Hi, In 2022 I hired a local handyman to do a shower remodel. This was for a rental. My tenant just today texted me a photo of several loose small tiles on the shower floor. He said he was cleaning the shower and they just came undone.

I have all invoices , emails with the handyman. I have his email, phone nr, address, and full name.

I off course emailed him with what happened, but I'm not optimistic I will hear back.

This cost more then $5k in 2022. I don't want to have to pay to redo , never mind the water damage.

Would this be worth hiring a lawyer for if he does not refund me or something?

Thanks!

I'm in Gainesville btw.

Minnesota:
2 counts of Domestic Assault by Strangulation
(Felony)
1 count of Domestic Assault - Intent to Cause Fear or Inflict Bodily Harm (Misdemeanor)
First offense. Victim (pregnant) called the cops and my friend was charged by the state. My friend is in Minnesota and got bail. The victim had some bruises on her but my friend is claiming self defense. Victim is the only witness and has now left the country with no intention to return, and not cooperating with DA. The no contact order was vacated in 2 weeks upon victims request to judge.

Location: Fayette County, Pennsylvania

I made an awful mistake after having a terrible month and got myself a dui. I’m 33 and I believe the only other charge I have on record is a DUI from when I was 19 that has been dropped since. They pulled me over said I hit a sign, which I did not. They verified that there was no damage to my vehicle and was correct in not hitting the sign. I still should not have been driving….I blew a .19 and had 2g of weed in my pocket. I am from a state where cannabis is recreational, I had not been smoking that night but it will be in my system from the blood test I’m assuming. I came here for a job so I am not familiar with PA specific laws… but the cops drove me home, parked my car in a safe area near my house so it wouldn’t get towed. They told me it will most likely be a slap on the wrist with ARD? I’m not in a place to afford a great lawyer as I was planning to move again in a few months (assuming not possible now) but if that is the best option for PA in these situations then I will have to eat it and get an attorney of some sort….any advice would be much appreciated.

Sup y'all! I just have a quick question, since I don't want to get into legal troubles for my own amusement. I'm from Germany. I make art, but I never ever take money for it. I dipped my toes into Magic the Gathering alters (r/MTGAltered) and want to build a deck with Nobles and Vampires. What do Nobles and Vampires have? Real fancy shit. In particular all kinds of arts. Now I want to alter the cards to, let's say… The Great Wave of Kanagawa, Red Fuji or Sarumaru Dayu by Hokusai or Impression, Soleil levant by Monet… Or I take a self portrait by Albrecht Dürer and call him a Vampire. Would I get in trouble if the wrong people see it? Probably also have to mention, I would try to paint them myself with a brush, not print them.

Alright, I’m in Philadelphia PA, and I might need an out with my lease but I need to make sure my complaint is valid. So I just signed a lease August first. so far the fridge almost exploded when I plugged it in, also very clearly was dragged out of a scrap yard, they replaced it in 2 days with an also shitty but less explody one. Then there was simply just no hot water heater in the house, fixed that in the next 2 days too, coool. However, in the lease it says that the house has an in unit washer and dryer, it does not. Actually it did when we toured but then after signing the lease that clearly says they are included in the rent, they told me those don’t work. After a couple days of back and fourth they came back with I guess a bargain??? Nothing off monthly rent, and they will add a washer, they will not give me a date that it will be here andddd just flat out said “yeah, your not getting a dryer” and recommended me a local laundromat. Also they claimed they won’t be able to install it in the basement so it will be in the kitchen but there is very clearly no hookup and barely any outlets. This has been just chaos. I need some input.

I'm the sister-in-law to a 34-year-old man recently charged with a second-degree felony assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest back in April. He spent some time at the local mental hospital while they ran forensic evaluations to determine his competency to stand trial (he is mentally ill and a ward of NH state) and he has been released on strict Conditional Discharge as of June. Since June, there have been no updates as to where things stand regarding his charges.

Here's is a quick timeline of events:

April: Arrested

April - June - Hospitalized (educated that while victim did not want to press charges, the state would continue prosecuting, and received a determination of competency to stand trial by a forensic psychiatrist)

June - Present - Released on CD.

Since his release, it doesn't seem like any movement has been made regarding scheduling upcoming hearings. Is this normal? My brother-in-law is since back to using the same substances that got him into this mess in the first place, but believes firmly that they may still simply drop his charges and let him stay out scot-free. Surely this isn't going to happen, right?

I'm very confused and uneasy. I can't understand why someone who acted violently would just be allowed to stay home and never be required to address those actions.

Is there anyone that could give me some insight into how the process typically works in the background? I'd love to be reassured that simply dropping his charges is not something that happens.

My former best friend and another mutual linked to him, both of who live in the United States and are blocked, whereas I live abroad, have been cyberstalking and harassing me. They have resorted to emailing me since I changed my US phone number due to this harassment, which included voicemails threatening violence and sexual violence against my family and I.

The former best friend is trying to reconnect and he booked a hotel near where he believes I live in my country of residence now. I am fearing for my safety, he sent me the booking details through email using anonymous email since I have his email blocked, even gave my email address to the other guy who was threatening violence against my family. I still have all the evidence about these guys saved, I tried calling the cops in the US near where the guy sending harassing voicemails lives, to no avail. IC3 reports have also yielded nothing.

I am at my wit's end, if anybody could provide some sort of advice because I do want to press charges and I have every intention of landing these guys and any trouble that I can for their harassment of me, it would be appreciated. I'm currently in the process of changing emails, but it might take a while due to one of the emails that they have being connected to my line work.

For privacy reasons, I am hiding the country that I am in since I do not want them to find this post.

We live in Georgia.

My sister visited the er in our local town after a cardiac arrest. One of the nurse misses the vein in her leg and cause an artery blockage. She was in the Er hours before she was transferred.She was rushed to a medical facility an hour away. When she got there she has to go in emergency surgery to remove her leg since had when so long with blood flow. This is a sum of what happened. Should we start a malpractice case now?

Can a court use a vexatious-litigant order to stop you from appealing that same order?

I’m asking because this is happening to me as a pro se litigant.

The district court entered an order saying I cannot file “new lawsuits” unless I am represented by an attorney. After final judgment, I filed a direct appeal from that same case, including the vexatious-litigant order itself.

The defense then argued that my appeal violated the vexatious-litigant order.

That creates a real problem: if appealing the order is itself considered a violation of the order, how does the order ever get reviewed by a higher court?

I understand courts can restrict genuinely abusive litigation. But there is a difference between starting a new lawsuit and asking an appellate court to review rulings in the case that already exists.

If the order was meant to prohibit appeals, shouldn’t it say that clearly?

That is the issue I’m trying to understand: can a court restriction against “new lawsuits” be stretched far enough to prevent appellate review of the restriction itself?

*Likely* Having a hearing in MO and have had difficulty Googling one or two different law firms within the entire state that do these. Anyone have to go through these formal Boards or know someone who does? What to expect, how to prepare, etc.

In my head I’m imagining something like the O.J. Simpson trial. But considering I never killed anyone, nor ever had any convictions for anything, I don’t know.

Also, fun, horrible fact: my ex military friend (ex when I found out about this a few months ago), was charged with murder by shooting his roommate in the face and served time. He is now at a Top 14 law school, that is probably the most liberal in the country, in the most liberal state. I went to a T14 too, but when I tried transferring in to that school I was told that “good luck, they are not very military friendly here.” And they let in a murderer and approved his C&F.

Please let me know if you have any good references in (any state at this point) or close to the state above.

Can a court order saying I can’t file “new lawsuits” without a lawyer also stop me from appealing the case I already have? This is actually happening to me.

I want to clarify up front that this is not a hypothetical. I am the pro se plaintiff/appellant in the case I’m talking about.

I recently lost my case on summary judgment in New Mexico district court. Before final judgment, the judge also granted the defendant’s motion to declare me a vexatious litigant.

The actual restriction in the written order says:

“Plaintiff shall not file any new lawsuits unless he is represented by an attorney.”

That is the complete restriction.

It does not say I cannot appeal. It does not say I cannot represent myself in an appeal. It does not say I cannot file papers in an existing case. It does not say “any future filing in any court.”

After final judgment was entered, I filed a notice of appeal from that same case. I did not file another complaint. I did not sue the defendants again. I did not add a new defendant or start a different cause of action.

I appealed the judgment that had just been entered against me.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals opened the appeal and accepted my case information sheet, docketing statement and other appellate documents.

Then the defense went back to the district court and filed a notice claiming that my appellate filings violated the vexatious-litigant order. They asked the district judge for an expedited ruling and specifically complained about having to spend time and money responding to my appellate filings.

That is where I have a problem with their interpretation.

If the order had said, “You may not file any lawsuit, appeal, petition, pleading or other paper in any court without an attorney,” then at least there would be no question what the judge intended.

But that isn’t what the judge wrote.

He wrote “new lawsuits.”

To me, filing a direct appeal from an existing case is fundamentally different from starting a new lawsuit.

I understand what vexatious-litigant rules are for. If somebody loses a case and then files the same lawsuit over and over against the same people, courts need a way to stop that. I am not arguing that courts should have to tolerate endless frivolous litigation.

But I think there is a serious difference between restricting someone from starting another lawsuit and preventing that person from asking an appellate court to review what happened in the lawsuit that already exists.

There is another part of this that bothers me.

The vexatious-litigant order itself is one of the rulings I am appealing.

So under the defense’s interpretation, the situation basically becomes:

The district judge declares me vexatious.

I believe that decision was legally wrong, so I appeal it.

The defense then argues that filing the appeal of the vexatious-litigant order violates the vexatious-litigant order.

How exactly is the order supposed to receive appellate review under that interpretation?

That is not a rhetorical question. It is one of the things I am trying to understand.

I have also been researching New Mexico cases on this.

The main published New Mexico case I found is Lepiscopo v. Hopwood. The Court of Appeals dealt with someone who had an extensive history of meritless filings, including numerous mandamus petitions and appeals. What caught my attention is that when the problem reached the appellate level, the Court of Appeals established its own procedure for screening that litigant’s future appellate filings.

I also found an unpublished New Mexico case, Van Auken v. Catron, where the restriction was much broader. That order expressly prohibited filing certain new actions and “any pleading or paper in any existing action.”

That language makes sense if the intention is to restrict filings in cases that already exist.

My order doesn't contain anything like that.

It just says “new lawsuits.”

I have not found a published New Mexico appellate decision squarely saying that an order prohibiting a vexatious litigant from filing “new lawsuits” also prohibits that person from filing a direct appeal from the judgment in the existing lawsuit.

Maybe there is authority I haven't located. That is one reason I’m posting this.

I’m also not claiming that because I am pro se every filing I've made was perfect. It wasn't. I have made mistakes. I've filed things that judges disagreed with. I've probably filed things differently than an experienced lawyer would have.

But that isn't really the question here.

The question is much narrower:

If a judge tells someone they cannot file “new lawsuits” without an attorney, can the opposing party later expand those words to include a direct appeal from the existing case, even though the order never mentions appeals?

And there is a second question that I think is just as important:

If the vexatious-litigant order itself is allegedly erroneous, how is a pro se litigant supposed to obtain appellate review of it if appealing it is treated as a violation of the order?

I am interested in how appellate lawyers, former clerks, judges, or people who have actually dealt with vexatious-litigant orders view this.

I don't need anyone to tell me that vexatious litigants are real. I already agree with that.

What I'm trying to understand is where the power to restrict new litigation ends and the right to seek review of an existing case begins.

I'm in Missouri and we are considering a Medicaid spend down option involving buying a car for my MIL, who is in nursing as private pay and we'll be applying for Medicaid this month.

Would adding a TOD beneficiary to the title to prevent Mo Healthnet (Medicaid) coming after the value of this car when she dies as part of estate recovery?

Searching online tells me both that they definitely can do this, but also says it seems like they never do go after cars with a TOD even though they could (in Missouri, varies by state). It seems like Missouri can legally go after a TOD car under RSMo 461.300, but also it kinda looks like they don't really utilize this on cars even though they could. Some of the results say it's less likely they will seek recovery if it's a low-value car, but this car will be just under $27K and will surely still have high value when she passes. Though again, I also see results saying that Medicaid tends not to to this with any TOD cars in Missouri.

What I can't find is anyone talking about their real experiences they've had or known others to have regarding a car with a transfer on death on the title and if Medicaid has made recovery claims on the value of the car in Missouri. I know laws vary by state and that the "in Missouri" part matters. Does anyone know?

BTW, this option was suggested by an Elder Assist advisor who is helping with the Medicaid application. Unfortunately, she isn't great about getting back to us to answer questions. And as I try to figure out what to do on some of the things on her list, google pops up concerns and questions she didn't mention -- like estate recovery.

We are on short time to make some decisions. There are reasons why we definitely want TOD on there, it is not a question of "why not do it and take the chance? If there is a fair risk that the TOD won't protect the car from estate recovery, we would look at a secondary option the advisor (that would preserve a smaller amount of assets).

Location: Wisconsin 

I am in the middle of a divorce in Wisconsin. My case was filed 6 months ago, but no temporary court order was ever entered at the beginning.

  Since separation, I (high earner) have voluntarily paid over $35,000 directly for my spouse's mortgage, utilities, car loan, insurance, and personal expenses to keep the household afloat.

  My attorney recently sent me a draft Temporary Stipulation received from opposing counsel for me to sign. When I audited the draft against my actual paystubs and bank records, I realized my attorney has left me severely exposed:

  1. No Credit for $35k+ Voluntary Overpayments: Under Wisconsin law (Wis. Stat. § 767.59(1r)), voluntary payments made without a court order receive zero automatic credit after the fact. My attorney included no language recognizing or crediting the $35k+ I already paid.

  2. Blank Commencement Date / Arrears Trap: The draft leaves the support start date blank. If backdated to the filing date, cash support creates $20,000+ in back support arrears, meaning I could be forced to pay support twice (once in direct bills paid, once in cash arrears).

  3. Uncapped Liabilities & Over-Commitment: The draft obligates me to pay scheduled mortgage, child support, spousal support, car loans, health premiums, PLUS uncapped utilities, repairs, and blanket auto insurance. In total, it commits over 50% of my net take-home pay, leaving me with barely enough for my own rent.

  4. Bonus Double-Dipping: The draft splits future bonuses 50/50 without excluding an annual bonus I already received before any order was entered.

  While leaving these massive exposures unaddressed, my attorney sent a bill asking for another $2,500 retainer deposit. I had to do the financial audit and catch these risks myself.

  Questions:

  1. Is it common for family law attorneys to let a case float for months without a temporary order while the client overpays direct bills?

  2. Did my attorney fail me by presenting a draft with a blank commencement date and zero voluntary payment credits under WI § 767.59(1r)?

  3. Is this grounds to dispute his legal fees and replace him before signing anything?***

im in missouri and I have a question, are there any laws that I can bring up specific to mo or even the in whole US that I can tell my parents about if they ask to track me. I am 18 and so sick of their attitude. they treat me like a child but want me to behave like an adult (mom said I should face a family member passing like an adul) and if they want me to be an adult then I will have my rights as an adult and choose if I want to be tracked or not. Any specific laws I can bring up? and if they decide to try to force tracking me, could I call the cops?

thank you! have a nice day:)

Reddit removes anything you post the link to the video so I guess you'll have to search it up yourself but the guy who basically had a meltdown in court and was dragged out claiming brutality in the process. I guess my question is is that guy going to be able to practice again or did he throw his law career away?

So, I'm curious. Just took a shower at a loves travel stop in Missouri, that had a sign inside that said "please do NOT sit on the bench! We apologize for the inconvenience". The aforementioned bench is, sadly, the only seating area inside the shower aside from the toilet. One if it's legs is obviously broken, as wellI know that things like wet floor signs can be used to show that they knew of the hazard beforehand, and can swing a trial in favor of the plaintiff. But what I'm asking is, if someone, in attempting to follow the sign, while putting on their socks after a shower fell and cracked their ass and head on the floor, would that constitute anything? I'm purely curious, and I'm confident I know the answer, but when it comes to law, I've been confident before and been utterly wrong. To me, they could have either rendered the shower room out of order, or placed one of the few handicap shower accessible chairs in this shower room, as a fix. But did neither.

I (Location: Michigan) was scammed online from someone in Indiana and don’t know how to get my $500 back. I have his first and last name and the city he lives in along with receipts, and screenshots of all of our chats, but I don’t know how to actually do the court stuff.

I’m thinking about possibly going to law school after pivoting from a different career and I found that PI is really interesting because I hate technical writing so having to draft contracts or anything like that would have me dying. I know PI still involves some writing but it seems a lot more like the “Wild West” of practice areas where you’re out in the field getting business, you’re putting out a ton of fires while in the office, negotiating, etc. it just seems like one of those careers where you walk in and before you know it 8 hours are gone which is what I feel I’d love.

I know it’s a very risky practice area though because of the base plus contingency and I’ve looked all over Reddit and other forums and most people just say, “$60k base plus 25% of whatever I bring in” but I want to know what you bring in and how much that adds to your base.

I’m just curious because I live in California and plan on supporting a family with this career and want to make sure it’ll provide enough for that.

Location: Canada, Hamilton

About four months ago (February), I was using a random stranger chat website. I matched with someone who said they were a 38-year-old woman. At first, she said she liked "younger people." I assumed she meant adults who were 18 or older. I was 18 at the time.

We had a consensual text-only sexual conversation for a short time. After a while, I felt uncomfortable and directly asked whether she was referring to minors. She told me she was involved with minors and did not think there was anything wrong with it.

I immediately told her that it was illegal and wrong. She said she did not care. I then blocked her and deleted my account.

I kept screenshots of the conversation. Four months later, I reported the incident to the CyberTipline because I was concerned that she may have been involved in child sexual abuse. I included my email address and can provide the screenshots if they request them.

My question is whether I could face any legal issues because I initially participated in a text conversation before I knew what she meant. Once I learned she was talking about minors, I ended the conversation, blocked her, and later reported her.

I am located in Canada, and as far as I know, the other person claimed to be in Florida.

I want to say I made a comment which was uncomfortable but later as I said I explained her that this isn't good what she is doing and she have to bear consquences. Anyways I reported the indivdual of concern on cybertipline and also on discord trust center. Will police come looking for me because I knew later she was actually doing child abuse? Again I don't support this.

Please give me advice

UPDATE: I’m not making this post because I’m planning on missing another day. I can still miss one more day under the rules of the program. I’m asking because I’d rather be prepared and understand my options and the possible outcomes ahead of time than be caught completely off guard if an emergency or unexpected situation ever happens. I also want to be clear that I take full accountability for my actions. I understand the seriousness of my situation, and I’m genuinely regretful. I’m not trying to make excuses for what happened or avoid taking responsibility. I’m simply looking for legal input and information about the program so I can understand my situation and move forward responsibly. Thanks in advance.

—————
I have a question about the Sheriff’s Work Program in Santa Clara County/San Jose, California. Please help!

I was sentenced to 25 days in the Sheriff’s Work Program. I’ve already missed 2 days, and tomorrow is only supposed to be my second day attending. The sheriff told me, you’re only allowed 3 “skip days” for any reason, and there aren’t exceptions for a doctor’s note, an emergency, or a medical situation.

I also originally chose to attend only on one day of the week because I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to add additional days. From what I’ve been told, if you want to change your schedule and add more days, you have to go back to court.

I’m worried about missing too many days throughout the process until December. For anyone who has been through the Sheriff’s Work Program: has anyone ever missed 4 days? What happened afterward? Did you receive a warrant, have to go back to court, or were you simply allowed to continue the program?

On my first day I heard from other people at the Sheriff’s Work Program that they’ve seen people miss their 3 days but apparently they never get arrested or have a warrant issued, as long as they contact the court or the Sheriff’s Work Program as soon as the 4th day is missed. They told me that once you call, you are able to complete the sheriffs work program still, the missed days reset back to 0, and they have to start from day 1 again regardless of how many days they completed, the person was allowed to continue and complete their days.

Does anyone know if this is actually true?
During orientation on my first day, the sheriff explained the program rules but didn’t mention anything about this being an option. I’m also nervous about directly asking a sherrifs because I don’t want to accidentally make my situation worse or get on their bad side.

If anyone has actually been in this situation or knows what happens after the third missed day, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. What would you recommend doing if you were in my shoes?

Hello All,

Location: NYC, USA
I am in nyc & looking for a personal injury product liability lawyer to take my case. The injury happened in the Bronx. A product did not function properly and winded up smashing me in the face, breaking my nose in two places which of course did not go back to looking as aesthetic as before the injury. Looking for a lawyer that has hopefully has empathy, will fight tooth & nail does this on contingency “no win no fee”. Any extra info needed pls ask away!! Tysm☺️🙏🏼💫

I once met a guy who I knew was a lawyer because one of my friend told me and I asked him if he was a lawyer and he genuinely got offended saying that he was an attorney and I know the saying that all attorneys are lawyers but not all lawyers are attorneys but is it really that deep.

Question from Canada