r/legal

Location: Georgia, US.

I'm trying to figure out who I should actually be going after here: Bodewell/GE or Assurant.

I have a GE Monogram fridge. Cooling was working completely fine, but the fan was getting noisy. I filed a claim under my extended warranty with Assurant (paid $992.98 for coverage through July 2028).

They sent out a Bodewell technician.
The tech decided to swap the main control board. While he was working on it, there was a huge spark. I asked if he was alright, and he said there was still load on the board. The new board didn’t work, so he went to put my original board back in, and then he straight up told me he broke a component on it.

On top of that, he said he caused unrepairable electrical damage inside the cabinet insulation. Then he packed up his stuff and left me with a completely dead fridge. I asked him to put all of this in his service report, but I haven't received anything.
Now both companies are giving me the runaround:

Bodewell/GE quoted me $10,240 for a replacement, completely out of pocket. They claimed my warranty was expired, which is dead wrong since I have the paperwork showing coverage through 2028.

Assurant previously offered a $7,000 buyout while we were waiting on parts. Now, after their tech bricked the unit, they emailed a $6,400 store replacement card, claiming the contract is fulfilled and done.

They’re completely ignoring my written complaint about the tech damaging the fridge and refusing to refund my warranty premium.
I get that warranty contracts have depreciation payouts for normal failures, but this wasn't a standard breakdown. Their tech actively destroyed my working appliance.

What are my options?
Does warranty depreciation even apply here?Can they hide behind a contract cap when the loss was caused by direct property damage by their tech?

What evidence should I secure right now*before anyone hauls this fridge away?

I appreciate any insight.

California, Sierra foothills.

Two years ago I paid a local HVAC company $8,600 to replace my furnace and install a smart thermostat. Paid outright, no financing or equipment rental. I also bought their annual maintenance plan, which covered two visits and priority scheduling. Cancelled before the October renewal and received confirmation.

Yesterday was the first cold morning we tried using the heat. The thermostat kept returning to Off, and changing its settings now requires an installer PIN. My access through the app has also been restricted. I called the company thinking something had broken. They told me they'd restricted the system remotely because my maintenance membership expired. Renewing for $299 would get it working again.

The installer originally set up the app and added me as another user. I didn't realise that meant they retained this much control. I asked them to remove their access and they emailed back that reactivation requires an active membership.

Another licensed contractor can come look at the controller tomorrow. The original company says having someone else change its programming will void the manufacturer's warranty.

I understand losing the maintenance visits I stopped paying for. But can they disable equipment I've already bought to make me renew? Which California agency handles this, and can another contractor restore normal operation without automatically voiding the equipment warranty?

Tennessee, United States

I am just curious if someone can explain the legal stand point?

Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Leaving my office job in two weeks. Last year the company paid for my notary application, training, stamp and bound journal so customers wouldn't need to go elsewhere. My commission still has about three years left.

My manager put both items on the equipment return sheet, next to the laptop. He says paying for them makes them company property. When I mentioned the name on the stamp he said he wasn't asking anyone else to use it, just to retain it for company records. I dont know if that distinction matters.

There's no reimbursement agreement that I remember, and I'm not resigning my commission. The journal has only work-related entries.

Can they require me to hand over either item when I leave? If they need records of customer notarizations, is there a lawful way to provide those seperately? I'd rather resolve this before my last afternoon.

I joined the NMDP donor registry in college and recently matched with someone I've never met. The collection is scheduled for a Thursday about three weeks from now. It's a bone marrow collection under anesthesia, and the donor team has told me to plan on being off work Thursday and Friday. I requested those two days unpaid.

I work in New York State, full time, at a private company with around 40 employees in the same office. I've been there seven months. It's a desk job, and I normally work eight-hour days.

HR denied the request. They said I haven't worked here long enough for FMLA, and our medical leave policy covers being sick or caring for a family member. Since I'm healthy and choosing to donate to an unrelated person, they put this under volunteer work. We don't have a separate volunteer leave benefit, and I don't have two days of PTO available.

I explained that I'm the person undergoing the procedure, but that didn't change their answer. My manager says missing those shifts without approval would mean attendance points. I haven't changed anything with the donor team yet because I want to find out whether HR is actually right before potentially delaying the donation.

Does New York have separate leave protection for marrow donors that could apply even though I've worked here less than a year? Or can they treat this entirely as a vacation request because the procedure is voluntary?

Location: California, USA.

I lent a friend $1,800 for a car repair in March. Our texts say it was a loan, no interest, and he would repay the whole amount by May 31. Nothing came back. After several reminders and a written demand, I filed in small claims in September. He has been served and the hearing is November 10.

Yesterday I recieved $300 from him by bank transfer, labelled loan repayment. He then proposed paying $300 on the first of each month starting November 1, but says I need to dismiss the case now because he's started paying.

I acknowledged the payment and said the remaining loan balance is $1,500. I havent agreed to his proposed schedule or promised to dismiss. I'm willing to take installments. I'm less willing to start the filing and service process over if he stops after another payment.

Does accepting this partial payment require me to dismiss anything? If we agree on installments, how should we handle the pending hearing so I can still pursue the unpaid balance if he stops?