Questions tagged [liability]
Use this for questions where the award of damages, or its possibility, is involved.
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Can the Developer of a Program be penalized if it is used illegally?
If a developer writes a program, for example a password cracker or a code decipher, and it is used illegally, will the developer or the user get punished? A password cracker could be used, for example,...
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Can I booby-trap my property against police?
Inspired by this question: Suppose I'm paranoid (perhaps justifiably) that law enforcement personnel might conduct a warranted raid of my property. So I setup booby-traps that are designed to either:
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USA: Is "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer generally necessary?
Is it legally necessary to disclaim "I am not a lawyer" when engaging in casual conversation, writing Internet posts, etc. to avoid civil or criminal liability for one's comments? Specifically, in ...
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Getting the neighbor kids off my lawn?
We've had 4 sets of neighbors kids grow up around us with no issue. Nice kids, nice parents, etc.
The latest family has two young boys who like to camp out on my lawn and in my garden. I'm aware of ...
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Is there liability for pure accidents?
I am trying to determine the principled limits, if any, on when a person may be held financially liable for damage to another ("the victim"). I'm specifically interested in the case when damage is not ...
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Is it illegal to infringe copyright if your boss or your client ordered you to do it?
The first possible scenario is this: suppose you work in a company, and you need to install some software for a client. The software needs to be purchased, but the boss tells you to just download it ...
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How do free-speech protections in the United States apply in public to corporate misrepresentations?
Last night, I was driving behind a truck that had a very official-looking sign like this:
(Sign says, "WARNING STAY BACK 200 FT. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BROKEN WINDSHIELDS!")
Some cursory Googling ...
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Can one be liable for poisoning food one expects to be stolen?
A friend of mine posted about how someone keeps stealing her food at work, and I recommended she lace it with some insanely hot hot sauce. Someone else commented that she could be liable for ...
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Do warranty disclaimers in software licenses carry any legal weight?
Most open source software licenses contain, in capital letters, the following disclaimer:
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT ...
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Am I legally responsible for being a developer of a code, if my customer uses it illegally?
I am from an Europe country, I work online and get orders on freelancer websites.
Few months ago, I had a customer hiring me to do some Bitcoin-related coding, I'm one of their developers for 6-7 ...
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Am I liable if trespassers on my private property injure themselves?
If people trespass on my property (i.e. walk through my backyard without my permission) and they get injured (i.e. trip and break an arm or a tree branch falls on their head), am I liable under ...
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What if someone put a non-lethal "bomb" in a package addressed to them to get back at a mail stealing thief
Already I know this is a bad idea.
Someone keeps stealing my friends packages that were left on their doorstep. They had the bright idea of rigging a smoke bomb or itching powder bomb or something ...
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Website liability for user contributed content that may be unlawful?
In a situation where a website:
allows users to contribute content (articles, images, comments, etc)
specifies in the TOS that those contributions become property of the website, etc.
does not / can ...
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Is it legal to copy a website's terms of use?
I was wondering if it's legal to copy a website's "Terms of Use" policy, and then use it on your own website?
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Am I required to render medical aid when off-duty if I am a doctor?
My family is dragging me along to a politician's ball. I'm not a very big fan of this particular group of attendees, to put it mildly, and have recently been day-dreaming of one choking while I raid ...
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Can you sue minors only in America?
As I was reading the story below, I thought I must be reading The Onion, only to later see that it's The Guardian instead.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/13/woman-nephew-broken-wrist-hug-...
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Property Owners & Injury Liability w/ Signage (US, WV)
Scenario
The image above is an aerial view of one of our vacant estates. The area in red depicts our property while the blue dots indicate a path that pedestrians often take to avoid the dangers of X ...
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Contractor does work on the wrong house
I saw a post online where someone (in the UK) is claiming they accidentally went to the wrong house to replace windows and the homeowner let them in, let them perform all the work, and then thanked ...
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If a stolen item is stolen again, who has the liability?
This is a follow up on a poorly phrased question. Assume a car is the only asset anyone has in this scenario.
Person B steals a car from person A by forging the registration in a fraudulent manner.
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What is "unjust enrichment?"
What is unjust enrichment under the law? It's understandable if associated with liability for wrongdoing. Apparently, this is not a necessary condition. How does it operate independently of liability ...
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USA: Does a user who has falsely stated that he/she has read an EULA or similiar agreement risk liability solely for the false statement?
Many software products and Internet services require that users agree to an EULA or terms of service agreement before the product or service can be used. The user is often required to state that he/...
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Waiver of liability: can I be required to waive an institution from liability from its negligence?
A certain University in New Jersey is holding a conference and organising an afternoon of excursions and leisure activities. It requires that participants sign a waiver containing the clause (emphasis ...
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To what degree do I have to comply to COPPA in this scenario?
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is designed to restrict sites collecting information about children under the age of 13 years of age. If I am operating a general purpose web ...
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Are booby-traps illegal if they don't harm humans?
I saw this image today:
[![4chan post][2]][2]
For the sake of this question, let's assume it happened in the front yard of the poster's house (so on his property)
If this really did happen, would ...
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Who is responsible for getting the tree removed?
A big storm passed through our area and a bunch of trees fell. This one tree is kind of in a weird situation. The tree is technically on my neighbors property and it fell towards our house. However, ...
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Repercussions of defying the Cookie Law
I was wondering what case law is out there on the subject, or, if there is not much, what real repercussions can website owners who defy the Cookie Law expect?
Say Bob is not only pissed off by the ...
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Am I liable for work-related duties?
If I, knowingly, break a site's terms of use (in a way like copying its material, when it explicitly states it's forbidden) as part of my job (I have written proof that my boss assigned me this task, ...
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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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How accountable are dog owners for their animals' actions?
I realise that if I forget that the garage door is open and my dog gets out and bites someone I'm in big trouble. What would be the case if I'm sleeping in my house and someone breaks in and my dog ...
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Under what circumstances could laying hacker "traps" cause civil or criminal liability for non-law enforcement civilians?
The answer to If a hacker is infected as a result of their actions, is the victim liable? that explained laying a trap to injure someone could go either way depending on the severity of the injury and ...
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Does uploading music to a site imply responsibility for copyright infringement?
In a game called ROBLOX, users can monetize their games through a program called DevEx. Many users who use this program what seems to be obvious copyright infringement issues in their game to a ...
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Liability for vaccination required by employer
Suppose a current employee of some company is required by that company to receive a certain vaccination to remain employed. If the employee suffers damages by receiving the vaccine and it can be shown ...
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Why can some states choose to reject the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine?
In the United States, the US Supreme Court established the Turntable Doctrine, in R.R. Co. v. Stout, 84 U.S. 657. As I understand it, In general, if a person is injured while trespassing on someone’s ...
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Do individual programmers expose themselves to liability risks when they make their programs available to the public?
There are numerous useful apps, software programs, web applications, browser plug-ins, etc., that have been produced by individual programmers. Are these programmers exposing themselves to personal ...
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Can I be jailed for being liable?
I was surprised by this comment on liability. The context was about self-driving cars, and why it is such a big deal whether the owner/passenger is liable, or the manufacturer, in case both are ...
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Can a business owner be liable if they provide their service for free?
If a business provides a free online service which involves data storage, is the owner liable if they lose a user's saved data given that they provide the service for free?
The business has a ...
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Why may liability be a hindrance to self-driving cars?
One aspect that has been barrier as a hindrance for the adoption of self-driving cars has been liability. For example:
Who is responsible for a driverless car accident?, BBC News, 8 October 2015
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Does a work reference have liability?
Similar to What is the liability of a person who signs as a witness? does a reference for a candidate employee have liability for what they say about the candidate?
I've seen some companies ask ...
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What can individual programmers do to limit their liability risks from programs that they make available to the public?
This questions stems from my earlier question, Do individual programmers expose themselves to liability risks when they make their programs available to the public?. From the answers to the above ...
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How can I safely provide a free online service?
I am developing a website for secure sharing credentials. Similar to https://www.cloak.sh/ .
How can I protect myself and hopefully eliminate all my liability, while still providing a service "...
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Am I legally responsible for users misusing my service for cyberbullying? [closed]
Good evening from Germany,
I the CEO of a start-up that offers a social network where people can anonymously upload posts (only texts) that users within five miles can see and up/downvote. It is ...
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California: A mechanic serviced Bob's car, has it in his shop, and verbally agreed to buy it from him. Is Bob liable for accidents before it's sold?
TL;DR
Bob took his car in to a mechanic (M). After M worked on it, Bob decided to sell it to him. It's currently in his shop but it'll take Bob over two weeks to sign over the title.
In the meantime, ...
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What Is the Impact of Liability on Billing for Work Not Done?
First things first, sorry for the uninspiring title. Please edit it if you have a better one for the question!
This question arose from a comment on a related question which I posted. The question ...
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Car insurance claim was denied, what are my options...?
I got into an accident two months ago with a driver who was insured by GEICO. I got a call from them yesterday saying there was no way to prove who was at fault and that they are denying my claim and ...
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Is this passive induction of suicide?
Today we were arguing about induction of suicide, the theme was the following: if you pretend to commit suicide and your girlfriend\boyfriend didn't know it was fake and consequently commits suicide ...
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What legal course is there with a bad neighbor?
I have a very bad neighbor. What legal recourse do I have? I feel like I'm stumbling in the dark.
I find myself at a loss for an appropriate Stack Exchange site. Perhaps "workplace" or "parenting" ...
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May I legally work in a restaurant with typhoid if the employer knows?
I contracted Typhoid while visiting family in Central America for a funeral. I work minimal wage at a restaurant/arcade preparing food, and cannot afford to miss work. My boss will not allow me paid ...
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