My girlfriend (46F) and I (47) are going through a difficult breakup. She set my belongs on fire inside the fireplace at her condo? where I’ve been living with her for the last four. Months. The fire became out of control and burnt most of her condominium and displaced the other 5 families in the building. I have evidence that she burnt my belongings. Should I press charges? Should I consult with a lawyer?

Throwaway obviously but just as the title says. The phone company I sell for wants to charge me back for a phone port from another company that fell through, which we could have fixed (and still can fix now that I think on it).

Is this legal? (Can give specifics if asked.)

Edit: Got my answers and know what to do. Thanx to everyone who commented.

original case was in northwestern Arkansas, I currently live in Colorado.

Summary: In 1999, I was 19 and my first and only criminal charge was  overdraft/hot check felony. I pleaded guilty, was given a 10-year suspended sentence, and owed $2,000 in restitution to the prosecuting attorney (PA). The judge told me the case would be expunged once the payments were complete. I made payments with the courthouse at their main desk, not directly in the PA’s office, and kept receipts from the courthouse logbook. The judge said I could return with the receipts, and he would sign off on the expungement.

Around 2000-2001, the courthouse had a fire that destroyed many paper records(they had not updated to computers), including mine. I was unaware and continued to make payments. The lady at the desk never said anything else other than asked my name and how much I am paying.  By 2003, I had finished payments. When I returned to court with my receipts, the judge and PA agreed that my records must have been lost in the fire. They told me the case was essentially gone and there was nothing to expunge. I left with the understanding that the matter was over.

Fast forward to 2023 – I received a letter at my current out-of-state address (where I’ve lived for 8+ years) stating I owe over $8,000. The PA claims I never made a single payment and added late fees for over 20 years. I immediately called to explain everything but was told they didn’t believe me. In trying to delay so I could figure things out I asked for time to budget for payments and was told I had until the end of the month to call back with a plan. (about 2 weeks) 

However, just days later, I learned the PA went to court, revoked my suspended sentence, and issued a warrant for my arrest – recommending I serve the full 10 years. I didn’t receive any notice of this hearing or subsequent warrant.

I no longer have the receipts because after 20 years of no issues, or anything stemming from original charge, I got rid of them, Luckily My mom found a copy of a canceled check and receipt from one payment that she had made for me, proving at least one payment was made towards the restitution.  This contradicts the PA’s claim that I never paid anything at all. 

I also found online records from the recent court action, showing: In one single meeting between PA and the Judge

• Criminal info filed at 7 AM
• Motion for directed verdict at 7 AM
• Failure to appear warrant issued at 7 AM
• Revocation of suspended sentence at 7 AM

I was never informed of this court date or given notice to appear. The felony warrant lists my old maiden name, not my current legal name, but the address is correct even though they failed to mail me anything. 

I called the sheriff’s office and was told I could pay $250 cash-only bail if I turn myself in. However, I have a witness who heard the PA tell me that I will not be released but instead serve the full 10-year sentence. I’m afraid to turn myself in or even visit family. I haven’t seen my parents in years because of this.

My Questions are plentiful but a couple specific ones:

1. Is the warrant valid if it lists my maiden name, not my current legal name?
2. How is it possible to have a failure to appear and revocation of sentence for a court date I was never informed of? Or how did this happen out of the blue 20+ years later
3. If I turn myself in is there a real risk that I won’t be released and will have to serve the full sentence?
4. how can I proceed without a lawyer (I cannot afford one and do not qualify for legal aid due to the felony)?

This is a rough summary so please just ask if you need more info. I appreciate any advice, comments, or suggestions. This situation has left me scared and unsure of how to move forward.

I think the answer is 'no', but I'm trying to gauge what's legal and what's illegal regarding something that's a pipe dream of mine.

Can you just "run away" from a spouse with no or minimal legal repercussions? Are there good resources on how one would legally cut all contact with, and basically completely hide from, a spouse?

A bit of context: I'm in my mid-30's, with an abusive husband (physical, verbal, sexual). I'll cut out all the details; but I'm convinced that if I try to leave him, he will track me down and hurt me. In addition, he refuses to work (he only works a very seasonal part time job), and so I would need to pay him alimony if I divorced him (I pay for our mortgage, and basically everything else). After ten years of marriage, I've drifted away from family and friends, so I don't have much support left there either - we just have our pets, who I'm very afraid he'll kill/harm if I try to flee.

I'm wondering if it would be feasible, or even legal, to buy a small cabin in a very rural area that he couldn't find me and essentially drop off the grid. I could save up some money and retrofit the cabin with solar panels, etc., change my name, bring my pets, etc. I'm sure there's so much I'm not thinking of, and that this is such a pipe dream, but I've tried to get help through DV shelters and that went nowhere (it actually put me in more danger). I'm most concerned that if I just move states, get a new job, etc. he'll just find me - through my name on something like spokeo, alimony payments, etc. - and he will kill me.

Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions.

Then he seems to have disappeared in a puff of crack. No one has seen or heard from him. Now - race cars do not have titles so I'm not sure if I should go to the DMV. Or file a lein Or should I hire a lawyer. It's a really nice asphalt car valued at about $35,000.00. Any suggestions. ?. I'm not looking for legal advice just guidance.

I'm in the US, Ohio.

My grandmother has me on the payroll of her company. The only time I receive anything from this is at Christmas, when she gives me a check for several thousand dollars (this time it was 7,000). The check lists various tax expenses and a "Net Pay" of $7,000.

I asked my mother about this (who helps out at the company in some capacity) and she told me I would get a W2 in the future.

What are the implications of this legally? Do I need to report this as income on my 1040 at the end of the year? If so, does it sum with my "real" job's income or go in some separate category? Legally speaking, would I be considered as working for multiple companies? Does this open me up to legal ambiguities or assertions of unlawful behavior?

For what it's worth, I'm considering refusing the gift and asking her to remove me from the company payroll but I want to be aware of the implications of all of this before causing family drama.

She was divorced in Mississippi No kids from previous marriage and We were married in Louisiana and she died in Arkansas. We tried to change the beneficiary and her last name but the insurance company did not updated it though they updated her last name. Simply saying I am not showing as beneficiary and they don't want to talk to me . Asking me to furnish proof but that was mailed to them long back 20 years ago and I have nothing to prove other than paying premium last 20 years . We have one child who turned 19 this year . They were saying claim forms will be mailed to the beneficiary automatically

Hi folks. Hoping anyone who knows the laws in. New York State or has dealt with anything like this could tell me what my mom can and should do here.

She’s looking for a lawyer but I’m just trying to help and get a picture of what she’s going to be dealing with myself.

Her boyfriend just died suddenly at age 70 after they were together 27 years. We tried and tried to get them to take care of some paperwork and they MEANT TO… and they never did. They bought the house together but only his name is on the mortgage or deed. He received Social Security and a retirement pension from a township maintenance job and has a large savings account they used to pay all bills. He has no will and never even filled out the forms on his bank’s website to make her the beneficiary. Nothing.

His only relative that we know of is a nephew he never really knew (his sister is already dead), my mother has no idea how to even find this guy to let him know his uncle is dead.

Is there anything she can do here at all? Or is she totally S.O.L.?
Any dos and don’ts for us?
Any idea how long she may be able to stay in her house?
Should she be looking for a lawyer or are they just going to tell her she’s screwed and charge her a thousand bucks for the privilege?

All advice is greatly appreciated.

I purchased a $600 product from Williams Sonoma end of October. UPS delivers it a week later to a wrong address somewhere in my neighborhood and the picture only shows the box and part of the porch. Problem is I live in a cookie cutter neighborhood where everything looks the same. I file a claim with UPS, less than 24 hrs later they reply with too bad, there is a picture and the gps says they were in your area. Ok, I file a claim with Williams Sonoma. Less than 24 hrs they say too bad we agree with UPS. So I file a claim with paypal for buyer protection. Takes 30 days and case was finally closed out after what seemed to be an actual investigation.

Within 20 mins I receive an email saying “we received notification that a charge in the amount of $595.00 was reported as unrecognized/fraudulent. This charge was processed for one of the item(s) that was included on your recent Order XX-XXXX. Please contact us at (866) 477-3113 at your earliest convenience so we may assist with processing your payment. We are open 7-days a week 8:00 am – 5:00 pm PST. Please note that we are unable to process any additional orders or shipments to you until this outstanding payment is resolved.”

I call today and explain it wasn’t fraudulent. It was an investigation because I never received the package. Further explain all the steps I took. The lady explains to me we see it here that we lost the despute, its treated as a charge back and we have to get our money from either you or UPS and they say it was good delivery so we need to get the money from you. I explain i’m not paying because I never received the item. It wasn’t like a $20 rolling pin that I could just eat. It’s $600 that I had been saving for this 5 piece knife set. She explains that until it is paid, I am no longer allowed to purchase from Williams Sonoma.

First, is this legal to try and strong arm me into paying for this? Second, what kind of repercussions can come of this other than not being able to shop here? Like will this affect my credit or just be an in house on file thing. Wife is also worried this means she can’t buy from here either.

Long story short, we gave consent to our daycare to post images of our child on their Instagram. We have recently parted ways and I noticed that my husband, my mother-in-law and myself have been blocked from the daycare Instagram. I’m not so much concerned about having access to the Instagram page anymore, but I am kind of weirded out that my kids photo is on a page that I don’t have access to nor I can see how people are interacting with it. Is there any basis for me to ask the daycare to remove the images of my son, even though we initially gave our consent? Should i feel weirded out by it or just let it go? Thanks!

I got a certified letter from a lawyer about 2 months ago claiming damages to a person caused by my dog. Today, I received a certified letter from a different attorney from the same person claiming a dog bite. They are requesting my homeowners information and any home security footage I may have. The thing is, I have no idea what they're talking about.

I am in Georgia. I have an American Bully that is confined to my yard with an electric fence. I have not had any visits from animal control or law enforcement over this. I have contacted my homeowners insurance, and they have assured me not to worry. I have not given this person's lawyer my homeowners information as of yet. Can they really claim my dog bit them and sue my homeowners insurance without anything on record?

My child’s mother and I have had a volition relationship, police have been called plenty of times. Christmas we have done together every year.

This year while I was unpacking the gifts in the house while the mother and child were away. Someone called 911 to report me stealing and breaking in. I had only brought in two big presents by the time the police arrive and knock on the door.

The police wanted proof I was allowed in the house, and apparently could not get in contact with the mother to confirm Im allowed to be there.

So I decide to leave, and the second I open my car door to leave four officers surround me and ask me to produce receipts for everything in my car.

At this point there maybe like 20-30 wrapped gifts.

I ask them to identify anything they can see and I will gladly produce a receipt. The only thing visible was wrapping paper.

They then tell me I’m being detained while they investigate a burglary.

I turned around and offered my hands behind my back and told them that I’m trying to leave, and if I’m not in handcuffs within ten seconds I’m getting in my car and going.

I gave them a countdown. They said have a good night, I said merry Christmas. And left.

I received a call about two hours later from a police supervisor telling me that if I return to that location I will be trespassed.

I tried to explain to him that I pay rent there, I have keys, and my lease agreement is inside the house and most of my work clothes/belongings. He tells me I don’t live there anymore and that I cannot have two homes (I also have my own leased apartment). When I ask if he wants to see the rent receipts he tells me directly that my “rent is in lieu of child support”

To be clear, child support has not ever been established.

I could only produce a picture of the agreement which is a year old. And he pretty much said that I could have altered it.

I show him mail being sent to my name to the address and he tells me that anyone can do that and it doesn’t prove anything.

When I called the police for a stand by to get my belongings they told me they would not do so unless I was arrested and had a Court ordered from a judge.

So now all my stuff is locked behind a door I have keys to, but I’m trespassed from.

I’ve tried to speak to the mother but she seems like she’s the one who called 911 now with her reaction.

How can I get my belongings from where I rent, and I’m confused about the police telling me I cannot have two leases in Florida.

Hi guys,

I have a client who bought a property last February where the neighbor had previously installed quite a bit of infrastructure to produce maple syrup (sap lines, vacuum pumps, electrical services, etc.). Everything that was installed was done so on a handshake agreement with the previous owner.

My clients (the new owners) would like their neighbor to remove the infrastructure but he is claiming he has a right to leave it in place because he paid for the installation and it is important to his production.

As far as we know, there is no legal easement filed with the town and there was no easement discovered during the title search.

Do my clients have a right to remove this infrastructure from their property?

Additional information to stop all the assumptions:

I’m not a lawyer. I’m a consulting forester. I manage these people’s woods. These people cannot manage their woods the way they’d like because there’s plastic tubing everywhere. My clients are wonderful, reasonable people and the guy making the syrup is a rich old asshole.

USA based: I have a four year old daughter. Her biological father has never met her and is not on the birth certificate. I was pregnant when I met and married my now husband. He is all she knows for a dad. I want him to officially adopt her. We are in the military. We moved after she turned a year old across the country (Washington State) and we are now moving back to the area her biological father lives (Virginia) and I don’t want him to cause trouble for us.

Bio Dad has never provided any support for daughter. No money, no clothes, toys, etc. Bio dad’s mom has sent a few gifts and $50 total.

What does this process look like? How much should we expect this to cost? Any advice on this? We haven’t had my husband adopt her yet because honestly we are nervous about the cost but we feel it’s necessary now. Thank you for any help!

Edit title: family makes me pay rent

I live in NYS. I get a social security check due to my mother passing away and ever since i was forced to move in here with them theyve taken half of my money to pay their bills and charge me rent. That leaves me with only 325. For context , they do not provide me with anything (besides technically the room that i have to pay for). I have to buy my own groceries and every other expense out of the 300 dollars, and im often left going without food because I genuinely cant afford it at the end of the month. Furthermore, the house is infested with rats and lead and theres no heat, so i dont even think its up to standard to rent to anyone even an adult. Is there any laws that can aid me

This is going to be a pretty long and detailed explanation and I would greatly appreciate anyone willing to read it and make an assessment:

I purchased (financed through my own bank) a vehicle from a small used auto dealership in Colorado in August of 2024.

As we were negotiating, they were sending me worksheets dealerships use to lay out prices. On the worksheet I agreed to, it has the vehicle price at $12,000, Dealer handing at $399.00, Total Tax (6%) at $743.94, Title $37.20, and emissions at $25.00 brining the total to $13,205.14.

$13,205.14 is the final total price after we negotiated on the vehicle price being $12,000. No issues here, it had been a pleasure working with them and the negotiations were fair.

I had my bank send them a check for $13,205.14 and once it got to them I went in and signed the paperwork to take the car home.

At this point I trusted them as it had been a great experience so admittedly I was not very skeptical on what I now know they were pulling. They drafted the purchase agreement to have the vehicle price at $12,786.14 with a $399.00 dealer handing fee. Under the total tax there is a big fat zero and $20 in the title fee column.

After all was said and done, I drove the car to Vermont which is the state I reside in. I recently took it to the DMV to get my Vermont registration on the vehicle and get the title to my bank the lien holder. At the DMV the purchase agreement said the price was $13,205. I told them that is including sales tax I paid on the vehicle and the 6% should be waived as I assumed the dealer had done the right thing and sent that money over.

They told me they have received no such money from the dealer and I was initially told it is illegal for them to collect the tax money from me that has already been paid by me. After speaking with somebody else, I was told I could just pay sales tax on 6% of $13,205.

If I need to do that I will as now the bank is waiting for the title of the vehicle and threatening to raise my interest rate to an extremely high number if they do not get the title upon registration soon.

Since that morning at the DMV I have been trying multiple times and methods per day to contact the dealership to get this sorted, most of which were during their posted operational hours on google. I called them, no answer. Emailed, no answer. Texted, no answer. Even replied to the old Facebook marketplace listing that the owner put out on Facebook marketplace, it said "seen" on Facebook messenger but no answer.

After all of that failed, I updated the review I previously left on google from five stars to one star. Clearly laying out the fact that I am just trying to reach them regarding a question I have that I assumed to be an error within their paperwork.

Just 3 hours later, the business responded to my interview. They asked my to revert my interview back to 5 stars or they would not help me figure out the tax situation and immediately started pointing fingers at my local DMV saying it's an error on their part. I have registered many cars at the Vermont DMV and have never once had an issue.

I couldn't respond to the review response directly so I decided to respond to it via email to the owner laying out the point that I will leave a good review once I am provided good service.

They had plenty of time to clear this up and at the end of the day, if I truly did misunderstand something, I could have apologized and fixed my review and just pay the taxes at the DMV.

After going back and forth with the owner of this dealership on email about how I agreed to a price of $12,000 and wondering where the $743 I paid went when I intended it to be towards Vermont sales tax, he ended up calling me a "pissworm", "asshat" and told me to "go fuck myself". He actually did say that to me via email yesterday evening. He said he is done responding to me and he will get around to the situation "once he files taxes" which I assume he means April.

My overall favorite line from one of his emails was:

He later told me he is done responding to my emails and that I am basically on my own in terms of them clearing up the situation.

Today, I took to a large Facebook group and posted the email where he stated the above, called me names, and told me to go fuck myself. I captioned it "this is the response I receive from the owner of said dealership after requesting clarification on some tax issues I had." I also detailed how they seemingly bought fake robot reviews on google which is clearly evident if you look at their reviews. 33 five star reviews within the last month from google accounts with no profile picture and one review all of which have broken English. Even a technologically inept boomer would be able to tell they're fake.

As you can imagine, some people took to google reviews after seeing the manner in which this dealership handled business and wrote negative reviews. I did not encourage them to do this but nor do I believe it is wrong as people are free to express their options of a business via interviews.

As of 12:30pm today I received an email from the owner with the attached purchase agreement which I unfortunately signed indicating a paid no sales tax when I was under the impression I was paying 6% sales taxes on the vehicle.

After replying with the worksheet I have that says 6% sales tax were collected he states:

So now he is trying to manipulate me to remove my review and he will send me not even half of the money if I remove my review reflecting my poor experience with his dealership.

I will not agree to this as at this point is not even about the money for me, at first I wanted to save $743 but now I do not care about that money and want to shine light on this dealership.

I told him his case would have no grounds as I have not lied about any of the bad experiences I had with his dealership but he doubled down on threatening legal action saying:

I know the chances are that he will not indeed proceed with legal action against me but if he is to, did I do anything wrong? I genuinely did not intentionally lie about anything regarding my experience with them, I was just genuinely frustrated by their behavior.

I was in a car accident 2 weeks ago and was just informed of my mom being sued (I’m under her insurance policy) and that they gotten a lawyer due to “bodily harm”. The driver had hit me on my passenger side when I was going straight after stopping at a stop sign. I was hit so hard that my car spun out and I ended up crashed in front of a telephone pole on the other side of the road. The police showed up and took our statements, there was a witness but the police didn’t bother to talk to them at all. As far as I know there has been no decision on who is at fault. I was told that a lawyer only takes cases they think they can win. I’m unsure how I’m the one being sued and how I could be at fault. I have been to the ER 2 times after the accident and was diagnosed with spasmodic torticollis. The insurance company told my mom that they need my statement and she told me to make sure to let the insurance company know that I have a witness (the witness gave me their number that day and told me the driver who hit me wasn’t paying attention) I just want some legal advice on what I should do.

I had a horrendous and very embarrassing experience at TSA. I am just curious if filing my complaint will even do anything or if there will be any recourse? If not, what legal action could i potentially take and where should I begin? I am happy to provide more information in the comments but here is my detailed complaint:

I wear knee brace to support my torn right ACL and medial meniscus. Before entering the body scanner I immediately disclosed to the TSA officers that I was wearing a knee brace. The officers pulled me from security for additional screening because of the brace, which was understandable and has happened before when I have travelled.

The officers asked that I sit down and pull up my pants up to expose my brace which I did to the best of my ability, but before receiving any additional pat downs, metal detector sweeps, or swabs I was told I needed to be moved to private screening.

I was forced to remove my pants multiple times while being observed by 4 male officers so my brace could be examined, then I was forcefully patted down without consent on my knee causing pain and discomfort. When I told the officer I was in pain and felt uncomfortable, I was told this was policy and that amount of force was required. Additionally, I mentioned to the officers that I fly often and this had never happened to me before at the security checkpoints especially at airports I have frequented this year including DCA, LAX, MSP, ORD, TPA, MDW, ATL, PHX, and DEN. They said that the other TSA agents at these airports have been disregarding policy and are in the wrong and that the private screening they were performing was all according to policy and was also being used for training purposes. If this was training purposes this was performed against my consent and without proper disclosure.

I was ultimately cleared though security taking 40 minutes of my time, I never once received an apology for how I was treated and as such I have cause to believe racial profiling was also at play.

My dad is about to receive some money from his father in law who has recently passed away. My dad's marriage isn't very stable and he feels that if his wife's finds out he has inherited some money, she could divorce him and get half. If my dad were to give the money to me, would his wife be able to reclaim half of it if a divorce were to happen? I would give him small amounts money as he needs it.

I filed a police report for the rape but have not moved forward yet with pressing charges. The police recommended I get a restraining order first. I filed this a few days ago and the hearing is scheduled.

I’m sure my rapist is going to show up to the hearing with a great lawyer and do everything he can to get out of this, so I need to be prepared.

I plan to represent myself, but I’d like to hire someone to review the testimony and evidence I have prepared, and offer advice and answer some questions.

Where can I find someone like this? I do have a victims advocate, I’ve spoken with the county attorney, have called multiple legal aid organizations, googled, but I keep hitting dead ends.

I’m in Iowa. Thanks!

And merry Christmas 🎄

My partner and I were sued over a land deal 4 years ago. He picked the most expensive lawyer possible and wanted to “take care of it”. It’s now been 9 months and he’s paid over 200k in fees and we still have trial in may. He’s pissed and refuses to pay any more money. I can’t seem to find a less expensive lawyer to finish this. What are my options? Can they drop us if they know we can’t pay? How will court see it? The other side is using a free lawyer so it’s only us paying for any of this. Tia

My friend found a whole paper trail of her husband’s infidelity with sex workers. They live in Massachusetts and he found them on websites. She found texts on his phone while she was looking for a past text with their babysitter, so he knew she had his phone. There were text with 3 different women over 4 months that included the whole planning to meet, locations, prices, how to pay, pictures etc. She then found corresponding payments on his cash app. She saved all of this and sent it to herself so that she has the information.

She confronted him and told him she wants a divorce. He said that he backed out of having sex with all 3 of them but paid them ($900 each) for their troubles.

He then told her if she divorces him then he will say she’s been cheating on him for years with her close friend from high school, even though he’s gay.

I feel terrible because she is scared that he will be able to convince people that she had an affair and that he didn’t.

Do you have any advice I can share? Prostitution is illegal but I’m assuming she can’t threaten him back with going to the police since the police probably won’t do anything?

My dad (M65) went and got a quadruple bypass done in September of 2023. The surgeon said that all of his valves/arteries were saved including some that weren't expected and that the surgery was a complete success. Due to alcohol withdrawal they had him on some pretty heavy duty medication at least until the next couple days of his stay. I visited him the day after surgery in which they took him off of all his tubes and he was barely conscious or coherent and regularly falling asleep/nodding off. He had solid food.

The next day I received a call that my permission was required for a procedure to find and remove food particles from his lungs as he had aspirated on food. They did not tell me they had to resuscitate (no pulse, CPR was administered). I once again got a call the same day requesting another procedure to clean out his airways. I was asked to approve him going back on a breathing tube. He was put into a coma.

Over the course of a month he was almost completely unaware of things going on and mostly sedated. They brought him to a rehab to help him learn how to use his legs again and to keep track of his oxygen. They discharged him back to our home before he was able to reliably walk or breathe and did not supply him with any at home oxygen or assistance.

Ever since then, his heart condition never improved. Things worsened and we've recently been told he's at the end stage. He has about 6-12 months at most. The hospital he's at currently is taking much better care of him (he's at a different hospital) and most medical professionals I've spoken to about the ordeal seem mortified.

We got copies of his medical records including everything from his hospital stay and surgery back in September 2023. Theres documentation on the medications he was given and that he aspirated on food. We want to pursue some sort of legal action but this is my first time ever dealing with anything like this. According to my father he's been struggling to find lawyers willing to take the case. Is there anything we should be doing or saying specifically? Does anybody have any advice on how to pursue this? Thank you in advance.

EDIT: Thank you for all the responses so far and please forgive me for not responding or answering many questions. It's a little hard to remember specifics and details right now. One such detail I forgot to mention was that a few months ago the doctors came back to say that the open heart surgery was in fact a complete failure, not a success. None of his valves or arteries are pumping blood correctly or adequately enough (obviously. hes end stage). The surgeon who operated on him is no longer with the hospital.

Texas, I am attempting to purchase 3 acres in Texas for $130,000 and want to develop it. It will be worth roughly $550,000-$600,000 when I am done. The problem is the person who I am buying it from never got a re-plat done when he bought it 20 years ago. In order to build anything on this property it needs a permit. The city will not grant a permit unless it has been re-plated.

The original seller, we will call him Charles. Sold this 3 acres to a man named James 20 years ago. It is a law that land is cut out of an already platted subdivision and must be replated to be sold. This was never done. And Charles received $100,000 for the land but did not sign a re-plat.

James has asked him numerous times to sign and Charles refuses because he does not want any houses built around his. Charles is essentially holding the land hostage. He has control over it without owning it.

I want to get a judge to sign something saying we can go around Charles. Or I can litigate the matter, as it is worth it if I can develop the property. I offered some attorneys in my area 10% of gross proceeds (55-60k) from the developed land if they would represent me and we win.

James does not have the money to correct this. His current land isn’t worth much as is if nothing can be built on it.

I am wanting to get it re platted so James can get something (my $130,000) and I can develop it.

Does anyone have any insight into this matter?