74
votes
Accepted
What are some possible law suits or civil actions the Las Vegas shooting victims could take?
You can sue anyone for anything. I will answer these on the assumption that the real question is whether there is a legal basis for such a suit.
1) Could someone open a civil action against the ...
- 166k
74
votes
Accepted
Is it illegal to infringe copyright if your boss or your client ordered you to do it?
There are two parts to copyright liability: civil and criminal. TL;DR: both cases are criminal offences, and it is illegal to break the law even when you are paid to do it.
In the USA criminal ...
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43
votes
Can I sue an app for enabling harassment?
There are legitimate apps that let you buy phone numbers. With the right app I can buy let's say a landline number in Kansas. I call you, and you will think it's some guy in Kansas calling you. That's ...
- 29.6k
39
votes
Can I booby-trap my property against police?
First off, you cannot booby trap your property, period. It is both illegal and tortious. But, as you noted, there are already questions/answers that deal with this issue.
Sure enough, if the police ...
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37
votes
Accepted
If a stolen item is stolen again, who has the liability?
You cannot pass on better title than you have
The fraudster (B) in this scenario does not have good title in the car and so the thief (C) doesn't either: 1) because they are a thief and 2) because ...
- 176k
33
votes
Accepted
How to mitigate the risk of getting sued by clients (web dev contracting)
Nothing gives you complete protection. You can (and should) have artfully drawn contracts with disclaimers and indemnification, but if the counterparties decline to comply with the contracts you may ...
- 21k
31
votes
Accepted
Has it been Legally Confirmed that A Website is not Liable if passwords stolen from it are used on other sites?
united-states
The argument you are making, restated in legal terms, is roughly as follows:
Users have a duty to not reuse passwords.
When a user reuses a password, and their password is subsequently ...
- 2,382
28
votes
Is it illegal to infringe copyright if your boss or your client ordered you to do it?
I'm in the UK. I have been put in both these scenarios in times past. For the first I stood up to the boss and point-blank refused to do it, giving reasons. The atmosphere was tense for a couple of ...
- 389
26
votes
Accepted
What legal liability does one's participation on Stack Exchange carry?
I imagine that under English and Welsh law, the relevant tort would negligent misstatement, as there is no contract between the parties. From Practical Law:
A claim for negligent misstatement may ...
- 1,346
24
votes
Accepted
How do free-speech protections in the United States apply in public to corporate misrepresentations?
It is legal to be wrong, it is legal to say false things in public (leaving out defamation), and it is legal to buy and manufacture signs that say false things. Moreover, the sign does not make a ...
- 189k
24
votes
Why doesn't law take into account probability?
[L]et's say you almost get run over by a car[; t]here was a very real probability that you may have been runover […], but you didn't. Why isn't there some civil repercussions for that?
Construing the ...
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23
votes
How do trademarks apply to Open Source?
Being or not being open source makes fairly little difference in trademark law.
If a commercial firm (Yoyodyne, say) had used the name "Portable Network Graphics" and the abbreviation "...
- 112k
21
votes
Accepted
Neighborly liability?
You can start here, with the attractive nuisance doctrine, which is aimed at children and the fact that they don't have adult common sense. The extent to which you are at risk depends on your ...
- 189k
21
votes
Can I be liable for vandalism if I have posted a political sign on the property?
The only avenue for tenant liability would be if the tenant is responsible for the damage. The courts have not assigned responsibility for damage resulting from other people's disagreement with a ...
- 189k
19
votes
Why doesn't law take into account probability?
I think the lay person answer to this is very different from the legal-specific answer.
Civil law, a lawsuit for damages, primarily exists to make a damaged party whole. Thus, the actual damage you ...
- 1,117
18
votes
Accepted
USA: Is "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer generally necessary?
What you are talking about here is the tort of negligent misstatement, a subset of the tort of negligence.
First, there is no presumption in any jurisdiction that I am aware of that anyone is or is ...
- 176k
17
votes
Accepted
Liability for explosive theft prevention
Yes. This sounds equivalent to the famous case of Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 1971). A shotgun trap was set up in an abandoned house owned by Edward and Bertha Briney. A thief broke in ...
- 3,338
16
votes
Is homeowner liable for police injury during raid
Even if the authorities aren't injured, the homeowner may well face criminal charges. Many states make it illegal to set booby traps; for instance, California makes it a felony in section 20110 of the ...
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16
votes
Accepted
Can a website incur liability for linking to a funding campaign for a lawsuit against it?
Yes
The directors of a company have a fiduciary duty to act within the law for the benefit of their shareholders - not to their customers, not to the government, not to the environment and not to the ...
- 176k
15
votes
Can I be liable for vandalism if I have posted a political sign on the property?
You will not be legally liable. You are not responsible for other people's irrational or even violent reactions to your protected speech. If you could be held liable for other people's irrational or ...
- 3,186
15
votes
Accepted
Can one be liable to pay an agreed sum if they break a promise?
Assuming there is a contract (and it is not clear that there is), this is a purported liquidated damages clause. Alice is trying to dictate what Bob will owe her if he breaches his promise to not ...
- 17.8k
14
votes
If I accidentally leaked my school's IP address and someone attempts a DDoS attack on my school am I at fault?
tl;dr- I don't see how you can "leak" a large organization's IP addresses given that they seem to be very public information. However, misusing an organization's network services or/and ...
- 247
14
votes
If a stolen item is stolen again, who has the liability?
Everything may theoretically vary by jurisdiction, which you haven't specified.
Stolen property remains the property of the lawful owner.
Assuming that Person A can demonstrate their lawful ...
- 351
14
votes
Has it been Legally Confirmed that A Website is not Liable if passwords stolen from it are used on other sites?
If the customer is in the EU (or UK or EEA) and services were offered, targeted or marketed to that area, the GDPR applies. If the organization running the site has an establishment in the EU, the ...
- 112k
13
votes
Are there any legal jurisdictions where members of parole boards are accountable for crimes committed by parolees?
In Grimm v. Arizona Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, 115 Ariz. 260 defendants were found liable for "grossly negligent and reckless release of prisoner Mitchell Thomas Blazak" resulting in ...
- 189k
13
votes
Why doesn't law take into account probability?
canada
Probabilities are very much taken into account in law. I'll give just three examples.
Hypothetical future damages (from an otherwise proven wrong)
Athey v. Leonati, [1996] 3 S.C.R. 458 (...
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12
votes
How to mitigate the risk of getting sued by clients (web dev contracting)
You can never prevent someone suing you
Your contract with your client is about risk allocation - who assumes the risk and who pays for the risk.
In general, the least cost solution for everybody ...
- 176k
12
votes
Can I be liable for vandalism if I have posted a political sign on the property?
There's a material question here, but you worsen your situation only slightly by acknowledging receipt of the communication, and you worsen it greatly by stating in writing that you agree with the ...
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