It seems that nearly everyone has or has seen one of those newfangled smartphones. They seem to do everything and be everywhere. But you might not know that a legal war is brewing over the touch screen technology on smartphones. Apple and Nokia are embroiled in a massive patent lawsuit over smartphone technology. The International Trade Commission is set to hear the issues in a case that will have major repercussions on the smartphone market....
An article published today in FindLaw’s Writ by professors and columnists Joanna Grossman and Edward Stein kicks off a “state of the nation” report on same-sex marriage rights. The piece takes a look at the history of the movement and also suggests that, despite recent advances for advocates of gay marriage in the past few months, “we are unlikely to see significant additional changes in the near term.” At the same time, however, the AP reports that, just today, a gay marriage bill took effect in Washington, D....
In a really bizarre case, a New Mexico man has been ordered to remove an anti-abortion billboard that insinuates that his ex-girlfriend had undergone the procedure. Though part of a protective order his ex-girlfriend sought on the grounds of harassment and violation of privacy, Greg Fultz vows to fight the decision, claiming that the judge’s ruling violates his First Amendment rights. Does it? Erected in the middle of Alamogordo, New Mexico, the abortion billboard pictures Greg Fultz holding an outline of a baby and reads, “This Would Have Been A Picture Of My 2-month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided to Not KILL Our Child!...
Step away from the frozen pizza if you want to avoid cancer. That’s what California mom Katie Simpson would say if she were in your kitchen right now. She filed a lawsuit to that effect earlier this month. It’s not that Simpson hates all junk food. She has a particular problem with frozen pizza. Specifically, she’s upset with Nestle and its California Pizza Kitchen brand of frozen pies. The company also makes Stouffer’s and DiGiorno’s, and all of them are big problems in Simpson’s book....
It’s not every day that a funeral home preps the wrong body, but it has been known to happen. And unfortunately, it happened to the family of Richard Tkacik in November 2011. Marlene Tkacik and her daughters Pamela Clark and Bridget Lowery have filed a Pennsylvania lawsuit against Harris Funeral Home and Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. They’re asking for at least $50,000 in emotional distress damages to compensate them for the chaos that ensued after learning that the funeral home had picked up the wrong body from the hospital....
You’ve probably been told at some point that you need an estate plan – a will, power of attorney, etc. – some directive of what is supposed to happen after you pass. But what happens to small businesses when an owner dies? So, what is a family limited partnership and how can it help your small business? It’s a limited partnership, which under state law means that it can have more than one class of partners....
The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in March of 1972. It is now, as you might’ve noticed, June 2018. So what the heck is Illinois doing, waiting almost 50 years to ratify it? Especially since the deadline for ratification was June 1982? And is it anything more than a symbolic vote? Here’s the scoop. You’ve probably seen the grainy black and white photos of (mostly) women marching with “ERA” and “NOW” (National Organization for Women) signs in the 1960s or ’70s....
Today is National Employee Health & Fitness Day. While we wait to see if any true changes to our healthcare system come to fruition, one change may be coming, and it’s one many small business owners would not like. Congressional Democrats have introduced legislation that would require employees to receive at least 7 paid sick days per year. As the New York Times reported, the Healthy American Families Act would require businesses with more than 15 employees to grant no less than one hour of paid sick leave per every 30 hours worked, up to a total of 7 paid sick days per year....
Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused Fort Hood gunman who last week opened fire in a processing center on the base, killing 13, now will likely face a long and complicated legal proceeding. As he lay injured and under heavy guard at Fort Sam Houston, Hasan could become the first serviceman executed through military death penalty in almost 50 years. The last American serviceman to be executed was killed by a firing squad in 1961....
If you want to know whether the NSA is spying on you, making a FOIA request sounds like a smart idea. But it doesn’t mean the super-secret agency has to give you a definitive answer. ProPublica’s Jeff Larson submitted a request for any data the National Security Agency had on him, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). But he received a decidedly vague letter in response, claiming that telling him one way or another would aid “our adversaries....
Congress to Review and Reconcile House and Senate SBIR Bills before July 31st Deadline. July 31st 2009 is the deadline for Congress to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and though the Senate and House have nodded bills through, the two bills, at this point, are fraternal versions of each other—not bearing enough similarity to be considered the same piece of legislation. In Free Enterprise’s on-going coverage of the SBIR (see posts published on April 21st, July 9th, and July 14th 2009), we have explored a variety of aspects of the initiative and are as curious about the role venture-backed companies will ultimately play as much as the next small business innovation enthusiast....
Facebook, a great way to connect with friends and family! Sometimes, though things just go too far. An Arkansas teen has filed harassment charges with local prosecutors because his Facebook page was hacked, his password was changed and mean comments were posted - by his mommy. Beware friends, this time mom’s the hacker. Since Lane lives with his grandmother after his mother’s difficult divorce, it appears they could not settle this disagreement the old-fashioned way, with a screaming match in the kitchen....
Three Southern California girls molested by a police officer while in a police explorer program have settled their civil suit against the Irwindale Police Department and Learning for Life, the company that runs the program, for a record $4 million. The settlement comes on the heels of another settlement against the same defendants last year for $2.75 million. All four victims were sexually assaulted by the same former police officer, Daniel Camerano, either in police cars during ride alongs or in police stations....
A tornado can destroy your business just as easily as your home. What can business owners do to keep their assets and important documents safe? While authorities are just starting to tally up the damage from Monday’s deadly tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, a prior tornado that hit the same city in 1999 caused about $1 billion in damage to homes and businesses, according to The Economist. By following these tips, you can protect your business before and after a tornado threatens it:...
President Donald Trump has been adamant in his “America First” rhetoric, saying recently, “Clearly it’s time for a new policy, one defined by two simple rules: We will buy American. And we will hire American.” But sometimes the interests of American companies and American workers aren’t so closely aligned. “As a demonstration of the administration’s commitment to supporting American businesses,” said Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, the government will provide 15,000 additional visas for foreign seasonal workers....
After months of political debate, the Violence Against Women Act has been renewed. President Obama is poised to sign the bill into law. VAWA, first passed in 1994, provides funding and legal protections for women who are victims of abuse. But in 2011, the law expired and Congress was unable to pass a reauthorization. Much of the problem centered on new provisions that would expand some parts of VAWA. Those provisions are now final, and some of the changes are significant....
Your small claims lawsuit should be filed as soon as reasonably possible. And by ‘reasonably possible,’ we really mean as soon as you’re sure you need to sue but before the time limit for filing expires. Besides the practical considerations of suing fairly quickly after something has happened, there are legal reasons to do so. All states and D.C. place limits on how late is too late to sue someone. This limit is called the statute of limitations, and it’s a hard and fast legal rule....
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed in 1994. It was reauthorized in 2000 and again in 2005. But the Act expired in 2011, and it’s still unclear whether it will be reauthorized. The purpose of the Act is to end violence against women and remedy laws and practices that have justified violence against women in the past. To meet those goals, the Act focuses on a variety of tactics like improving social services and updating legislation....
After grossly mishandling the PlayStation Network breach, Sony is facing legal action both in the U.S. and abroad, along with a host of regulatory investigations by governments across the globe. Unsurprisingly, things are about to get a lot worse. It turns out that the company’s Sony Online Entertainment network was also hacked, bringing the grand total of exposed accounts to nearly 100 million. Although Sony has had nearly two weeks to investigate the PlayStation security breach, Reuters reports that the company did not discover the breach of its Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) system until early Monday morning....
Your employees may be driving you up the wall, but if your small business doesn’t have a distracted driving policy, you may be headed for a crash course in employer liability. Distracted driving accidents take place at a rate of about one every 24 seconds, Inside Counsel reports. A good number of those crashes involve employees within the scope of their employment, which means employers are often held liable. A few case studies show how costly these accidents can be: In one crash, a lumber salesman was driving while using a cell phone and left a woman crippled....
