Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Law

Free Parking

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:42:19 -0800

What would be involved in building a driveway / basement-level garage for a house in Seattle, WA with respect to zoning, estimated costs, etc.? Specifically, it would be for a house that currently has on-street, city-zoned parking only.

Technical/legal questions about a site that will parody a trademarked brand

Riki tiki — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:59:14 -0800

I'm thinking of creating a political parody website that may step on some toes and/or trademarks. I have a few technical and legal questions about how best to go about this. So I had an idea for lambasting a prominent political party in the United States. I was shocked to find that a really obvious domain name for that party was available, but it may infringe upon a trademark for that party.

I know YANAL and YANML, but a little guidance as to the prudent first steps here would be appreciated. I would assume (but correct me if I'm wrong) that free-speech protections of satire and parody may protect me from some of the trademark issues. But I also sense that those lines may become fuzzier if I ever appear to draw a profit from the site. Is there anything I can do to reasonably ensure that my site is on firm legal ground without the cost of consulting an actual attorney?

On more of a technical level, does anyone know of a good hosting company that could be relied upon to keep the site running even if they got big scary letters on legal stationery from that political party?

This idea is still in the brainstorming stages, so I'm probably imagining a bigger future for it than will realistically happen... but I'd rather be overprepared than underprepared.

Will there be a single bright light in the middle of the room?

anastasiav — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:22:39 -0800

I was in a serious auto accident in October of 2009. I do have an attorney. We've filed suit to settle the case, and my deposition is this afternoon. As the time grows closer, I'm getting more and more anxious about this. What should I expect? The settlement value of this case is very high, because my injuries were serious and my medical bills were high. The other driver's insurance has (I assume) accepted his responsibility because they already paid the loss on the vehicle (scooter vs car - I was the scooter). Yet I suspect (because I distrust insurance companies, and because of some other things that have happened in the case) that they're going to try and play hardball and perhaps insinuate that I somehow caused the crash (I did not). I do have a prep session with my attorney one hour before the deposition, but I'm losing my mind waiting until then.

Have you been through this? What should I expect?

Can I save a timestamped version of a website to use in court?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:43:49 -0800

Is there a way to capture a website at a certain point in time so that it's admissible in court? I may be about to be involved in litigation soon and there's information on a site which will be very important and I'd like to use it as evidence, but I'm worried it might move or change.

can i pass the deed?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:08:34 -0800

i come from a very large family and some years back we purchased a home for our elderly mother. i being the youngest was stuck with the home in my name, but recently was offered a job in another country. i need to get out of this deal with my family and soon before i leave the country. is there any way i can hand over the deed to the next in line in my family without the hassle of selling to he or she? i am running out of time and need to do this quickly.

What rights do I have to protect my personal information?

notmydesk — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:54:57 -0800

I ran a red light and got caught by a traffic camera. I received a citation in the mail a few days later. Not my citation, though, someone else's. The citation showed a different car, different intersection, different driver. While examining it, I noticed the citation had a lot of personal information on it. This person's full name, his address, his date of birth, his driver's license number, and all of his vehicle information.

The coversheet of the citation had my name and address and citation number, which was one digit off from his. It appears they made an error matching up the two sheets -- I got mailed someone else's, someone else got mailed mine, and so on down the line. This was confirmed after a couple visits to the red light enforcement office and several phone calls: they messed up their mailings that day and a number of people were mailed the wrong citation.

The officers admit they made an error but say it's no big deal. I say, they violated my right to privacy by sending my personal information to a person unknown to me, and exposed me to potential identify theft or other mischief.

Just wondering what recourse you think I have, realistically. I live in Sacramento, California. Note: I'm not contesting my actual citation.

Who has rights to stolen and then sold goods?

zachawry — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:12:04 -0800

You are not a lawyer, neither am I. (I've already asked two lawyers, but they couldn't answer anyway.) But, I've always been curious about this: Imagine Alice is a thief. She steals something from Bob, then sells it (eBay, CraigsList, through a pawn shop, whatever) to Dave. Coincidence of coincidences, Bob knows Dave, and sees his stolen object at Dave's house during Dave's Christmas party. Bob can provide proof this something was stolen from him, but Dave could not have been expected to know that's how Alice got it. Who has rights to this object?

What law says my lease is gone?

fireoyster — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:02:55 -0800

In Texas, is there a specific law or section of law that says a tenant's lease goes poof when a landlord's property is foreclosed on by the bank, or is it one of those situations where a whole body of law and court decisions are added together to make this situation? I have (had?) a lease in Texas with a company that owns a small less-than-20-unit townhouse building. The lender has foreclosed on this building and posted notices on all the units that reads: "Dec 1, 2009. As of this date, $bank is now the owner of this property. Please mail all rents payable to $bank to $address." I checked the county records and the building had been posted for a foreclosure sale on December 1st, plus I called the person whose name was on the letter (identified as an "Executive VP in Charge of Lending and Finance" or some amazing title) and specifically asked: "What happened, did your bank foreclose?" The answer was yes.

From what I have been told, this now means my lease has gone the way of the dodo. I fully intend to take advantage of this fact, but since the bank is now the owner, and they have nothing but money, lawyers and time, I would like to read the relevant sections of law that make this so. I have been reading Texas Property Code sec 91 and 92, but the only mention of foreclosure is to exempt a section relating to security deposits from banks that foreclose.

Considering I plan on delivering notice first thing Monday morning, I called a few local lawyers today, but they were out of the office or otherwise unavailable. I also tried calling the Austin Tenants Council, since it's their web page where I found this information (but not legal cites) initially, but they didn't answer the phone. To be specific, I'm not looking for legal advice, just pointers to an area by people who are better at reading law than me. Thanks in advance.

Where is the juristiction of the internet?

MrMerlot — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:56:43 -0800

Does anyone know internet law? Can a website owner in one country be sued in another if libel laws are different? Or does it depend on where the server is actually held?

My legal insurance company denied a large claim. Now what?

blindcarboncopy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:24:07 -0800

I have "legal insurance" coverage through my employer - it works just like medical insurance but covers personal legal matters instead. I have been working with a lawyer on a probate with the understanding that the insurance company will cover the costs, but my claim was denied. Do I have any recourse with either insurance company or the lawyer I have been working with? (To be totally clear, the above insurance plan is for personal legal matters. It has nothing to do with my line of work or employer.)

To expand on the story a bit: since my mother has passed away I am involved in a probate - a fairly simple one by all accounts (she did not leave a will, but there are no creditors, the list of survivors is clear, and we are all agreed on how her assets are to be divided). My family asked me to be the point person for representing the entire estate. When it came time to look for a lawyer to do the legal filing, I picked one out of the directory provided by the insurance company, and went to have a meeting with them. During that meeting, it was stated unambiguously that probate matters would be covered by my insurance. In fact, they gave me a quote in writing which split the parts that insurance would cover vs. costs that I am responsible for (basically the lawyer billable hours are covered, and I am responsible for court filing fees and such). They told me that they contacted the insurance company to verify that this is the case.

Fast forward a few months, the case is rolling along without any issues, and suddently I get a bill to the tune of $2K. It turns out that the insurance company does not cover this case. Verbatim from the email:

When I emailed to confirm your coverage, in June of 2009, they indicated that they do cover probates and that you were covered; however, it is now being made clear to me that they only cover probates for the insurance holder and his or her immediate family (spouse and dependant children).

So what they are telling me that I am out of luck because they did not do enough due diligence, and now I have to pay all costs accumulated. The probate is still ongoing, though at this point it's getting close to done.

I understand that it seems like an honest mistake was made here, and that legal work has been done on my behalf, and the person who did it deserves to be paid. On the other hand, I feel taken advantage of, as I - believing that all costs were covered - did not do any price shopping, and may have taken a different path (working with a paralegal to do all form filing myself) had I known in advance that this was going to be the case. Present legal bill will not exactly send me to bancruptcy, but it is certainly a big unhappy dent in my savings. What I am primarily curious about is whether I have any legal standing for working with my law firm to reduce their fee gives the circumstances. All thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

Bus bent my bike; am I stuck with the damage?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:18:18 -0800

Locked my bike to a post, and a bus sideswiped my bike. Am I stuck with the damage? I stupidly locked my bike to a garbage can near a bus stop. A bus driver trying to squeeze past a left-turning car clipped my bike and pretzeled my wheel.

The damage is probably about $300 (unless the frame is bent in which case it's $1500). I don't have insurance. I do have photos of the scene of the collision, and two witnesses. I've made a report to the Toronto Transit Commission, and in three weeks I'll know what their claims department thinks of it.

Has anyone else tried to claim property damage from a Canadian transit system? What should I expect? If their claims department says no, what should I do?

Any not-legal-advice would be much appreciated

Who owns the area between the sidewalk and street?

team lowkey — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:31:49 -0800

What rights do the public have to the planting strip (between the sidewalk and street) in a Berkeley residential area? Does the city own the property and the adjacent homeowner is required to maintain it, or does the homeowner own it, and the city has an easement for their own use?

But more specifically, what rights do the public have to that area? Are people allowed to walk their dogs on it? Does it basically count as part of the sidewalk in the eyes of the law?

What will happen in court?

lwclec072 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:09:55 -0800

I got my first ticket ahh! What will happen? Today I got a ticket, for expired tags, licenses and insurance. They all expired within the last month but I've been having a very rough time personally and financially (not very smart at all financially, i know). The cop only told me to make sure I had all of them renewed by the court date and then he let me go, thankfully. I do not have any police record, never have had a ticket before. What will happen in court? My friend said they would suspend my license, make me pay a fine and send me to classes. Is this true? If so around how much will the fine be?

If it helps at all I live in Louisville, KY.

Hosting a public LAN Party; What legal issues should I be aware of?

ilumos — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:53:31 -0800

Hosting a public LAN Party; What legal issues should I be aware of? Hi MeFi,

Myself and friends have been hosting private LAN parties for the past 3 years and with 20 or so atendees we've outgrown our normal venue.

What do we need to be aware of when hiring out a new venue with regard to public liability, insurance and the legality of sleeping overnight in the (public) venue?

I've done some research into other LAN parties, most of which have both rules and legal waivers, and some with insurance.

We hope it to be a successful event, but before we start approaching prospective venues we want to have an idea of the legal implications.

This is for a 48 hour UK based LAN on the south coast with hopefully 30+ attendees, and we'll be charging for entry to cover our costs.

Any information is greatly appreciated,

Many thanks!

Articles on law serving specific factions of society? Example of art.

tnygard — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:56:07 -0800

Hi all, I am looking for articles or books on how the law serves specific factions of society at the expense of others. I am specifically interested in the issue of art fraud and forgery, but I would be happy to learn about more general overviews on this issue as well. Is there a "classic" book on how law is socially constructed to serve specific factions of society at the expense of others? Or maybe an overview on the sociology or anthropology of law that you highly recommend? Or some key terms I should be aware of? My intuitive understanding of the art forgery example is that laws to prevent fraud serve the interests of people involved in the art market (dealers, galleries, museums, auction houses) but hinder artists that work in historical traditions because the border between a "copy" and a "pastiche" and a "forgery" and a "fraud" is blurry. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

should I sue?

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:27:26 -0800

Should I sue? You are not a lawyer, and if you are, you aren't my lawyer. I've already got a lawyer, so I'm set on that score. What I'm trying to figure out is, from an emotional, spiritual, and economic perspective, will suing be worth it?

Not long ago I was dismissed from an academic program in which I have already invested a tremendous amount of time, energy and money. I feel that my dismissal was unjust, and not only do my fellow students agree with me, but instructors and other program staff have also expressed that they believe it was unjust. My school has a grievance process, but I believe this process has been subverted on multiple levels in such a way as to make it meaningless - my lawyer more or less agrees.

Based on some initial legal research, I believe that I have a case - if not about my actual dismissal - then at the least about the grievance process. However, I've always been very against suing as a way of solving problems. Still, I really think something should happen at my school to make changes in order to make things more fair, and I'm coming to believe that a law suit maybe the only way to make this happen. Also, I have some pretty major costs I have to recoup because of this.

So I'm hoping to talk to other people who have sued - in any context - to help me get a sense of whether this process might be, well, worth it. Did you sue? Are you glad you did?

Thanks

I'm stuck in my flat

alby — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:57:06 -0800

The electric gate into our block of flats has malfunctioned and nobody can move their cars in or out. It's nearly 9PM here in the UK and we can't get hold of our landlord or the building company. If, come morning, we can't get our cars out of the car park can we (legally) charge someone (anyone?!) for the taxi journeys we're going to have to take instead? (There's moisture in one of the safety sensors and it's stopping the gate from operating, I'm working on a solution to dry it out.)

Rental discrimination/morality

JimDe — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:09:11 -0800

I'm a landlord for a owner-occupied 4-unit bldg. I know I can't discriminate, with respect to tenant selection, regarding "family status", but am I free to prefer a single-occupancy renter to a family? My motivation is mostly remunerative -- included in rent are: water, hot water, and heat, and so a single renter is cheaper for me than a family of three with respect to those utilities. Is my preference for 1 vs. 3 rentors actionable discrimination? (Call me a miser if you like, but I'm under rent control, and I need to watch my costs, since it is near impossible to pass inflationary costs on to tenants.)

Yes my refrigerator is running, and you need to get a lawyer

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:11:18 -0800

Legal status of inadvertently sent (supposed to be internal) automated test calls which could be viewed as "prank calls" that go accidentally to 7-13 unsuspecting recipients. And more. YANML i know, please read details. SHORT GROSSLY SIMPLIFIED QUESTION:
I know YANML:

Legally, if you are the cause of ~10 people getting something they characterize a prank call which includes their name, and the ANI was masked so that a random 3rd party is blamed, what jeopardy are you in? The 3rd party knows who you are. The Masking was not intentional, just an unfortunate system setting.

What type of lawyer should you consult?

(looking at context below) is consulting a lawyer at this point wise?

Is the justification that it was an honest mistake that was made while tired and doing an assigned, routine task as part of your job acceptable? Even if there were some lack of protocol that were still ultimately your fault and exacerbated the situation?

As a decent person and morally what is the right course of action (please view context below)

What is the worst case scenario here?

Throw away email = telephony.lawyer@gmail.com

LONG RAMBLING CONTEXT (and blanket apology):

I work for a company that does massive calls for institutions, usually as emergency notifications and "reverse 911" type things. WE DO NOT DO SOLICITATIONS, POLITICAL CALLS, or any of the other stuff that gives broadcast telephony a bad name.

I was preparing to do scheduled, routine testing at 3:00am two nights ago (so we didn't affect users). It was all supposed to be internal tests and I was intending to send test messages to my own cell phone. Easy, no problems.

I was working from home, it was late, I was tired and this is something I do a million times a day as the course of my work. at 10:00pm, before the tests the following morning (and before I tried to catch at least a few hours sleep) I needed to make sure some software that I had just installed on my personal computer was going to work for the 3am tests. I was sending a message essentially in command prompt, back-end method which sends out immediately after you select a list. I thought I had selected a list with only my own personal cell phone and information in it. Somehow I selected the wrong list, it was a list from a customer with live data in it. It was a list I had been working on scripting a solution on earlier that day... somehow I sent it to myself with an ambiguous name thinking it was MY cell phone and test data.

I realized the mistake after the system validation message said "sending to 30 contacts" when I was just supposed to send to one (me)! I immediately tried to terminate the message, but it was too late and around 7-13 people got called.

So here is where it gets sticky. This test call I sent out can insert computer spoken portions, usually the name of someone to whom it is addressed. The accidental list (and my test list of course) both had recipient's names (I work with this type of list a lot as part of my day job... testing is just something I get stuck with at times).

So an unfortunate 2 second oversight and failure to double check which numbers I am sending to gets worse because people are now not just getting a random call, but a random call that features their name in it.

Where it gets more sticky is that the message I sent did not indicate it was a test. Like i said, it was late, I was in a hurry, I was just sending to my self so I wrote some thing for the CPU to say along the lines of free association gibberish that I just typed out on the spot. "message foo bar, go to the playground pick up your baby [name] from play time at [date] thanks bye". or something like that.

Bad form, bad protocol, totally my fault, no excuses. But that is what happened.

Now, the final part, the part that has me worried:
OK, so on the test platforms we use you can define what the outgoing caller ID is (ANI). Usually we just use company numbers, or personal number, or gibberish numbers. In this case it was my test platform but the caller ID number had been initialized in the account by someone else, so I never looked into what the number was. It was a local number so I thought it was one of the companies #s, or some random disconnected number, or ... I don't know, never thought about it.

Again, my responsibility, my fault, my bad. I should have thought about it.

But, when the call went out, I tried to stop it, which I prevented most of the calls, but some still went through. I informed who I needed to inform in the company, fretted over it for 20 minutes but realized there was very little else I could do, and went to sleep so I could do the tests at 3am.

So, when this call goes out to these people, who are understandably confused, a little shocked that it has their name, and some apparently angry, they called the caller ID number back.

It WAS a random number, but apparently, to a real person.

I found this out yesterday when this person called my cell phone and interrogated me about it. I'm not quite sure how he tracked me down (I have thoughts but they are irrelevant).

After at first I honestly did not know who he was. He explained what had happened to him (7 random people from another state called wondering why he was prank calling them) I connected the dots. I apologized, tried to explain in general terms that it was an honest mistake and generally everything I outlined above. I was a bit shocked so I may have admitted more than I should have, and this guy knew who I was through use of Facebook, so I am a bit unnerved

That said, he seems to be OK. By the end of the convo he was not mad at me and we actually chatted in a friendly manner about what he does and a mutual interest, but I don't know. Maybe he is just trying to psych me out or... I don't know. I have not really heard back from him. I called him back (at his request) to follow up, but only got a Voice Mail.

Anyway... This brings me to my question. obviously YANML, but what is the legal status of this? Should I consult a lawyer. And I am willing to admit maybe I should, but what type of lawyer would know something about this type of thing?

And on a decent person, moral level what should I do? Keep in mind, the people who were contacted are off limits. My company has expressly forbid me from contacting them (their customers). So basically what can I do to make it up to random guy?

I am not at all concerned about the company, I have informed the proper people above me, they are handling it to protect their interests. I need to protect my interests. I am 90% sure this will just blow over and maybe I'll buy this guy a beer and be done with it, but I want to prepare for that 10%.

Thanks Metafilter.

Travelling with Ritalin

Zé Pequeno — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:57:02 -0800

I currently live in Brazil but shall be returning to my country of origin, the UK, for a month or so in December. I recently managed to get a prescription for Ritalin from a psychiatrist here in Brazil and was wondering whether I'd have any complications in bringing this back into the UK. I will most likely be travelling with two 10mg boxes containing twenty tablets each. Perhaps even less. I only use it when I have a really important project to do and, as I'm in the middle of my Masters dissertation, I'm going to need it big time.

Any tips would be appreciated. Luckily, I photocopied the prescription before handing it to the pharmacist because she kept it and I'd have had no supporting documentation. The matter is somewhat complicated by the fact that I was prescribed by a psychiatrist friend without a proper diagnosis, though I have known for a long time that I have a pretty severe case of ADD Inattentive-type for which Ritalin helps me tremendously (i.e. on Ritalin, I can behave like a normal human being).

serious business!

streetdreams — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:20:04 -0800

Is there a word for a person who has been subpoenaed? If two people are subpoenaed, they are called co-...? They're not co-defendants. Is there an equivalent?

Fuck death

Bageena — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:58:49 -0800

Both of my wife's parents died. Her dad first in January, now her mom in September. My wife is the oldest child. No will was left. What do we do? I tried this question before but I put way too much information on it and I had to get it removed. I thought we'd figured out what steps to take, but we're back at square one. There's several properties, several vehicles, life insurance policies, monies in bank accounts, bonds, et cetera. My questions are;
1. Is there any way to do this without a lawyer?
2. If not, is there cheap or free legal counsel I can find online or where we live, in Arizona?
3. What should we be expecting in the way of hurdles? Probate, taxes, things like that.

I don't know. I'm hyper-depressed. I really didn't want to handle all of this shit and with all the family in-fighting, I wish the state would take it all. However, my wife has a vested interest I guess, so here I am. Please help Mefi.

(I'm in AZ)
(If your an attorney who can help me, please, by all means, drop me an e-mail)

Judging judges.

ryanrs — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:49:30 -0800

What questions should I ask a candidate running for Superior Court Judge? I am a member of a political club in my city. At a recent club meeting we heard from three candidates running for Superior Court. As might be expected at a political club, many of our members asked the candidates about their opinions on various laws and policies (marriage equality, drug laws, three strikes, etc). Unfortunately, that's a bit like asking an umpire who's their favorite team. All three candidates rightly declined to answer such questions.

After the somewhat misguided Q&A session, I approached each candidate and spoke with them for ten minutes or so. At the end, I asked if I could email them a few questions. All agreed.

So what are some good questions to ask? Keep in mind we're talking about Superior Court. Reddit's Top 10 Injustices On The Internets is beside the point. A Superior Court judge does not create precedent, he follows it.

On a more general note, how should a genuinely interested citizen evaluate judicial candidates for Superior Court? They have no record, no political platform, no name recognition, and no press coverage. Do I just go by endorsements?

I should point out that these candidates aren't exactly running against each other. The election is still seven months away and it is not known how many seats will be open. It's possible there will be as many open seats as candidates.

Here's what each candidate has been doing for the last decade or so:
* Alice is an attorney at the public defender's office.
* Bob is senior counsel at a private firm specializing in civil litigation.
* Carl is a staff attorney for a California Supreme Court Justice.

Note: I'd like to keep the names of the candidates out of the thread. No candidate has a significant google footprint. All are probably running vanity searches on a daily basis. If a name is mentioned, that candidate is guaranteed to read this thread. For various reasons, I'd like to avoid that. If you're curious, memail me.

How to not get screwed over in a business partnership.

giggleknickers — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:35:57 -0800

How does the tech person in a business partnership avoid getting screwed over by the business person? We are four people talking about starting up a small software development business. Three of us are software engineering students who know crap-all about business, and the fourth is an experienced businessman who is more or less going to take care of all the non-technical stuff. He will be our Steve Jobs to us three Steve Wozniaks.

I'm a little paranoid because I've read a lot about the history of various technological developments, and it seems that engineers and developers have a habit of getting screwed over by the businessperson they partner with. The businessperson uses their tricksy business skills to swipe the intellectual property and get all the money and credit while the developer is left wondering what on earth happened.

Am I overly paranoid from the history I've read or is this likely? How can I avoid it? We'll be working on a project that has been a long time dream of mine, so I feel very overprotective about it.

I'm trying to educate myself about this situation, but it feels like I need a degree in business, and another in accounting and another in law in order to understand everything I need to know to answer this question. It seems like a paradox, because if I knew enough to answer this question, I would know enough that we wouldn't need someone taking care of the business end of things in the first place.

Is she on the hook for delaying the closing?

WyoWhy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:45:10 -0800

Our daughter was set to close on her first house tomorrow and to move in to her new home this weekend. Today at 4 PM, her real estate agent called. The seller (the bank, the house is a foreclosure) will not sell and/or FHA won't finance because some flashing around the roof has started leaking and perhaps has damaged some drywall in the house.

Our daughter is too upset now to even discuss it. All she's saying is that she will have to hire the workers, arrange for the real estate agent to let them into the house, and pay to fix the roof and the drywall before she can close.

She also is certain that she is obligated to pay $100 per day until she can get that done, get the house inspected and reappraised, and close. Because it's raining cats and dogs around here, she can't get the roof repaired for a few days---not to mention the drywall. And then she'll have to keep paying $100 per day until a new closing can be scheduled. Yikes!

Her house-to-be is in Virginia (Alexandria), and I haven't read the contracts she's signed with FHA and the owner. She is insisting that she's on the hook for everything, all the repairs, and $100 per day no matter what and she's completely freaked out. She's crying too much right now to be of much use informationwise.

Does her interpretation of this situation sound right to anyone? It sounds weird to me that she could be fined for delaying the closing, but I really don't know much about this kind of thing or how standard contracts read.

Any advice?