..................test

Sapiens:

You have a very jurisdiction-specific question. Not only are adhesion contracts/liability waivers interpreted differently state to state, but sometimes from county to county. If you have serious questions about the safety of the daycare facility you should contact a local lawyer immediately.

Having said that, the form they are asking you to sign does not waive all of your legal right to sue for negligence, but it does make some limitations. While you would probably be able to recover damages for "gross" negligence, you may be unable to do so for "ordinary" negligence. What's the difference?

Ordinary negligence: The daycare worker turns his/her back while your child is running through the field. Your child trips and breaks a limb. The daycare worker has committed ordinary negligence by not watching your child.

Gross negligence: The daycare worker brings a lawnmower into class, flips it upside down, turns it on and then goes for a smoke break completely ignoring your children.

But as I said, you're going to have to speak with a local lawyer to determine the local jurisdiction's feelings to liability waivers/adhesion contracts.

Crotchrocketslm

What is the monthly rent and what is the total amount they owe you?

It doesn't sound like you've got a contract with someone from the organization's signature on it, rather you've got a contract with your roomate. He may very well be in breach, but that doesn't mean the organization is.

Do you have a written lease? What does it provide for notice of leaving, and under what conditions may a deposit be returned? That's going to be your guide as to what they owe you.

I don't see any reason why they should be entitled to have the deposit refunded. If they want it, let them sue you for it.

If you want to recover anything from the organization you're going to have to hire an attorney to sue them (or at least write them nasty letters). You might be able to file against them in Concilliation Court if the total amount is less than $7,500. As part of your claim you're going to have to argue that the orgnization is responsible for your roomate's lease because he was acting as an employee when he secured housing.

Stearns County Concilliation Court
http://www.co.stearns.mn.us/departme.../conccourt.htm

i just made a thread in Living, and i'd kinda like a little advice on what to do with the "problem"

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=85737

asudevil:

Yeah, those student vacation programs are usually scams. The companies aren't going to be around long enough for you to sue, and honestly you've probably signed paperwork disclaiming all liability anyway.

The only thing you can do is never use their service again, chalk it up to experience and move on. Post a note at your school letting other students know it's a scam.

When a vacation program sounds too good to be true it usually is.

Friend in Debt and Jailed
 

A long time friend of mine has an outstanding online gambling debt with pay-pro, an online payment program based in Central America, of over $4200 and is in the clink for about 6 months. I read a question on this forum of the same sort however not under these same conditions. 2 questions, first what will happen if he neglects to pay the debt altogether since it out of the US and online gambling debts may not likely be enforced in the states. And second since it will be 6 months before he will be able to pay, what will likely happen between now and then. Thanks.

jhoward124:

Where is he in prison?
Where does he live?
Where was he when he was gambling?

Georgia is the answer to all three of your questions.

Generally, gambling outside of state sponsored lotteries or specifically approved operations is illegal. A person who is owed gambling debts cannot use the legal system to help collect. Courts rely on the theory of "in pari delecto" or "in equal fault." Anyone engaging in any form of gambling bears the burden of his/her actions, and is not protected by law. Additionally, courts will not lend their assistance to the enforement of any contract that violates a state law. Georgia has adopted this reasoning by court rule (I do not have a specific citation at the moment).

Therefore, were the Central American company to attempt to sue your friend for gambling debts, they would not be enforceable, and no court would award them damages. Understand that this assumes Pay-Pro is the gambling operation itself, and not a separate enterprise (like Visa is to Amazon.com). If Pay-Pro is just an intermediary, i.e. it transfers the money from your friend to the gambling company, then any debts to Pay-Pro could be enforceable.

However, even if this were the case, you are still dealing with a foreign company, which would have a very difficult and expensive time trying to collect the debt here in America. It probably wouldn't be worth it for them to actively try to collect $4,200. They'll might wind up sending your friend a bunch of nasty letters (maybe even letters sent through a debt-collection law firm, which is nonsense) and possibly report something to the credit bureaus. Considering he's spending time in the hoosegow, I don't know if his credit report is at the top of his list of concerns.

By ignoring their requests, the worst that can happen is they sue him, and then obtain a judgment against him. I don't know your friend's financial situation but he might be what is known as "judgment proof" in that he has no property, and his income will not be garnished if it is a meager one.

Thank you for the feedback.

need help on a roommate situation!
 

okay, here's the situation.

i'm subletting in an apartment, living with 2 girls. i'm sharing a room with one of them. i do not have a signed sublease. they didn't require one. they didn't require a deposit either.

now, we didn't really determine how long i would be subletting for. basically it was that i would move in, and stay for the semester, maybe the summer. about a month ago, around spring break, i spoke to my roommate and she asked what my plans were for the summer. i told her i was looking at moving into a grad school co-op. she said that was good because she had a friend that wanted to move in. we didn't set any dates or anything like that.

anyways, last week, my roommate left a note for me saying that the person was going to be moving in on 4/25 or 4/26 (i think it's been confirmed for the 26th, but i wasn't really paying attention to her bitching earlier tonight). now, this is a problem for me. at the moment, i haven't found a new place to move into. moving home is probably what i'm going to do, and if so, then i'm planning on staying until the 30th, to avoid the commute.

so this evening, the roommate told me that she'd be moving in on whatever day, i told her that wasn't going to work since i was planning at the moment staying until the 30th. she left and later the apartment-mate told me that i was going to have to be out by the 27th. i told her 'no.' i told her my sublease runs through the end of the month, and the new person can move in when i'm out. she disagrees.

she thinks my rent runs from the 27th of the month to the 27th of the next month. this is because they paid rent on dec. 27 before going on vacation. according to her, they also pay rent everymonth by then, although when they had me turn it in while they were gone for spring break, i did it on the 1st, maybe the day before. no problem had.

i say my rent runs from the 1st to the 30th/31st (depending on the length of the month). if i wanted to get technical with them, i could say it is from the day i moved in to the equivalent day minus one (so jan 4th - feb 3rd) the day we had agreed i would move in was the 2nd, so that could also be used as the start date. probably should be used as the start date. (i didn't move in until the 4th because i talked with the apartment-mate who said i should wait until the 3rd because the roommate wouldn't be back until then, and then the roommate said that she wouldn't be back until the late third and they were having a bunch of friends stay for a few days so i should wait until the 4th).

so, to recap:

paid rent around dec 15th, because was going out of town and they needed to pay january rent before they left to go out for vacation.

supposed to move in on jan 2, they pushed it back to the 4th.

moved in on jan 4th, no written sublet agreement, no security deposit. no sublease term dates.

they want summer roommate to move in april 25/26.

i don't plan on moving out until april 30.

they say my sublease ends the 27th (based on when they pay rent), i say it ends april 30th.

am i right? am i wrong?

as it is, the apartment-mate went and told me that she wants me out as soon as possible, she'll even pay me back the pro-rated rent, so i may just do that. to soem extent, i think i wnat to stay until the 30th just to be an asshole, but i'll let the money talk.

Without a written contract, your sublease will follow the default rules for the jurisdiction you are in. There are sometimes rules that designate when leases end or start, and your rights in such a situation.

Without knowing your jurisdiction I can offer you this: Without a contract, if she calls the police and claims you are trespassing you've got a 50/50 shot as to whether they will remove you from the premises, or just leave the two of you to work things out.

This will probably never be litigated because of the short time periods and small amounts involved. It's up to you if you want to stick around and cause trouble or leave early.

From a fairness viewpoint, I think you should be given until the 30th, because:

The terms were never spelt out in advance, the oral contract should be decided in favour of the consumer/subleasee, who is in less of a position of power than the leasor.

and

Rents are generally paid for an entire month regardless of the number of days in each month, from the first to the last day.

But fairness isn't going to matter as much as what you can work out with your roomates. Perhaps you could offer to move out your belongings by the 25th, but be allowed to sleep on the couch for the last 5 days so as to avoid the commute.

thanks for the advice... i've actually got proof of paying rent, having paid directly to the company with a check and got a reciept, so i think if the policer were called, it would probably fall in my favor.

but i've decided to off to move out on friday if they're willing to return to me my rent for april in full. as much as i would love to piss them off (i unfortunatly can be vindictive, especially in thought, when i feel slighted and it's justifiable), if they'll do that, then i'll go. since it's the end of the semester and a horrible time to have to up and move, and since i'll be either commuting and spending lots on gas or couch crashing for 2 weeks, i think that the full rent rather than prorating it (2/3's of full) is fair. now to wait and see what they say...

thanks again!

Thank you very much, and I must say that I appreciate what you're doing.

Thread Revival! If there is anyone still willing to answer legal questions, I have an interesting one. My mother-in-law is 62 and her husband passed away 8 years ago. She JUST found out that she was eligible to recieve his Social Security benefits starting at age 60 because she is a widow. She missed out being paid something like $37,000. During that time, she has been living on his pension and regular withdrawals from her investments. Is there any legal recourse for her to get that money back? She asked her CPA that does her taxes and he seemed to indicate that she would have had to apply to begin receiving benefits at 60. The fact that she didn't apply then (the CPA that she has been using for 5 years didn't remind her) means that she is out of luck. This doesn't seem right. Can anything be done?

It seems to me that the Social Security Administration owes her back the amount of benefits that she was due. When her husband was paying into SS all of those years, the process of stealing his money away was automatic and mandatory. But now that she is supposed to get some back, it is up to her to apply to get the money back. What a crock! What can she do?

Thanks in advance.

In November of 2001 I was "arrested" and taken down to the local police station.
I am wondering if I was wrongfully detained.

Here is the Story...I was driving down the highway when an unmarked police car pulled me over. I wasn't speeding. The officer asked me to step out of my car. I then looked around befuddled because it looked like every officer in the county was surrounding me. There was even a helicopter/news copter. I heard reports that I was seen on t.v. as a suspect. I was then hand-cuffed without having my Miranda warning read and taken down to the police station. I was questioned about something I didn't even know about for an hour or so. They then had me sign a miranda and a search of the vechicle I was in paper. I was terrified. I still didn't know what they wanted me for. Then two FBI agents and the prosecuter came in. I prosecuter told me I was lieing and they still hadn't told me what I was detained for. Later on in the day around 6pm I was taken to the local FBI headquarter and questioned there. Only then did I know what they thought I was involved with. They thought I was involved with a kidnapping because I met with someone they had under surveliance. I didn't even know the guy. I just got my last paycheck from him, which they kept for a friggin week. They even let that guy our hours before they let me go and he was the one they thought was the kidnapper.

I still get very nervous around police officers till this day. I really would just like an apology, but I never followed up because I am afraid that they will use what I told them while I was scared out of mind against me. I mean I am not a horrible person, but I even confessed to the time when I was five and walked out of a seven-eleven without paying for potato-chips. At first I thought that was what they were bringing me in for.

Did they do anything wong when they immediately handcuffed and put me in the back of a police car without reading me my right? Did I give up my rights when I signed the miranda? Can I get an apology? Should I even ask? I don't think I can ever trust police officers again.

braisler

The situation is a crock but unfortunately the government will not pay back social security benefits. The hard line for when she gets her benefits is from when she applies. However, if you can show that the government mislead her about the benefits, for example if the S.S. administrator she spoke with mistakenly told her she was not eligible, she might be able to recover some of the back benefits.

Additionally, if the accountant was in a position to know about the benefits and didn't tell her through negligence he might be liable for what she missed.

Either way I would suggest she schedule an appointment with a Social Security or other Administrative lawyer who can advise her of her rights and options. Many attorneys offer free or low cost initial consultations. To find attorneys who specialize in S.S. call your local county bar association.

Axiom_e, please post your jurisdiction. The recourses available to you depend on what state/country you are in.

Generally speaking:

It is unclear whether they did anything wrong when they immediately handcuffed you without reading your rights. From the facts you describe I don't know if they had probable cause or reasonable suspicion to arrest you. This would depend on your jurisdiction. Associating with known criminals usually isn't enough to justify an arrest, but it differs from state to state.

That they didn't read your rights only matters as to your confession. Any statements you made to the police after arrest but before they informed you of your rights would be inadmissible in nearly every jurisdiction.

"Signing the miranda" probably means you signed a form waiving your right to speak with an attorney and you agreed to speak with the officers. You may not have been aware of this or been so frightened that you didn't know what else to do, but your fear doesn't matter. As a general rule, you should never waive your right to speak with an attorney or remain silent. The police will promise you all sorts of things and lie to you (yes, cops can lie to you) until you refuse to speak. Nothing you can say at this point can possibly help you. The police are interested in fitting together a puzzle and what kind of piece you are. They have every advantage. No matter how smart or innocent you think you are you will never be better off speaking with the police without an attorney. I cannot stress this enough. When you are a suspect or a "person of interest" the police are not your friend. Your only hope lies in contacting an attorney. If it's a mistake the attorney will help clear it up, if it's not he/she will make sure you understand the situation and your legal rights.

As to getting an apology, first you would have to establish that they violated one of your legal rights. Your best chance here is for an illegal arrest not based on probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Jurisdictions differ on whether you can bring such a suit against the government and/or what you can recover. Most likely, even if you live in a state that allows such suits, the cost of suing the police force would be so prohibitive as to make it impossible.

As to not trusting cops, I'm not the biggest fan of the police because I see what some of them do firsthand. Whether trusting the police is something you should value in the first place is a question for another thread (Living, politics or philosophy maybe).

LLC or INC questions.

Hello,

I operate a business and I'm trying to decide what the best incorporation choice for our business is.
We do media duplication and product fulfillment. We also make many courses and marketing kits.
I did read your post on LLC and INC but I'm still a little confused. :hmm:
So the question is... What type of incorporation should I choose? And why?
We are located in Texas. The business is a sole proprietorship.
Naturally we are wanting to protect our personal lives from our business lives and we want to choose the best option for the best tax benefits.
Thanks for any advice you can provide :)

Daniel

You're going to need to speak with a local attorney. The laws regarding corporations differ from state to state, and sometimes from county to county. A local attorney is going to be able to tell you which corporation type is best. It's impossible to know all the possible tax and liability consequences unless the attorney is a local one.

Generally, in PA, when possible I advise the formation of an LLC as it gives you more options for tax filing. While this is usually preferable for federal taxes, it may not be for state and/or local tax law.

Contact your local county bar association for a referral.

Will do. Thanks,

Daniel

Ok, here is my question. After doing some searching and not being able to find anything, I figure I'll go ahead and bug you guys.

The Problem:

I was driving back to Laredo, TX from San Antonio, TX after a day trip to pick up some things. I was driving a 2005 Chevy Crew Cab Pickup, using the cruise control set at 70mph (speed limit) when I was pulled over by TX DPS. After I had stopped, the trooper came up and asked me to get my license and insurance and get out of the truck. Told him that my insurance was in the glove box and got it and got out. He had me stand in behind the truck while he checked my record and what not. While he was doing that, another trooper who was sitting in the DPS car got out and walked over to the front of the truck and started looking around the inside, didn't open any doors, just looked thru the rolled down window. The 1st trooper told me that I was pulled over for speeding, that I was doing 84mph. I nicely asked where it was I was speeding, not that I was arguing it, I was just curious where it happened, He responded by saying "Oh, back there a ways." He filled out the ticket, handed it to me to sign, I signed, and was on my way. After everything was done and over with, I was looking at the ticket a little more closely and noticed that the year of the vehicle is wrong, and instead of 84mph, its listed as 86mph. Since I was pulled over by DPS, the court is in Pearsall, TX.

My Question:
Is there anyway of fighting this? It is my 1st speeding ticket.
BTW, I checked the cruise control after everything, and it stayed on 70 the entire time.

Thanks in advance for your help

Sure, you can fight it. You'll have to go where the court is and persuade the judge that the officer was wrong and you're right. I know, I know, the presumption is that you were innocent, but let's be realistic. This is the same judge that heard this officers' tickets last week and will hear them again the week after you're gone, but that MAY not be against you if the officer has a reputation for writing squirrelly tickets.

When I was a prosecutor in the mid-80's, there were five troopers writing tickets in my district. Of those I lost at trial, I'll be willing to bet that half of them came from the same officer. Do the math: He wrote 20% of the citations and lost half (if not more) of the tickets in court. Why? The judge knew he was a loser.

Depending on the cost of the ticket and the effect on your insurance, you may want to talk to an attorney that handled traffic offenses in that area. There may be a "deferred sentence" arrangement under which you are placed on probation for a short time, and if you don't have any other tickets in that time (90 days or 6 months), your ticket is dismissed and not reported to the agency that counts the points against your driving record. However, most places require the offender to pay the ticket and court costs in order to get such a sentence. Being in Arkansas, I couldn't tell you what a traffic court in Texas would require.

Yeah, I kinda figured as much. I thought about how many times a judge must hear that when I first thought about fighting it. I guess I'll just be going for defensive driving. There goes $97 down the drain because some trooper was an asshat.

Also you might want to check into a "Good Driver Statute" that some states have. If you have a clean record for a certain amount of time, some states are willing to dismiss the ticket.

I put a friend on my car insurance for almost 12 months. Everything was going good, till they got fired, and i was like alright ill float you the car insurance. In order to have them on my insurance my name had to be on the title, so i never really drew up a contract saying that they would have to pay me x amount of x. This friend desides they want the easy life and married someone they met once to go live with em on an army base.

Now here is where my problem is the friend owes me 350.00, and since they are currently living on an army base i cannot just go and take the car and drive it myself. I live in pennsylvania, and they are in south carolina? or georgia.

I have contacted them before and they say its in the mail, and i would like to ask your advice first. Do i tell them that i will sue for half of the blue book value of the car if they dont pay? My name is still on the title, so do i find out who they have insuring them and tell them my name is on the title, hence they cannot insure it if im also not on their insurace.

I could solve this myself if they didnt move on an army base, because i could just go drive around their car, untill they paid me because my name is on the title

You've got some leverage, but you won't be able to use it just yet. Someday the car will be part of a trade in or a sale, and your friend won't be able to convey a title on it. When that happens, you'll be contacted about executing the title. You'll be able to charge a movie star's price for your signature.

And yes, contacting the insurance company is another possible avenue. In order to tag the vehicle in some states, proof of insurance must be given. If she can't insure it due to your name being on the title, we're back to where she needs an expensive signature.

Threatening a suit with her in the South and you in PA would be laughable if she knows anything about the law. Don't go that route, just sit tight and she'll come to you eventually.

Does anyone know the traffic laws in pennsylvania?

I was going 80mph in a 55mph zone

i was about 1 1\2 miles past the 55 mph sign, and there are no other signs for the next 10 miles.

I would like to know if Pennsylvania allows any way to get your points fromt he ticket expunged or the best way to try to negotiat a regual fine with no points

The officer said he would mail me my ticket ( i also forgot my drivers L at home)

any suggestions i figure 3 - 5 days before i get the letter w\ 10 days to respond

For a summary conviction or plea of guilty to going 25 over the posted speed limit PennDot will impose 4 points on your license.

If you are really worried about points on your license or any kind of traffic infraction on your record, call or speak with an attorney. You will not be appointed a public defender for the traffic citation, so you must contact your local bar association for a referral. An experienced traffic attorney can negotiate with the police, as well as spot any potential technical arguments. If the officer is unwilling to negotiate and you have to go through with a hearing, an attorney can properly cross examine the officer and make additional legal arguments.

Having said that, most police are willing to work with you if you have an otherwise clean driving record and explain that the points will increase your insurance or have some other deleterious effect.

For example, you may be permitted to plead to a "thirty-one eleven".

This is a summary offense which carries a fine, but no points on your license.

If convicted of the speeding charge you could theoretically have the ticket and subsequent summary conviction expunged, but you would have to hire an attorney and it might be a difficult process. Also, this will not affect the amount of points imposed on your license.

The Pennsylvania Point system:

Provides that only after the accumulation of six points do administrative penalties set in (beginning with a lovely safety-refresher course).
3 points are removed every year after your violation in which you do not receive a ticket.

Read more about the Point System here:
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms...rms/dl-71p.pdf

EDIT:
If you are interested in hiring an attorney to represent you at the hearing, feel free to PM me for a recommendation.

i didnt find out for sure yet, but i believe that the car that had my name on the title was sold or traded in... i am going to find out tommrow on the 24th. I have recieved no money nor did i sign the title. whats the best advice you can give me?

Do any of you know good (free) internet ressources for Business Agreements and Contracts: drafts, advice, guidelines, etc...?

Man, I know I complain about dogs a lot, but...

The neighborhood across from where I live (in an apartment complex) has a lot of dogs, two of which bark almost CONSTANTLY day and night. Is there anything I can do about this? Do most cities have ordinances about dogs barking in the city limits?

I got hit by a car (while on my bike) and fractured my right tibia about 5 days ago. The driver repeatedly admitted guilt and said he was sorry, but the police did not give him a ticket nor officially deem him guilty (they didn't say anybody was at fault).

I have a copy of the police report with the other guy's insurance, and showed it to the hospital when I went in.

Is there anything I have to do to insure the driver's insurance covers anything? Are there any particular legal options or responsibilities I should know about?

I've never been involved in so much as a car accident, so I don't know a lot about insurance claims.

Most cities do have such ordinances, call the police if it's keeping you awake.

His insurance probably won't cover anything up front. You may have to sue to make sure your hospital bills are paid.

Contact an attorney, who should help keep track of your medical progress. I generally wouldn't recommend filing suit until you are done treating, so make sure you hold onto all of your documentation.

I'm screwed. Hope you can help me....

I had a Honda Passport- stupid choice buying it in the first place- come to find out (although we knew it wasn't Honda-made) we bought it for almost 2x the amount it was worth. Well, my husband got laid off, sat on his ass, ending up making me get a FT job which finances didn't even compare still. Fell behind on payments......we get divorced....I chose to take responsibility for paying for the car, yet it is in both our names. Well, I looked at the big picture--- Pay almost $500/mo. on this car for the rest of my life that has no value and not be able to move, save $, etc. OR try to sell it (didn't work), trading it in (didn't work), or voluntarily have it repo'd. I chose C. Ya, I knew what it would do to our credit, then found out that we would owe the remaining balanced after it was auctioned off. The bank did not warn us of this at first.
Well I have been trying to touch bases with the "recovery services" guy from the bank early last month, who seemed really willing to work with us. Well, being that our schedules and time zones were conflicting, we never got a chance to proceed. Last week a lady called me from an attorney's office informing me that her "client" is now in ownership of the vehicle and is looking to collect the remaining $10,000 from us in a lump sum- no payments. She has been really trying to encourage me finding someone to loan me at least $5,000 to help this out so that it won't cost as much. I have no one who can help me- I tried. She also said she would try talking again with her client to see if they'd be willing to drop the total amount or accept payments.
Well, I know I'm screwed, but I just at least want any valuable insight or advice when handling this. All I can do is go through it and learn from it, but hopefully it won't be as bad as I will be prepared for. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I used to use NOLO some time ago. They used to have lots of free forms. I just browsed the site quickly but couldn't find the same amount of resources that I used to.

I'll keep looking for other resources.

Any Lawyers Around?
 

Greetings...

I have a quick question...I am interested in returning to college in hopes of gaining a degree in Meteorology.

A quick background...

4 years ago, I attended the University of Tennessee - Knoxville for 2 semesters. Unfortunately, I was place on academic dismissal for having less than a 2.0 GPA for the year. I will not make excuses for my lack of satisfactory grades, just that college wasn't for me 4 years ago.

Now I am ready to go back, and I am afriad with my lack of success in college a few years ago I will have a hard time being accepted.

I have since moved to Tupelo, MS and am Interested in applying to Mississippi State for their "distance learning" Geosciences course with an emphasis in Meteorology.

Now for my question....

The application asks for my previous college transcripts, however I am curious under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act am I allowed to legally (for a lack of a better word) "lie" about attending college previously?

Thanks...

not a lawyer, but as an ex-member of a student justice board (think of it like a grand jury composed of college students) I can tell you that if they find out you omitted this, they can kick you out for academic dishonesty.

You're not the first person to try getting back into college with a shitty GPA. The usual route is to do a semester or two of community college to show the regular college that you're now ready to put some effort into it.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=62460

Ask a lawyer thread

So just recently I just got a ticket in Edmonds, Washington...which is Snohomish county. Anyways, I was at a stop light and he was right behind me. As soon as I turned right, he turned his lights on and pulled me over. It turns out that my license tabs were suppose to be renewed in March. He cited me with a RCW 46.16.010.0. Well I can only find RCW 45.16.010---I couldn't find the last zero. So I actually read that and it said

Ok so operating it without initial registration and on a public highway is a TRAFFIC infraction. But what does initial registration mean and I wasn't operating on a highway...from what I understand, highways don't have stoplights. Furthermore, when I was stopped, I asked the cop if it was a traffic infraction, and he responded with a "no." But on the front of my ticket, it is marked as a traffic infraction. So I'm really confused right now. If it does end up being a traffic infraction, is it one where it will be on my driving record for the insurance companies to look at? If it ends up being a non-traffic infraction, what should I do next? Should I subpeona the officer to appear? If I do subpeona the officer to appear, can I get the recorded conversation he had with me when he pulled me over? If I am able to get that conversation and prove that he did indeed say that this was NOT a traffic infraction, would it be of any relevance to my case?

Another thing, and under the VIOLATION/STATUTE CODE where he cited my RCW 46.16.010.0, there looks like there is another statute written there but I can't read the middle word(s). It looks like E_C 8.06.010.

Or am I just confusing a non-traffic violation with non-moving violation and they infact cannot be used interchangebly?

Thanks in advance for any advice

I realize you might not know this since your speciality is in Colorado, but maybe you can point me in the right direction. Wondering if it is legal in the state of California to dump 40+ gallons a week of raw unprocessed industrial waste down the drain.

I worked for this "environmental testing lab" that took the samples that they test for contaminants and simply dumped them (actually had me dump them) down the drain when they were finished with them. Some of the samples were harmless, but we did process technicolor film processing chemical wastes, American Airlines waste engine oil, biochemical wastes, etc.

Internet domain name question
 

My wife has a business which she purchased a domain name and set up a website for. Her only competition in the area recently purchased and set up a domain name almost exactly the same, (minus one letter) and directed it to their real website. Is their anything that she can do about it? She has a business name and business liscense which is the same as her website, based on her name (i.e. w_w.mabelsdishwashing.com their new one would be w_w.mabeldishwashing.com). They have no one working for them with my wife's name, which is not Mabel and she does not have a dishwashing business, although she does do the dishes now and then. Both business do basically the same things just differently.

We are in California, but I am sure this has been done before around the country. Can we send them a cease and desist letter, for using her basic business name? Should she get her name trademarked or copyrighted, and then deal with them? Any other options?

Thanks

Certainly she can send a cease and desist letter, but that won't prevent them from continuing to use the site. The only route you'll have to effectively shut them down is to contact an IP attorney to sue for trademark infringement. This could potentially be a ridiculously expensive process so make sure it's worth the effort to protect this similar website name.

http://www.uspto.gov/ - to conduct searches of registered trademarks
http://www.netpolicy.com/ - for more information on domain names as trademarks

First, recognize that the people you've been talking too, however nice they may have been on the phone, are not your friends. They want money from you, as much money as they can possibly get. You need to stop talking to them on the phone, demand everything in writing, and contact a non-profit credit counseling service or an attorney. If your financial situation is as bad as it sounds you may qualify for reduced fee or pro bono legal services from a local organization. Call your county's bar association for a referral.

Act immediately; don't let this continue to sit, and don't make another payment without consulting with someone.

We really need to know your specific jurisdiction down to the county, city and/or township. Sewage services are almost exclusively handled on a local level.

Although it does sound pretty nasty it may very well be legal if the proper permits are acquired. You'll have to contact your local sewer services to determine the answer to this question.

No one's going to throw you in prison for not being honest on a college application (assuming your not under oath or otherwise made aware it is a testimonial) if that's what you mean. But as another poster mentioned, it is possible they may kick you out if they should discover it later.

Note that this doesn't apply to applications to federal or state agencies for aid or loans (i.e. the FAFSA). As I recall those documents do require an oath or affirmation, and you can be fined for false statements.

You mentioned used engine oil, I'm pretty sure that it's illegal to dump that. Engine oil has to be recycled.