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After a party bus evening went tragically wrong last year, numerous plaintiffs have filed suit against the party bus company and the city of Santa Monica. Plaintiffs are suing over the shooting death of De’Ommie de la Cruz, including the deceased family as well as friends that witnessed the shooting. They are seeking unspecified damages. On November 3, 2017, De’Ommie de la Cruz and other female passengers were on a bus operating by Lion Limousine, celebrating a friend’s birthday....

The debates are done, the positions staked out, and most of the storylines have been written. And as one of the most contentious presidential elections comes down to the wire, there’s not much left to do but vote. And as polarizing as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been, there’s little worry of low voter turnout this year. In fact, there’s been less focus on polling numbers and more focus on polling places, with rampant allegations of vote rigging and voter fraud leading to a heightened interest in what goes down at the ballot box....

Less than a week after consumers were warned not to eat Nestle “Toll House” cookie dough products because of E. Coli fears, health problems linked to the pre-packaged dough are coming into clearer focus, and the first lawsuit has been filed against Nestle. A brief recap: Last Friday, Nestle and the FDA announced that all prepackaged and refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products were being recalled due to fears of E....

Going through a divorce is hard. And it’s even harder to go through it alone without any legal help. There are many reasons why you’ll want to hire an experienced family law attorney to help you with your divorce. One of them is an attorney’s ability to accurately answer any and all questions you’ll have about the divorce process generally, and your divorce specifically. Here are the top 10 divorce questions to ask a family lawyer:...

Manufacturers may be setting themselves up for some heavy lawsuits if they fail to adequately warn. But according to a slideshow of funny warning labels posted on Forbes, some manufacturers are going too far. After all, some risks, although foreseeable, are almost so obvious that they should not require a warning label. For example, does a Superman costume really need a warning label to tell people that it doesn’t cause super-strength or the ability to fly?...

Next up on the chopping block might be the H1-B visa program, through which American business – many of them the biggest tech firms in the country – can hire skilled foreign workers. Last month, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said a possible executive order on work visas “is part of a larger immigration effort” based on “an overall need to look at all of these measures.” So what could H1-B visa reform mean for your small business or startup?...

Getting compensation for injured workers is supposed to be relatively easy. Theoretically you can apply without an attorney and succeed in your claim. But in practice workers’ compensation is like any government program, complicated and not super clear. If you feel you need guidance, you are not alone. Many people need help navigating the system, and getting expert help from the start can prevent problems down the line. Here are five reasons to hire a workers’ compensation attorney....

Some landlord-tenant relationships are compatible matches that leave both parties fulfilled and satisfied; however others, are the stuff that nightmares are made of. If you are a tenant who finds yourself in the latter category, you may suspect that the landlord is trying to evict you. Evictions can be legal, but they must be filed in court and ordered by a judge. If you notice any of the following, you may be the victim of an illegal eviction:...

For women who want a permanent form of birth control, there are few non-surgical options. One of those options is Essure, a coil that can be implanted by a doctor instead of requiring invasive surgery. But Essure implants don’t come without their own risks, including device failure, infection, and hemorrhage. Here’s what you need to know about Essure birth control implants and what to do if you’ve been injured by one....

Here is yet one more little guy vs. big bad company story. In this case, bad is a pretty accurate word, especially as far as Houston resident Nitra Gipson is concerned. She has, for the moment, emerged victorious from a court battle with retail Goliath Walmart which, a jury says, falsely accused her of shoplifting, forgery, counterfeiting… and the list goes on. On March 26, Gipson walked away with $9 million loaded in her slingshot but without any comment from her foe except a promise of more litigation....

The Grammy-award winning singer with a stormy past– who busted charts with “Don’t Be Cruel”, “Every Little Step”, and “My Prerogative”– is $45,000 in arrears for owing child support to former girlfriend Kim Ward. And now the R&B singer-songwriter has something new to add to his collection. An arrest warrant. Massachusett’s Norfolk County Probate and Family Court will be ready for Bobby Brown next time he rolls through town. This after he failed to appear for a June 29th court date on a child support contempt complaint....

The mother of Rebecca Sedwick, the 12-year-old Florida girl who killed herself after jumping from the top of a cement plant tower, is filing a wrongful death claim against her late daughter’s two alleged cyberbullies. Though the two girls were just cleared of their aggravated stalking charges because of a lack of evidence, Tricia Norman’s wrongful death lawsuit was expected to follow. Norman hopes the lawsuit, as well as new cyberbullying legislation, will spark a change in how our nation – and our schools – handle online bullying....

Yes, the Constitution and Bill of Rights generally require the separation of church and state, but references to God remain – in the Pledge of Allegiance, presidential oath of office, and, as became controversial recently, the U.S. citizenship oath. Olga Paule Perrier-Bilbo, a French woman living in Massachusetts, recently challenged the inclusion of the phrase “so help me God” in the citizenship oath, claiming it violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First and Fifth Amendment....

Imagine you’re at the doctor’s office and the nurse calls out your name and tells the entire waiting room that you’re there for a follow-up of your positive HIV test. You would most likely feel pretty violated. That’s probably similar to what a group of patients is feeling after their HIV status was revealed by a CVS mailing. Now, at least three patients are suing. A Bit Too Transparent The federal lawsuit claims that CVS hired Fiserv to mail letters to patients regarding Ohio’s HIV drug assistance program....

A strange turn of events has occurred in the Italian murder proceedings involving Amanda Knox. Parents Curt Knox and Edda Mellas have been indicted by an Italian judge for libeling police. Amanda Knox made national headlines when she was tried and convicted for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Italy. The trial was rife with controversy, with the defense alleging gross prosecutorial misconduct and tainted evidence....

Businesses want to advertise to very targeted audiences. And with the wealth of information that social media behemoth Facebook has, perhaps no advertising platform in history has allowed businesses to more narrowly target their ads to specific consumers. But it turns out Facebook may have been allowing advertisers to narrow their focus in illegal ways. Pro Publica revealed that Facebook was allowing advertisers to exclude specific groups from seeing advertisements based on “Ethnic Affinities....

Jack Daniel’s has long been one of the most aggressive companies when it comes to defending its brand. Most recently, it successfully defended a state law that legally defined “Tennessee whiskey” – a phrase featured prominently on Jack Daniel’s bottles – as charcoal-filtered, corn-based whiskey aged in new barrels – a process almost unique to the Jack Daniel’s distillery. And while proactively defending the distinguishing trademarks and characteristics of your business is admirable (and sometimes necessary), some companies have been known to go overboard, and garner some negative attention....

Some people are blessed with great neighbors but others of us have neighbors that won’t even remove the poison ivy plants that spill over onto your property. Border plants can be difficult to deal with since they often don’t just stay on one side of the property line. If those plants are poisoning or dangerous to your health it’s even more frustrating. But just because it’s spilling onto your property doesn’t mean you can pull it out at the roots....

While different types of businesses will have different types of concerns when it comes to employees getting arrested, among the chief concern for business owners is whether the arrest will affect business. Typically, if an employee is arrested outside of work, for a crime not related to the work they perform, then a business likely will not need to be concerned about being exposed to liability as a result of the employees actions....

Costco recently had their social media policy invalidated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Costco’s policy basically prevented employees from making statements on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter that could damage the company or other employees’ reputations, reports Inside Counsel. In invalidating the policy, the NLRB found that it was overly broad and violated Costco’s employees’ free speech rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). If you are like most small business employers, you may be asking yourself just what is the NLRB, the NLRA, and if the NLRB’s decision has any bearing on you....