Questions tagged [civil-law]
For questions relating to non-criminal legal branch of [common-law] legal systems. Not to be confused with [civil-legal-system], relating to civilian or Roman law.
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Can I sue a restaurant for serving me meat in vegetarian dish?
I am a vegetarian for religious reasons. I was at Chipotle on Saturday and ordered a sofritas rice bowl which is "vegan approved". To my surprise, I found a chunk of chicken in my bowl when I was ...
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5
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Can I sue an appraiser for assigning a low value to my property?
Due to the low value assigned to my home by an appraiser, I didn't get a loan and it did cost money.
However, when I went to another bank, two new appraisers gave a higher value and I was able to ...
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What are the legal requirements in the United States for being recognized under federal law as "white" or a "white" person?
Primary resource: [Hefny v. _ (1997) (citation needed, appears to have been dismissed by the U.S. District Court)]
Secondary sources:
Egyptian Immigrant Wants to be Reclassified as Black
Race, ...
5
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1
answer
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Confiscation of cellphones in public schools
School started today. I'm just reading the code of conduct about cell phone usage. It states that on first violation of the policy the device will be confiscated and held until a parent (me) comes to ...
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4
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Can a person purposely provoke someone to hit him and then report a crime?
Say someone purposely provokes another person by insulting him, knowing that this person is easily provoked.
The provoked person then hits him.
Can the person then report a crime or even file a civil ...
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What is the difference between Common Law and Civil Law in the U.S.?
Is there a difference between Common Law and Civil Law in the U.S., and if so, what is it?
- 165
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Is there a minimum speed limit on US hwy 60 in OK? Are bicycles legal on US hwy 60 in OK?
I had this experience about 4 years ago (which actually culminated a series of many similar experiences) where I was cycling my way back home (Missouri) from a bicycle trip to Cancun MX.
In ...
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3
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Is 'You the Jury' TV show really legal?
Recently I saw an ad for a new reality TV show on FOX called "You the Jury".
On Thursday, the network announced "You the Jury," a new prime-time,
unscripted reality show that allows the audience ...
- 545
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6
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Why is stealing from an employer a criminal act when stealing from an employee is a civil act?
Here is the full question with all the context and details:
In the majority of cases in the U.S. about theft at a workplace, why is the matter usually tried in a criminal court when the employer is ...
- 703
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3
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Is it a real legal principle that any ambiguity in a contract is interpreted to the benefit of the side that did not write the contract?
I have heard that there is a legal principle where any ambiguity in the contract is interpreted to the benefit of the side that did not draw up or suggest the contract text. This was presented to me ...
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When does silence imply consent?
Does the saying qui tacet consentire videtur (silence implies consent) carry any weight in civil litigation?
For example, suppose that Alice emails Bob, "When I began work we agreed that the rate ...
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Does the New York State Governor have the authority to impose fines?
The New York State Governor has allegedly declared a "fine for violations of the state's social distancing protocol from $500 to $1,000...."
The government website claiming that declaration ...
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5
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Getting paid by mistake after leaving a company?
Pretend someone worked at a company and was paid monthly. A month after leaving they are paid their severance, and should not receive any payment in the future.
A month later, they are contacted by ...
- 450
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Can I teach those careless kids a lesson and destroy their ball?
As we learned from the hypothetical In California, if a baseball lands in my yard, is it legally mine? I could face detinue for not returning the baseball upon request.
But what if:
I accidentally ...
- 21.1k
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Received a sticker on my car window on a private company car park
Quick story: I parked in my company car park (so I guess its private land), in a place where 'the bay is not marked'. I see many people parking in the same spot, and never have I seen a sticker on ...
- 171
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Why are there distinct burdens of proof in civil and criminal cases?
In a criminal case, in all common law jurisdictions that I know of, an accusation must be proven to a high level which is commonly stated as being "beyond reasonable doubt", whereas in a civil case ...
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If Trump's legal challenges to the 2020 elections are so bad, why haven't the courts ruled them as frivolous?
(Not sure if this should be on the Law.SE)
Per title. Most of the news coverage I've seen have said the challenges are bad, such as this recent one on the result of a challenge in Pennsylvania.
"...
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Can you sue yourself for wrongful-death without admitting manslaughter?
Prompted by a comment in another question, the story of a woman suing herself came to my attention.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/19/utah-appeals-court-allows-woman-to-sue-herself-over-fatal-car-...
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Why did double jeopardy not apply in the O.J. case?
On 1995 O.J. was found not guilty in the famous murder case. This was in criminal court and after that he was tried for the same thing in civil court - except this time it was called wrongful death ...
- 171
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Assaulted by store employee: who is liable?
Meet Bob. Bob was egregiously assaulted by a stores security guard who damages his phone and vehicle. One of the other employees grabs his phone out of his hand on retribution for attempting to ...
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3
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Can a man who owns a strip of land going through another's house extort the owner of the house with threat to build on the land?
There was a recent article on cracked.com discussing an individual who accidentally purchased a tiny strip of land, worth approximately 50 dollars, thinking he was purchasing the house it ran through. ...
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As the borrower, can I prevent my loan guarantor/co-signer from being released from the guarantee?
Inspired by the question My co-borrower wants her name removed from a 5 year mortgage contract :
Assume I am the debtor of a loan, and someone else agreed to guarantee/co-sign the loan for me.
If ...
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Did Zoey Tur assault Ben Shapiro?
Alleged Facts
On this video (at time marker 5:32-5:36), Ben Shapiro alleges Zoey Tur committed the crime/s (and/or tort/s) of assault and/or battery against Shapiro.
(I believe) the incident occurred ...
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Is it legal to film and record in public areas in Sweden?
The title says it all: Is it legal to film and record anything in public areas in Sweden (e.g. using a mobile phone)? Starting from roads/trees/object to people and especially the police (e.g. in a ...
3
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2
answers
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Class action lawsuits and opting out
If I am notified that I'm a member of a proposed class-action lawsuit, could I opt out, wait to see how the class action lawsuit turns out, and file a claim if the plaintiff wins? It seems like this ...
- 4,209
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1
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How does Seth MacFarlane get away with defamatory commentary?
How does Seth MacFarlane/Family Guy/Fox get away with defamatory words/depictions that harm the reputation of brands/companies/logos/mascots/characters/real people?
Or, do they get sued a lot and ...
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After being pardoned, can one be forced to testify in civil and criminal cases?
After being pardoned, can one be forced to testify in civil and criminal cases with no protection against self-incrimination?
My example is how Trump has pardoned former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio; ...
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Are Satanists legal in the US?
I heard that Satanists in USA are legal and are even represented in the counsil of the churches and have "study books" used in school.
In Russia there is a law that acts which are done to harm ...
- 257
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What can happen if you violate a cease and desist letter?
Are there any legal consequences for violating a cease and desist letter? I was sent a cease and desist letter from my university for annoying administration with a particular issue, and this letter ...
user31745
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why is a person allowed to lie in court and get away with it?
In a court of law, the defendant can tell as much lies as she wants in order to vindicate herself of the charges. But if the court finds them guilty, the false explanations that the person had given ...
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Merchandise damaged prior to purchase
Imagine one is browsing items in the aisles of a grocery store and drops one of them accidentally on the floor so it breaks.
Must any grocery store would generally write it off and tell a customer not ...
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Can suits be filed in small claims courts from overseas?
I often see freelancers suggesting to other freelancers to use the small claim courts to get paid when the client is in another country. Already with the small claim court, there's a maximum amount ...
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Are Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) of public athletes protected by copyright?
Assume the following facts:
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Alice is a professional athlete, well known to the public.
Bob makes "fan art" of Alice and attempts to sell his art to the public.
Question: ...
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1
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Major difference between criminal and civil law being that there has to be no specific victim in former?
Is it true that while for prosecution according to civil (private) law there has to be a party that has been wronged (I'm going to refer to as "victim" from now on) while for criminal law that does ...
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Is a residential lease signed by one's spouse valid?
Suppose a landlord and tenant enter into a lease agreement where the landlord is named in the lease agreement but the landlord's spouse signs the lease. Is such a lease enforceable in court?
For ...
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3
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How do I tell if a settlement offer is good enough?
Is there a formula to tell if an out-of-court settlement offer should be accepted for a civil claim, instead of taking the claim to a trial?
(In economics there is something called an expected value ...
- 13
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3
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Can I be sued if if the law says I am not liable?
A recent answer had this law quote
shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court
and this explanation
they cannot be sued over their actions
I posted a ...
- 455
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1
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Grokking the difference between Civil Law and Common Law
My history teacher told us yesterday,
the difference between Civil Law and Common Law, if specified in one sentence is:
The Civil Law is to make and create laws,
While the Common Law is to find and ...
- 119
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4
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Is an employee of a company personally liable if they violate the law on behalf of the company?
In essentially any interaction between customers and businesses, there are people on the business end who are communicating with customers on the business's behalf. This might mean customer service ...
- 2,107
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Under what circumstances do civil cases go before juries in the U.S.?
In a criminal case, per Rule 23, either party may demand a jury trial (and the defendant usually does).
A civil case, however, is often decided by a "bench" (judge) trial. Under what circumstances ...
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On what grounds can I sue someone who intimidates and verbally abuses another?
There is this guy in my community who is known to be very nasty, always intimidates and verbally abuses people. He is what we can imagine a narcissistic person.
We have SMS, video and audio records ...
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Why is the standard for proof of guilt much lower in civil law systems? [closed]
and a lot of guarantees like right against self incrimination are also not available in civil law systems. What is the reason behind this? It is said that the stakes are much lower in civil cases, but ...
0
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1
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Why must claims against the police for human rights act breaches be brought within 1 year? [closed]
The standard limiation period is 6 years. So why are human rights act breaches - supposedly more serious than other matters - confined to one year?
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Can I sue my employer if they terminate my employment while I'm laid off during the Coronavirus outbreak?
I am currently laid off from my job due to the Coronavirus outbreak. My employer informed my coworkers and I in a group meeting on the day before the lay-off that we would all be brought back to work ...
user30507
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1
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What are the difference in obfuscated contract laws between Indonesia and USA, Australia, Europe, and Singapore?
In general, people can write any contract they want. In practice, many people agree to a contract without even reading. Even those that read carefully may miss important terms if the writers of the ...
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Terms for torts committed under theory of promissory estoppel?
The promissory estoppel doctrine allows an injured party to recover on a promise upon which he relied, and then suffered a loss as a result. ... All that must be proven is that a promise was made, and ...
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Differences between Detinue, Conversion, and Trespass to Chattel in U.S. law
In U.S. law do practical distinctions exist between the torts of detinue, conversion (by detention), and trespass to chattels?
In particular, is it conceivable that each of those torts could be named ...
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Filling a complaint to compel arbitration?
The concept of filling a motion to compel arbitration in response to a lawsuit is well known. Less known is the option of filling court proceedings to compel arbitration as a complaint - even when no ...
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Can a question of law be taken to a civil court, while not naming a specific defendant? [closed]
There exist known methods of surveilling people within their homes and elsewhere and even harassing them there that provide complete anonymity for the surveillor/harasser. If those means afford such ...
