sure how realistic it is, to consider selling the timeshare. I still owe 14k on the mortgage, I have a deeded timeshare. I'm considering letting it go into foreclosure. As the property is in Nevada, I am thinking it will follow Nevada law, which will allow for non judiciary foreclosure. My concern is to find out the likelihood of a property lien on the house I currently own. I also need to know the likelihood of wage garnishment. I understand the other consequences of foreclosure ( harassment from creditor, credit score etc). I am willing to deal with all this. I am also hoping to find out if a quick claim deed would be in my favor.

    submitted by /u/lforan88
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    Driveway sealing company sealed my driveway without permission.

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 10:27 AM PDT

    A couple of months ago the same company came to my house uninvited to seal my driveway and my partner told them we'd never ordered it, and to leave. This Saturday I came home to the driveway (poorly) sealed and a door-knob hanger saying we owe them $100 for sealing the driveway. I'm not sure what to do about this.

    I live in the suburbs in NYS in an area where there are quite a few elderly folks. I'm wondering if this is just a thing this company does. Doing work on random houses and charging folks for it.

    What should I be doing here? I'm definitely not paying them, and am pretty pissed about the whole thing.

    submitted by /u/wittypunthatspunny
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    [Georgia Employment Law]When hiring personal home health care, is it legal to have a gender preference?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 09:11 AM PDT

    I'm well aware that in general employment situations, discrimination based on gender is protected. However, I know some exceptions exist for housing (such as roommate situations). Is there an exception for home health care preferences?

    ​

    We are currently hiring an extra part time person, to do daily living activities for a gentleman with Alzheimer's. He clearly responds much better to having a man in that role. Is it legal to only consider hiring a man, due to the patient's preferences? This person will be assisting with bathing and dressing.

    ​

    Thanks, in advance, for any time you spend helping answer this question. A quick google search gave me tons of results about patient preferences in the medical field, but I haven't found a situation just like ours, yet.

    ​

    Edit: We are hiring an individual directly, as opposed to using a service.

    submitted by /u/jesspete
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    RI- my father was kicked out of his own business by the co-owner

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 05:51 AM PDT

    Sorry for formatting, I'm on mobile.

    My father and his friend started a business together back in December. The business is a small landscaping business that my dad has been working at for the last 25 years, the owners decided it was time to retire, so they sold it at a discounted price to my dad and a friend, because it was my father. He was one of their best, if not their best worker, and his bosses treated us like their own family.

    So, business has been a little shaky, and over what appears to be at least a month or so back, the 'friend' has apparently been plotting on kicking my father out.

    So my dad goes to work this morning and then shows up at my house, with tears in his eyes saying that his old friend kicked him out of the business. The only thing that he's ever worked for in this country was just taken from him. No paperwork, no lawyer, no buyout, just "get out of here"

    Is there any legal leg to stand on here? Or is my father just shit out of luck? I don't see how you can just tell another owner of a company that he has to leave

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    submitted by /u/helpwiththishouse
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    [US][CA] Terminated from my job while in the hospital.

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 08:42 AM PDT

    I was employed by a contracting company, contracted to a larger company for their project group for 4 years. Everything was great with glowing reviews from my site supervisor throughout. 3rd quarter 2018, my supervisor and I had an argument over something the had previously approved, but was now going back on. We were both less than professional, but not entirely out of line.

    Proceed to 4 weeks ago. My supervisor pulls me and my company rep into a meeting for a "performance review". She expresses disappointment in my work over the past several months and makes many untruthful claims of work I have failed to do. When I attempt to defend myself, she says, "No rebuttal is required" and shuts me down. My company rep does not support or help in any way during the meeting.

    The following week was full of my supervisor questioning every action I made and trying to catch me failing when I had all evidence to prove otherwise. Daily, she told me she was unhappy with me. I contacted my company rep and told them this was turning into a hostile work environment and that my supervisor is fabricating problems to make me look bad. Rep says she has a follow-up with my supervisor and will get back to me.

    I had vacation scheduled for the beginning of this month. The day I started vacation I hopped on a plane where I would have a layover before my final destination. During that first flight, I ended up with extreme abdominal pain and was taken by ambulance from the tarmac to the nearest hospital. I spent a week in the ER/ICU. My wife and sister were keeping my company rep and supervisor up to date on my condition. About 2 days before I discharged, my wife receives a call from my company rep and is advised that I have been terminated and the decision was made before I even contacted the rep about the hostile work environment. The intention was to let me go after my vacation.

    Do I have any recourse in this situation? I feel like I was fired because I argued with my supervisor once, and even after the "performance review" there was no way for me to redeem myself--her decision was already made. Also, can I be let go via my wife? This seems entirely unethical, especially considering I was in the hospital, which they knew about. I do not know what to do or if there even is anything I can do. Any advice is appreciated.

    submitted by /u/tellmewhygus
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    Constantly harassed by resident at parents condo. Is there any recourse?

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 12:32 PM PDT

    Florida, USA: My parents own a condo and I am a 'registered guest' meaning I am authorized to come and go as I please including parking in the lot. Almost every time I go, one particular resident constantly harasses me, telling me I'm trespassing, I'm not allowed on the property, asking me for my name and apartment number, taking pictures of my car in the parking lot, following me around, telling me I can't have my therapy dog on the premises, etc. He's targeting me because nearly every resident is 70+ years old and I am half that, so I look out of place.

    I don't feel comfortable telling him my name or condo number and I've already told him I live here and he has no business asking me for my info, if he has a problem he can talk to management. I've spoken to management myself and told them the situation and they pretend to be concerned but the harassment doesn't stop. I'm almost ready to post my photo all over the condo with the caption "have you seen this man? Leave him alone, he lives here!"

    What more can I do? Is there any legal recourse to stop this harassment?

    submitted by /u/Produkt
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    Incident on Cruise Ship in International Waters

    Posted: 17 Jun 2019 10:51 AM PDT

    My brother and I just got back from a cruise. My brother who is an officer in the military was running on the running track that goes around the ship, and came into physical contact with a woman who was walking around the track. My brother states that he barely brushed against her, and the woman claims that he hit her hard enough to knock the phone out of her hand, and knocked the wind out of her. My brother thinks the woman intentionally caused the incident, and the woman is claiming my brother intentionally caused the incident. The incident was caught on video, but we have not been able to review the recording.

    The couple reported by brother to the cruise line, and he was interviewed by security who were using body cameras. When my brother went to disembark, he was interviewed again by the Broward County Sheriff (Florida) who told him that the lady had announced intentions to sue both my brother and the cruise line. The woman's husband who was with her is an attorney. My brother believes the woman and her husband are grifters who are just trying to get either a free cruise or a settlement from the cruise line, and he doesn't think they will actually sue him. However, the rest of the family is concerned that this could turn into a legal nightmare for him and his family.

    Any advice on how this will likely play out? What liability could my brother possibly face? Does he have the ability to counter-sue the woman if they try to sue him first? Even though the incident happened in international waters, will this be tried in US courts? Any advice for how my brother can protect himself?

    submitted by /u/Grandioseus
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    Home damaged in police standoff next door, any advice?

    Posted: 16 Jun 2019 01:59 PM PDT

    So like the title says, recently my next door neighbor had a stand off with the St Louis County police for over 24 hours and we were displaced from our home due to gunfire and other nonsense. We contacted our county police department and they told us that they would be sending someone out to assess the damage to our property. We had 4 windows shattered from an explosion and shrapnel went through our siding into our attic. Also a lot of our fence was torn down during all of this. Luckily none of my family was harmed during this, just a lot of emotions from having to be evacuated from our home with just the clothes on our back. Has anyone had any experience with police damage to your property? Any tips on how to deal with this? Thanks!

    • edited to add location: St Louis County
    submitted by /u/csnfickas
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