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It’s no secret that starting a food truck business is all the rage these days. Food trucks have found that sweet spot by tapping into the current popularity of foodie culture, the powers of social media, and, in many cases, cheaper prices. Unfortunately, serving innovative food at fair prices isn’t the only thing food truck owners have to think about. Foodie entrepreneurs must also do their legal research before hitting the road – or risk getting shut down....

Foreclosures, mansion squatters, it seems we are all a-buzz these days with news about abandoned and foreclosed property. The question often asked is, if the house nearby has been foreclosed on, and the bank who owns it seems to have abandoned it, can’t I use it? One person even suggested just fixing up an “abandoned” house and renting it out. Although it seems like a good use of an abandoned property, and would probably even help neighborhood home values to fix up a property in disrepair, it is not that simple....

The First Amendment Defense Act is a bill before the United States Congress that would serve to protect individuals and businesses from federal action when they deny a person service if they are acting according to religious beliefs about marriage. While this may sound like an important protection to provide, as many critics have explained, the bill actually protects religious discrimination. This is that notorious bill that would allow a bakeshop to deny a same-sex couple services based on religious beliefs....

A man described as being “anti-government” has allegedly kidnapped his kids in a strange case of parental child abduction. Police say that 35-year-old Joshua Hakken kidnapped his two young sons from their grandmother’s house and may be trying to make his getaway via sailboat, reports NBC News. Hakken allegedly broke into his mother-in-law’s home in Tampa, Florida, and tied her up before making off with his sons. Police believe that Hakken and his wife Sharyn may be traveling together in a 25-foot sailboat....

Are small businesses great places to work because they stay out of legal trouble? Or do they stay out of legal trouble because they are great places to work? This might be a chicken and the egg conundrum, but either way, you want your small business to be a great place to work and you don’t want any lawsuits. Here are ten ways to make that happen: Keep Is Social: And avoid legal trouble on social media by adhering to FTC rules, copyright laws, and a stern, yet sane social media policy for employees....

It’s great to have people working for you but it also means there are a lot of rules to follow and basic regulations to understand. Sometimes employers do the wrong thing because it seems right, or to be nice to employees, or to save money, but failure to follow the law can lead to costly employment lawsuits. The law varies from state to state and employment involves overlapping regulations – federal, state, and local – so there is no blanket set of rules that will apply to everyone in every industry everywhere....

In a bizarre twist, a charged child sex abuser walked free after the prosecuting attorney showed up drunk to the plea hearing, and then forgot to file for a continuance. Based on the snafu, charges against the defendant were dismissed because he wasn’t afforded a speedy trial. Now that prosecuting attorney is out of job, and may find herself behind bars, on a different but somewhat related charge. Dennis Michael Simmerman, from Murray, Iowa, had been in jail for fifteen months, awaiting trial....

One more suit has been filed as a result of the February plant explosion at Kleen Energy in Middletown, Connecticut. Seven carpenters and four of their spouses have filed suit against Kleen Energy Systems, O&G Industries and Keystone Construction & Maintenance Services for the injuries sustained from blast. Of the seven plaintiffs on the scene that day, only one has been able to return to work. According to The Press, the U....

Black Friday can be bad. But Saks Fifth Avenue has proved that the day after Christmas can be even worse. A 4-hour, 60% off shoe sale at the retailer’s New York City store devolved into a Saks shoe mob Monday morning. Elbows were swinging, patrons were fighting over merchandise, and there was a lot of cutting in line. Saks shoppers got so unruly, security had to evacuate the entire floor 30 minutes before the deadline....

It’s the start of a new year and you have resolved that in 2016, you will get a handle on administrating your life. But the stars have not quite aligned and you find yourself at the end of January with much to do, including choosing a health insurance plan. Open enrollment for Obamacare – officially known as the Affordable Care Act – ends on January 31. The clock is ticking and consequences for missing this deadline could be severe, so here’s help to get this year off to a healthy start....

The man who operated the crane which crashed and killed seven people on March 15, 2008, has been exonerated. A judge in New York City has found William Rapetti not guilty of seven counts of manslaughter. Rapetti was operating the 300 foot crane when it crashed just over two years ago, killing and wounding dozens of people. Rapetti was the only person connected with the incident to face criminal charges....

Bringing the pages of the bible to life. That is the concept behind a for-profit creationist theme park located in Williamstown, Kentucky.The 800-acre park includes everything from a life-size Noah’s ark to a 100-foot replica of the tower of Babel. The theme park will be eligible for $37 million worth of state tourism incentives once it is completed, according to MSNBC. “The people of Kentucky didn’t elect me governor to debate religion, they elected me governor to create jobs,” MSNBC quotes Kentucky governor Steve Beshear....

Are you legally responsible for your spouse’s debt? This is a question considered by many married couples contemplating divorce. It’s common knowledge that upon the end of a marriage, assets need to be divided. But so do debts. So what should you know about debts and divorce? First, know that the laws regarding who will be liable for which debt may vary depending on which state you live in, and it can get complicated....

Be more careful with your Facebook “likes” – they may block you from suing a company. Critics of General Mills’ newest legal terms believe that you may lose your right to sue the company simply by pressing “like” on its corporate Facebook page. The New York Times reports that the cereal maker may be the first major food company to seek “forced arbitration” on customers, removing their abilities to seek remedies in court....

It’s the untold sequel to “Pretty Woman”: A judge has ruled that the young daughters of a former prostitute have a valid claim to a slain Silicon Valley millionaire’s estate. But the ex-hooker’s estate fight isn’t over yet. Whether the daughters are entitled to half of Ravi Kumra’s estate – which is currently in the hands of his two grown daughters from his recently ended marriage – is still up in the air, reports the San Jose Mercury News....

Stephen L. Morgan, 38, is a Cornell proffessor with degrees from Harvard and Oxford. He runs the Cornell Center for the Study of Inequality. Stephen P. Morgan is described by his own father as a “journal scribbling loner.” He reportedly has a propensity for making anti-Semitic comments and is former classmate of recent murder victim Johanna Justin-Jinich. Can you tell which one is the real murder suspect? Wesleyan University initially could not....

Prominent Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested in Cambridge Massachusetts after suspicision that he was breaking into his own home. After public outrage, it appears that prosecutors will drop the disorderly conduct charge against Gates. As Al Sharpton put it, this wasn’t a case of driving while black, more of being at home while black. According to the Boston Globe, the incident began with a simple jammed door – the front door of the Cambridge residence Gates rents as a Harvard professor....

If you’ve ever hired a lawyer (or looked into hiring one), you may be wondering why he or she charges so much – typically in the hundreds of dollars per hour. How do lawyers set their fees? One place to look is the American Bar Association’s rule on attorney’s fees. Rule 1.5 states, “A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee.” So what exactly is a reasonable fee, and how do lawyers determine how much to charge?...

As the cold weather continues through the remainder of winter and into spring, most pet owners likely don’t need to be compelled to bring their animals in from the cold. But what about those who choose to leave pets outside, even in extreme cold weather? Besides being hazardous to your pet’s health or even potentially fatal, depending on where you live, leaving an animal outside in cold weather could actually result in criminal penalties including fines and jail time....

Legal Sea Foods, a seafood restaurant chain based in Boston, is facing two class-action lawsuits over its tipping policies. Those behind the suits feel that Legal Sea Foods violated Massachusetts’ state laws on tipping by allowing those who “rolled silverware in napkins” to share in the tips earmarked for servers and bartenders. These workers are paid less than minimum wage and are entitled to a share of the pooled tips, but with the tip law violated, employees are demanding the regular minimum wage – $8 an hour, reports the Boston Globe....