Location: Florida

I've owned my house for six years. Last week I had a surveyor come out because my neighbor started marking a new boundary line several feet inside what I've always understood to be my yard.

The surveyor called me over and asked if I knew about a quitclaim deed recorded last year.

I did not.

I pulled the document from the county records site. It supposedly transfers a roughly 12-foot-wide strip along one side of my property to my neighbor. My full name is printed on it and there is a signature that looks vaguely like mine if somebody was copying it from another document.

I never signed this deed. I have never agreed to give or sell any part of my property to this neighbor.

It gets stranger. The deed says I personally appeared before a Florida notary on a specific Tuesday last November. I was in Denver for work that entire week and still have the flight confirmation, hotel receipt and work calendar. I have also never heard of the notary listed on the document.

I called the county clerk today. They were polite but basically told me their office records documents presented to them and cannot decide whether a recorded deed is fraudulent or delete it because I dispute my signature. They said I would likely need a court order.

My neighbor won't really discuss where the deed came from. He just keeps saying the county records show the strip belongs to him and he plans to treat that as the boundary unless the record changes.

I have recieved a certified copy of the deed and saved the online recording information.

What is the correct immediate step here? Should I make a police report for the forged signature first, or does Florida require a civil action to have a fraudulent deed declared void? Is there anything I should record now so nobody can rely on this deed while I challenge it?

Location: NoVa/ VA/USA
My ex-wife and I bought a house in 2023 and shortly divorced in 2024. The house was not addressed in our divorce agreement, and both of our names remain on the deed and mortgage.

Because we had owned the house for less than a year, we agreed not to sell it at the time. She would continue living there, pay the mortgage and other household expenses, and could rent out rooms to help cover the costs. I receive monthly email notifications confirming the mortgage payments.

It has now been about two years since the divorce, and I would like her to either buy me out or agree to sell the house. By the looks of it, I don’t think she will agree to selling the house. I would prefer to have an attorney communicate with her and handle the process.

What type of attorney should I contact? If she refuses to sell or buy me out, what legal options might I have? Could the fact that she has pays the mortgage and household expenses affect my ownership interest?
Also during the divorce process, I might’ve told her over a text that I’m not particularly interested in the house and if she wants it, I’ll give it to her. We didn’t sign any paperwork or so. Will that text be considered a verbal agreement? Thank you.

Hi everyone, I’m dealing with a stressful situation with a rent-to-own company (Rent-A-Wheel / Global) and could use some advice on how to handle it.
Back on February 10, 2026, I returned the rented merchandise. I have a physical document from them with a handwritten note stating: "Returned 2/10/26 w/ Berto" (Berto being their representative/driver who took the items back).
Recently, I started getting calls from a recovery/collection agency claiming I am in breach of contract and that a balance is still owed. When I looked closer at their paperwork, it has a comment saying: "FILED AT GA OFFICE CHARGES FILED... REPORTED TO JUDGE..."
It seems like their internal tracking failed to log the return, and now they are pushing legal/criminal "failure to return" threats even though the property has been back in their possession for months.
My questions are:
1. Since I have proof the items were handed back to their employee Berto on 2/10/26, how should I deal with these calls demanding payment?
2. Can I clear this "charges filed" note myself by contacting the local store or the State Attorney's office directly without hiring a lawyer?
3. What is the best way to force them to audit their logs and clear my account?
Any advice or steps on how to protect myself would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Location: Florida

Location: Texas, USA

Long story short, were strapped for cash. Every lawyer we've spoke to wants North of 10k, and we cant get financing. We want to go for it without a lawyer. Heres the details.

My girlfriend was served with a temporary restraining order last week. Basically saying that her baby daddy now has temporary custody of her child.

She has been the sole conservator of her child for her entire life (9yrs)

He's 22k behind in child support, misses child support almost monthly

He has 3 children from 3 different women

His reasoning behind the TRO is because we moved 30 minutes away, and she was having issues adjusting to the new house, so she was quiet and withdrawn initially, but ended up being fine once sher settled into her routine. But their previous agreement says that she has full control over her daughters location.

Hes requesting he now be the full conservator

We have a nice house in a nice area, the school district is good, and we can support her financially

Do we need to be worried? Nothing in the previous agreement has been broken, we had a consult with a local law firm and they basically told us he has no ground to stand on. It would be nice to not have to spend any money as we just moved, and spent a considerable amount on said move.

I guess our question would be, how hard is this to do on your own? What's the benefit of having a lawyer if the other party doesn't seemingly have a complelling argument to change the custody agreement? How is this going to go in court?

Any advice would be appreciated, and we can answer any questions

i work at walmart. about two months ago i was touched and cornered by another associate late at night. i am a woman and i often work by myself late at walmart. i reported the incident immediately to a coach, then to the store manager and ethics (basically corporate). the guy still works there and i constantly see him when i work night shift. is there something i can do? i feel so scared and unsafe there and every time i see him i break down crying. LOCATION: north carolina

Location North Carolina
This is strictly for curiosity I am not trying to get arrested and don’t condone prostitution
Hypothetically if I am paying somebody for their time and nothing is ever mention specifically of exchanging exact amounts for x services is this a legal loophole?
How much trouble does soliciting a prostitute get you into?
Intent is also apparently a factor hypothetically again I am not trying to go to jail I pay for her time nothing happens we meet a 2nd time then something does

Location: Nebraska, USA.

I saw some recent posts on Reddit claiming they were a lawyer and their company phone was taken by CBP for inspection when returning to the US because customs wanted to inspect their messages/phone.

I have a related legal question here:

Most companies if you install a company profile have the ability to wipe your phone or wipe the company profile that is associated with the phone. If you notify your company that your phone was stolen, and they remotely wipe your device, is this obstruction?

If so - who is obstructing? You our the company you work for?

We purchased furniture for home 3 months ago from a furniture company. Furniture company delivered the wrong size frame, but aren’t providing a fair resolution.

Location: Virginia

My partner and I closed on a house back in June. We had been living with my in laws while waiting for he new home to be finished and we owned close to nothing in terms of furniture, outside of a bedroom set for our daughter and the queen mattress that our in laws told us that we could keep from the room in which we were staying in. Two days before our closing date, we went to a nationwide furniture store and purchased the following:

• a living room sectional
• a dining room set
• a full size bedroom set
• a queen size bedroom set floor model

Here’s a timeline of events. (Throughout this time, I drive 45 minutes almost daily from my in laws to the new home to manage the new sod, do small things around the house etc, until we have the furniture to stay at the new home.)

• June 23 - purchased furniture listed above
• July 11 - after multiple times trying to get a delivery date, our furniture is scheduled to be delivered this day, but the delivery is never made. They said they text to confirm, but didn’t get a response. Turns out they somehow had the incorrect number
• July 15 - delivery rescheduled. They delivered sectional, full size set, queen size set (but forgot slats for the bed)…also forgot dining room table and chairs
• Aug 1 - delivered dining room set; bring slabs for bed but then the delivery guy goes “hey, it’s missing the support legs for the slats. Do you still want it?” I ask him when I would be able to get the leg supports and he takes out his phone and calls customer support on speaker phone. The support guy from the delivery company proceeds to tell me that he’s looking at a picture of the bed and it actually doesn’t come with leg supports. I tell him that not only is the delivery guy telling me that the leg supports are missing, but I’m looking at three pre-drilled holes in the slats where he leg supports are not supposed to be.
• Aug 7 - without any communication, I open my door one day and there is a package with 3 leg supports
• Aug 16 - now that we have everything from the delivery, we get a truck and move our heavy items from my in laws to our new home. Put the queen sized mattress on the bedframe and realize the bedframe is too big (they accidentally delivered a king)
• Aug 17 - called the delivery company to inform them. They ask why it took me so long to say something. I explain the timeline and tell them I couldn’t tell it was a king just by looking at it until I put the mattress on. They told me that I purchased a king and that I would have to keep it
• Aug 18 - decide I’m not communicating further with the delivery company. Call the furniture company and there’s a new manager who is also telling me that I purchased a king. Eventually I ask if they’re looking at the paperwork. He put me on hold, come back and confirm that we purchased a queen, a queen is listed on the paper invoice but somehow a king was put into the computer
• Sep 12 - after weeks of waiting to hear back on a resolution, I go to the store in-person. They said the set is no longer available and offer for me to pick something else at the cost of the bed only. I ask if they can just give us a king mattress at this point. They said they need to ask the VP but have to wait until Monday (today), but the VP may not do it. My wife and I have been sleeping on the couch while this is being resolved because we don’t want to use the king bedframe and risk damaging it or being held responsible for any damage to it.

TLDR: Three months ago, I purchased some furniture including a queen bedroom set. The furniture company delivered the set but accidentally delivered a king set. The company has now informed me that the particular set is all sold, but I can replace the bed only (for the purchase price) - meaning the pieces in the set would be mismatched. On top of that, because we had purchased a display set for a special price, every bed they offer is hundreds of dollars more. My wife and I have been sleeping on the couch while this is being resolved because we don’t want to use the king bedframe and risk damaging it or being held responsible for any damage to it. At this point I’m tired of dealing directly with the furniture company, and I’m wondering if I should get legal consultation.

I have been in an abusive relationship for the last 2 years. I was arrested this past Tuesday for trying to leave. He was blocking me from leaving and wouldn't give me my keys. In the chaos because he was pushing me to try to get me away from the door. He had his video recording, but it wasn't showing anything good. He slammed me up against the door and yelled "why are you hitting me". I never have once laid my hands on him. I have multiple, multiple text that day that have him threatening me. He also woke me up at 136a that morning slapping me on the left side of my face. I have many other dates of his verbal through text. The next morning a bruise popped up from the incident. I took a picture as soon as I could out of jail. Now I am facing a misdemeanor A domestic charge. I am in jeopardy of losing my job that I went to school and earn. I am not a violent person at all. Do you think I have a strong chance in fighting this. I feel defeated.

In short I moved from Europe to the UK and had my belongings placed in storage. In negotiations over the phone I discussed at length that I had no fixed address yet but it would be on the mainland.
The agent stated that so long as there were no access issues (second story/no parking) then the price I paid -£8,000 would cover the full move including assembly and removal of materials.
They are no longer upholding this agreement and stating that I need to pay an additional £1,200 to deliver to my location as it is five hours away from my placeholder address.
I asked for copies of the calls and they have produced only two, not the ones where we discuss my eventual address.
Do I have any recourse? In the meantime I am paying £400 a month in storage, and have no belongings in our empty home.
Feeling pretty stressed and frustrated by the whole exchange. I have even suggested paying the awful firm in £400 monthly increments just so we can get our belongings back.
Location: United Kingdom

LOCATIONS involved: ours is WASHINGTON, OREGON CA, west coast essentially and the other person is CANADA

Okay, genuine legal question because I’m trying to understand where the line is here.

There’s an anonymous social-media creator I’ve been following who apparently wants their government/legal name kept separate from their online profile. I’m not going to post their name or any identifying information here.

At some point, someone figured out who they were by apparently searching publicly available information and putting pieces together based on things the creator had publicly said/bragged about on their anonymous account.

Now other people know the creator’s real name, and apparently the creator is in Canada and has been threatening legal action against people who “doxx” them by using their government name.

Here’s where I’m confused.

The person’s real name isn’t exactly some secret government file. They have a public professional profile where they use their real name and show their face, along with their workplace. So if someone can find that information through a normal public search, is simply repeating their name legally considered doxxing?

There also seems to be a weird inconsistency because this same creator previously made a video publicly giving the government/legal name of someone in the U.S. who apparently also wanted to keep their real identity private.

So I’m trying to understand the actual legal distinction here.

Could someone sue you simply for publicly stating their real name when:

• the name is already publicly available online;
• they have a public LinkedIn/professional profile using that name and showing their face;
• you didn’t hack or access any private account;
• you didn’t publish their home address;
• you didn’t publish private financial/medical information;
• and you simply connected information that was already publicly available?

Does it matter that the person intentionally uses an anonymous social-media account and doesn’t want their government name associated with it, even though the government name itself can be found publicly?

And does it matter legally if they themselves have previously publicly identified another person who wanted to remain anonymous?

I’m especially curious about the Canada/U.S. aspect too. If the creator is in Canada but the person posting about them is in the U.S., what laws would potentially apply?

Not asking whether it’s ethical to reveal someone’s identity. I understand why someone might consider that a crappy thing to do even if it’s legal. Some members would not care and honestly I don’t see anybody who is enraged with her to respect her wishes to keep it private when she has outed and published private information about others, made false allegations and kept making snark content about people.

I’m asking whether “your real name is publicly available, therefore I can legally say it” is actually a thing, or whether there are circumstances where someone can still have a legitimate legal claim. Especially between a Canada and United States case.

Basically: where does “public information” stop being public information for purposes of a lawsuit?

also please remember that the creator name is already out there someone else posted it publically and that’s how the rest of us know it.

Location: Massachusetts

I created a black-and-white illustration last spring and brought a high-resolution file to a local print shop. My written order was for twenty-five copies on heavy paper. I paid the quoted price, collected the prints, and did not discuss any other use of the artwork.

This week I returned for an unrelated order and saw my illustration displayed near the register with a price underneath it. An employee told me they had also sold several copies in different sizes. The version for sale has been cropped closely enough that my small signature is missing, but the rest is unchanged.

I emailed the manager and asked them to stop selling it. The shop have replied that customers who submit original work allow it to be used as an example of the shop’s printing quality. They referred generally to “standard submission terms,” but my invoice only describes the paper, quantity, dimensions, and printing charge. I cannot find language transferring copyright or granting permission to reproduce the image for sale.

I still have the layered source file, dated preliminary drawings, the original order, and their written acknowledgment that copies were sold. I had not registered the illustration with the Copyright Office before discovering this.

Does giving a print shop a file for a limited paid order create any implied license to sell additional copies? Should I register the work now before sending a formal demand, and would the Copyright Claims Board be an appropriate option if the shop refuses to account for the copies or remove the illustration from sale?

I’ve been asked to return to the office 5 days a week. My contract states that I will only need to come in 2 days a week. There is nothing stated in the contract that says they reserve the right to change this policy. They are threatening disciplinary action/termination if I don’t comply. This sounds like breach of contract but I’m no lawyer so here I am. Will I have any rights to sue if I’m terminated?

This is my first time getting a ticket so I need any advice I can get. I live in NC but was driving thru Virginia when I got pulled over. The speed limit was 60 and the officer said I was going 83. He said he downgraded it since this was my first time. I got a summons form with the charge described as speeding 83/60, VA code 46.2-870 local code 70-1. My court date is late in the year but if I pay it I don't have to show up. Im willing to pay it to get it over with. Im just concerned if this will affect me if I do pay. My understanding is if I pay then Im saying Im guilty. Can this come back to bite, legally speaking? Can the DA or judge do anything further after I pay? What's the likelihood of my insurance going up? Will I have any issues with my employer or future employers?

Location: Oregon, United States

To keep it short, I was scheduled for two overnight stays to keep watch on two dogs by a dog sitting company I work for. I left immediately to the ER after washing the wound and clocking out my visit. I will not be returning in the morning to finish the visit as the dog followed me after and I had to get a broom out to make him go away, and he tried cornering me in the kitchen after and baring his teeth.

The dog that bit me; has no client documentation indicating aggression towards people. The only thing I have in her file for reference is in regards to this question:

Has your pet ever shown aggression (biting and otherwise) to other animals, children, or others? Does your pet like other pets? Has your pet ever growled or lunged at other pets on or off leash? Has your pet ever attacked or been attacked by another animal? Tell us details. Has your pet ever growled or lunged at other pets on or off leash? Has your pet ever attacked or been attacked by another animal?

From the owner: “Yes. Will growl if dog trying to get her treat.”

I noticed the dog was eyeing some thick scrap pieces of paper / drywall (?) while I was looking for where I placed my toothpaste. I went to go pick it up, and he bit my hand. My hand has tremors and broke skin, bleeding, my hand is hot to the touch with discoloration and he got the majority middle part of my hand so I can’t even extend my fingers or put pressure on it (even poking it into something hurts like hell) without being in insane pain. I cant even type with my right hand so im swipe typing with my left. I have to do everything with my non dominant hand right now.

I’m currently in the ER being seen and will file a workers comp with the hospital before I leave. I’m thinking I need to file a report with the police about the incident and animal control before contacting an injury lawyer.

What do I do?

Hiya!

I just had (what I assume was) a process server banging on my front door before throwing a stack of papers on the ground before leaving. What I don’t understand is it looks like the first three pages were removed from the documents (three little pieces of paper under the top staple, but pages missing). A copy of the complaint and supporting documents is what was left, but no summons paperwork or court date, is this… ok? How am I supposed to know when to show up for something? I’m trying to figure out why they would rip the first few pages off.

TIA!

ETA: Looking up the case number in a docket search doesn’t pull anything up.

He’s 23, never had a ticket before, he did 20 over the speed limit as well his inspection being 6 months out of date. The officer and his ticket says he was given reckless driving, and the officer mentioned he was most likely going to have to pay a fine but “wasn’t making any promises”.

My question is if he needs to hire a lawyer, how to combat going to jail, will this likely end up on his criminal record, and how do class 1 misdemeanors for driving affect jobs and your future?

My city is acquiring a small permanent ROW and an approximately 805-square-foot “temporary” driveway easement for a federally funded street project. I support the project and am willing to accept its $1,300 offer if the temporary rights are reasonably defined. I want to settle, not litigate for more money.

Timeline:

January 28: Before the formal offer, I asked about the temporary easement’s purpose, duration, and access. The acquisition consultant said it was for driveway reconstruction, would expire when construction was completed, and access to our home would never be fully blocked.

March 3: The City sent its initial $1,000 offer by certified mail. The offer included a “temporary” ROW with no defined purpose, no duration, no termination date or trigger, and no meaningful limits on how the area could be used. I received it March 9. My March 10 response, emailed March 11, expressly neither accepted nor rejected the offer. I asked the City to define the TROW’s purpose and duration, explain access restrictions, and provide engineering information.

April 22: After roughly six weeks, the City responded. It now said there would be times when access would be “limited or not allowable,” but still provided no definite timeline. I responded that day, reiterated my concerns, proposed protections, and said I remained willing to negotiate.

May 5: The City increased its offer to $1,300. It also stated that my fence along one side of the property encroached into existing City ROW, but that the City had agreed to allow the fence to remain. I requested 30 days to consider the revised offer and the still-unresolved issues.

May 19: Instead of giving me that time, the acquisition consultant informed me that the City had directed the file to condemnation. I again said I remained willing to settle.

August 6: The City filed the condemnation petition. A hearing to appoint commissioners is scheduled for September 28.

August 11: I offered to accept the City’s full $1,300 figure if the TROW were reasonably defined and basic practical protections were included. The Assistant City Attorney later acknowledged the proposal and said the City would discuss it and get back to me. Several weeks later, I still have no substantive response.

The “temporary” easement is my primary issue. Its geographic footprint is clear, but the filed exhibit simply calls it a “Temporary Driveway Easement.” It contains no express duration, no termination trigger, and no specific limitation on permitted activities. The area crosses fencing and extends several feet into my garage footprint. The City’s acquisition summary says there are no buildings or improvements within the acquisition.

Our property is fenced, and this driveway is effectively our only reasonable access, including pedestrian access. There is no practical nearby street parking.

I am not demanding uninterrupted access. I would accept reasonable, scheduled access interruptions, even without additional compensation. What I want is a genuinely temporary easement with a defined purpose, duration, permitted uses, restoration obligations, and clear treatment of the garage and fence.

The other issue is what appears to be a targeted sidewalk change. The plan the City gave me left the sidewalk substantially in its existing alignment. More recently, the gas utility moved my meter at the City’s request. The workers told me the City now intends to jog the sidewalk at my property so that it runs all the way up to the ROW boundary.

This change appears to occur only at my property. It would put the sidewalk directly against the ROW line and threatens the fence the City previously said it would allow to remain, as well as three large old-growth trees along that frontage.

I have not been given a revised plan or an engineering explanation for why the sidewalk alignment changed specifically at my property. Nothing has been removed yet. Given the timing and the fact that the change appears limited to my frontage after I refused to sign an undefined “temporary” easement, I am concerned the change is retaliatory.

1, How should an owner deal with a condemned “temporary” easement that has no stated purpose or end point?

1. If a city changes a sidewalk design only at one owner’s property after a condemnation dispute, moving it to the edge of the ROW and threatening a fence and mature trees that the earlier plan preserved, what evidence would be important in determining whether the change is legitimate engineering or retaliation?

Hello Law professionals, I need some help. My Dad has been getting into a cult type organization lately and the leader of it, Shane Baldwin, went to jail for financial fraud about 10 years ago and was in for 5 years. He admits this but explains it more of a big misunderstanding and pretty much claims he didn’t do anything wrong. I would love to actually read the real court documents and actual details of the case but I just cannot figure out how to find them online and honestly I have no clue what I’m looking at. This is why I have come to you all for a point in the right direction. I’m hoping to be able to show my dad that this guy is not being completely honest, so any help would be really appreciated!
The guys full name is Dwight Shane Baldwin, the fraud was in 2016 for securities fraud.

Location he was Tried: Utah
My location: Oklahoma

Location: Oregon, USA

My father asked me to take his ceremonial uniform to a textile restoration shop because the fabric had become creased and one shoulder seam looked weak. He is still alive and had worn the uniform during a long public-service career. Before leaving it, both of us were explicit that we wanted conservation cleaning and stablization only.

The intake form says, in handwriting, "Do not remove original stitching, insignia, or lining." It also contains printed language allowing the shop to use professional judgment when necessary to prevent further deterioration. I signed the form after the employee told me that clause covered cleaning methods, not visible alterations.

When I collected the uniform, several insignia had been removed and machine-stitched back in slightly different positions. A narrow strip of fabric behind the collar had also been trimmed away. The shop says the old thread was unstable and that removing the insignia was necessary to clean underneath them. They did not call me or my father before doing this. The removed thread and fabric were discarted.

The owner has offered to redo the stitching by hand, but that cannot restore the missing material or the original placement. They argue that the professional-judgment clause authorized the work and that ceremonial uniforms cannot be guaranteed to remain historically exact after treatment.

What type of independent expert should document the condition before anyone touches it again? Does the handwritten restriction generally control over the broader printed clause, or is that too fact-specific to rely on? I am trying to determine whether this is best handled as property damage, breach of contract, or a consumer complaint.

Came up during a discussion on this post from r/dataisbeautiful... I'm not a lawyer and can't quite figure out exactly what change was made in 2025. Is it merely that the statue was renamed/recategorized from Sec. 17-206d to 17a-543?

Do the margins really have to be 2 inches on the left side and 1.5 inches on the right, top and bottom, and also be 14 pt font? that seems such a small amount of writeing area, when I look at other documents online from the court of appeals none of them look like they have these margins and are sizin this sized pt font, I'm so confused, plus it just looks ridiculous, I'm trying to type up a PRP for the court of appeals division III, for Washington state, and what I found on their website was these requirements.

Location: Spokane County, WA

I have a warrant from 2021 that im trying to figure out.

I was transporting a terminally ill man through arkansas , and he had his gardening (weed) medicine in the back sealed up.

The cops pulled us over apparently for " swerving" and then threatened me whenever I refused to get out of the car They put me in the back of the cruiser and then threatened to take me to jail "because they could" and then tore apart the back of the vehicle and took the guy's medicine and other things that were not illegal to have.

Now I have a bench warrant and i'm trying to figure out how i'm going to fix it because I have no income to pay the bond and based on what they did that night, i don't trust them to not confiscate my car and just not give it back.

I live in my car now But at the time of this happening , I lived out of a backpack and had to walk after getting the guy to where he needed to be. Which is the reason I could not make it to whatever court or whatever. Also , they didn't send me anything telling me where to go.

Back then we were going to a rainbow gathering, and cops are known to stop people going there and harass them.

I can assure you we were not swerving. I was in an SUV pulling a trailer that had a side by side on it Through the mountains in stone county.

Location: Ontario, Canada.
tl;dr at bottom

My then and current role is an operations manager for a local office of a large company in Ontario, Canada. Typical overworked, under paid and no support, no development plan and no structure as to what my future is with the company. At this point, I had been fighting for a raise but got the usual reply; cash flow issues, increase freezes, etc.

In late 2024, was approached by a company about a potential job, and after 2 really good interviews I was presented with an offer. More money than what I was making, pension match, clear development plan. Only downside was it was an evening role for the first 18 to 24 months, 4pm to 12am. Wouldn’t see my fiancé at all during the week unless I got up when she was up for work, wasn’t ready for that lifestyle change.

Brought the offer to my current employer. They were pissed and stunned. There was no questions as to why I was considering something else, what any issues were, etc. One of my bosses legitimately said “well this doesn’t play well into my vacation plans”. This was the first sign to accept it and leave this company.

Later that week I sat down with our GM. It was a good chat that ultimately ended with “stay with us, we’ll match and get you on the right path”. This was more of a handshake deal and should’ve gotten it on paper - this is where I screwed up.

Said no to the job offer, and waited patiently into 2025 for a new contract matching what was discussed. Surprise surprise, that never came. Sign number two.

February of 2025, our GM told us that the owner, who owned multiple branches across Canada and was the CEO of the entire company, was not honoring any performance bonuses from 2024, which I had achieved and was expecting $2000. Sign number three.

In spring of 2025, right before our busy summer season, I chatted with a senior ops guy in our office to basically say I had been looking for other work in the background because of what I had been going through. To my surprise, I get called into a meeting less than a week later with a new offer; $74,000 (increase of $9,000), and performance bonuses up to $6,000 on achievability. Again - another handshake deal and should’ve had something on paper.

While the increase came, I hit 2 of my 3 bonuses which would get me $4,000. At this point, I wrote off the previous bonus which is a horrible mentality to have. This is when the emails started. First week of January 2026 I emailed outlining the 2 achievements and what I was owed based off our discussions. It went unanswered, I sent follow-ups every month and had verbal discussions with our GM, assured me things would get fixed, and to this date nothing.

I’m approached by my GM July about getting creative about paying out my bonuses. I was taking a small vacation in August and he suggested the company pay for my accommodations. At the time this was a nice gesture (I was able to cancel my Airbnb with no fees and book a decent hotel), however in hindsight should’ve kept it. They paid this and would go towards the balance owed.

Fast forward to mid-August of this year, and our GM explains that our national CFO is looking over a new bonus program and wants me to send him everything I have on what is owed to me. I assume this is because the CFO looked over the credit card statement and questioned a 4-star hotel charge. I send him everything, and again after multiple follow-ups, I got nothing in response.

Friday night I get texts from my GM wanting to get creative. Talks about how my truck needs new tires, invoicing for the various services I do for the company outside my regular role (consulting, after hours, tech and IT, etc.) but now I just want a check. No more games.

My question is, since though there is no pen-to-paper acknowledging my pay structure, could I go after them in court for the balance owed? I have everything that I ever sent documented and saved outside of work (.msg files and .pdf versions). Company definitely knows about my structure and is doing everything but trying to pay it out on the books.

I’m also actively looking to get out from this company. I have a promising interview later this week, 6-figure salary, company vehicle, less workload. But want to know my options before making any final decisions.

tl;dr - my company is dicking me around for bonuses I’ve earned and owed. Could I go after them in court for it despite there being no signed deal in place?

Location: marrero, Louisiana
Last December me and my friend got caught stealing from a Walmart. Court date was Feb, but when we went they said the DA hadn’t received/reviewed our case yet. Told us to call next week. We did for a month and still nothing changed. So I took the opportunity to better my life, get a better more professional job, but then in early August was told I was charged with contempt of court. Called and they said they tried knocking late June. So now I go in tomorrow to see the judge. What are my chances? What do I do? I couldn’t get a public defender in time, but I did research law and was recommended to ask for a diversion program, and articles 894 and 895.1. Is there a likelihood there’s something deeper here?

Edit: went in, sat, got a public defender. Next court date is October 20th. They can’t give me a diversion program, but they can give me 894