Beeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. If it’s not your alarm clock, you don’t want to hear it. And even if it is your alarm clock, you probably want it to stop now. Which is kind of the point – beeping car alarms make it impossible to sleep. They wake you up at all hours, and continue on for minutes at a time. So how do you make them stop? Doesn’t incessant beeping break some sort of car alarm law?...
If you’re accused of shoplifting in a cashierless store, the only evidence against you maybe electronic surveillance. Imagine if football only had NFL Booth Review automated by artificial intelligence. Football games would certainly run quicker and without controversy. But at what price? Is that fair? And is that a future we want to live in? That Big Brother is watching? Let’s imagine someone is arrested for shoplifting. This may be almost impossible to do if there is electronic surveillance at the door because your card will be charged....
Just about every criminal and civil case has a time limit – a statute of limitations that creates a deadline for filing a case. But there’s no statute of limitations for murder cases, so would the same be true for wrongful death claims? While wrongful death claims are still subject to statutes of limitation, it turns out there are some unique considerations when it comes to applying time limits to wrongful death lawsuits....
The weather is nice and your child’s school may be setting up a field trip to the local zoo or amusement park. While these trips can be both educational and fun, these jaunts away from school can also be ripe for field trip injuries. So what happens if your son is bitten by a goat at a petting zoo? Or your daughter falls off the Ferris wheel at the park? These injuries have happened, and they can lead to legal liability....
A tragic case out of Maryland has left a 65-year-old teacher dead and a 14-year-old boy charged with murder and facing the possibility of being tried as an adult. The boy was 13 when he allegedly raped and killed teacher Hannah Wheeling in a state detention facility. Prosecutors have filed papers requesting to try the boy as an adult. Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. will be hearing the matter on August 27....
The specter of a Black Friday lawsuit can certainly cast a pall over what should be one of the biggest days of the year for many SMB retailers. Fortunately retailers can certainly take precautions to keep shoppers safe and prevent the injuries or other incidents that have led to past Black Friday lawsuits What can business owners learn from these previous Black Friday lawsuits? Here are three lessons: Find more legal tips for business owners at FindLaw’s section on Small Business Law....
As many as one in 68 children in the United States may have autism, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From your child’s right to educational accommodations to different types of alternative dispute resolution, parents of autistic children are often unfamiliar with the legal protections in place to protect their children’s access to education. In honor of National Autism Awareness Month and World Autism Awareness Day, here are five introductory and education-focused legal tips for parents of autistic children:...
For animal lovers looking to open up a neighborhood pet store, what are some legal tips you should keep in mind? Unlike a typical retail store that sells clothes or toys, owning a pet store requires that you take care of live animals. So here are five tips to keep in mind if you’re opening a pet store: These are just a few legal tips to think about when opening a pet store....
Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. I recently spoke to a group of business owners about different ways to protect your personal assets from the liabilities of your business. One of the topics discussed was the importance of business insurance. Most of the business owners understood the value of a good insurance plan. However, insurance is expensive. Many business owners think about cutting insurance costs when business is bad. And some choose to downsize or cancel their policy....
A mom who was kicked out of a New York Barnes & Noble bookstore for refusing to cover herself while breastfeeding has settled her complaint with the Attorney General against the company. A press release issued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office announced the terms of the deal, which include improved employee training at Barnes & Noble stores, a $10,000 donation to a local breastfeeding support group, and the posting of the international symbol for breastfeeding at the entrances of all New York Barnes & Noble locations....
When courts make child custody decisions, they are doing their best to act in the child’s best interests. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always coincide perfectly with every parent’s interest in seeing their child. Maybe you think your ex or someone in their life is a bad influence; maybe it feels like your ex moved too far away; or maybe you simply want more time with your child. In any case, violating a custody order by taking your child without court permission is a serious legal offense, for which you can spend time in jail and have your visitation and custody rights further curtailed....
Shopping at a big box store can be exciting and cheap, but it’s all fun and games until a box falls on you. Anyone who’s visited a warehouse store like Costco or Sam’s Club can attest that merchandise is packed almost from floor to ceiling, with incredibly heavy items like patio furniture and crates of bulk-rate oatmeal perched high above consumers. It doesn’t take much imagination to sketch a scenario in which a box falls and injures a hapless shopper....
Is it time for Daylight Saving Time to end? That’s the feeling of many of DST’s opponents who are pushing for state laws that seek to sunset the decades-long practice. Here are some considerations for those wondering about the end of Daylight Saving Time: Permanent DST? Or Ignore It? Although the majority of states currently observe DST, some of them are now pushing back. In Florida, two state legislators are proposing that the Sunshine State spring forward in March – but never fall back....
Another week, another food safety warning over salmonella contamination. Federal health officials are telling consumers to avoid eating raw alfalfa sprouts, because of an ongoing investigation of possible contamination of alfalfa sprout seeds that has been linked to at least 31 reported illnesses in six U.S. states, beginning in mid-March. According to an FDA Press Release, 31 cases of Salmonella Saintpaul illness have been reported in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia: “Most of those who became ill reported eating raw alfalfa sprouts....
The opioid crisis has hit epic proportions in the United States, and no one is safe from its grip. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, and every state in between, local police have waged war on this crisis, hoping to tame the wildfire raging out of control. Recently, the United States government got involved in a big way, announcing federal charges against hundreds of people alleging fraud against private health care insurance and the U....
The home office tax deduction used to be seen as a potentially scary deduction to take. Many tax experts called it a red flag for an audit. Starting next year, however, it looks like the deduction won’t be so difficult to take anymore. In addition to its audit risks, the home office deduction was also cumbersome. In order to get the deduction, taxpayers would have to turn in Form 8829 Expenses for Business Use of Your Home....
During a House Small Business Committee hearing on the burdens of tax compliance on economic recovery, House Representatives urged the IRS to lighten up on the recently booming numbers of audits on small businesses. With the IRS’s recent penchant for auditing small rather than large businesses, being prepared for a business audit can save money, time, and headache. Today’s hearing was titled “IRS Oversight: Are Tax Compliance Costs Slowing the Economic Recovery?...
Even correctional officers need to get out and have a little fun every once in a while. But the type of fun Officer Jessie Lunderby had is not sitting well with her superiors at the Washington County Sheriff’s Department in Arkansas. It seems in her spare time Officer Lunderby decided to pose, sans uniform, for the Playboy website. The sheriff’s office has suspended the Playboy model/correctional officer with pay while it investigates whether or not she violated department policy by posing for the provocative site....
Have you ever wondered about how to break a lease without a penalty? Typically, a tenant must abide by a lease’s terms until it expires. But contrary to popular belief, a lease isn’t always ironclad, and there are a variety of ways to break a lease without legal consequences. Here are a few potential ways to break a lease without penalty: These are just a few of the steps you can take to try to wriggle out of a lease without forking over a penalty....
Army cook and single mom Spc. Alexis Hutchinson had to choose between serving her country or the responsibility of being a new mom. That tough decision now has left Hutchinson, 21, of Oakland, CA possibly facing criminal charges for refusing Afghanistan deployment. Her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman said one of Hutchinson’s superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and put the child in foster care. Hutchinson is no longer in a relationship with the child’s father....
