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Slip and fall accidents can be terrible ordeals leading to severe injuries. But slip and fall accidents that are caused by a dog’s, uh, accident? Well, those are just embarrassing. A lawsuit against pet retailer PetSmart was recently settled for just that. And the plaintiff showed no shame. In 2009, Robert W. Holloway and his daughter were at the local PetSmart when he stepped in a pile of poo. As he began to fall, he grabbed a hold of his daughter and wrenched his back....

Counties and government officials looking to cut down on spending in light of tightening state and local budgets might want to take a good look at a report released yesterday by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The title pretty much speaks for itself, “Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America’s Misdemeanor Courts”. Considering the news last week that one cash strapped California county district attorney’s office was going to entirely stop prosecuting various misdemeanors and even some felonies, some of the report’s recommendations might be well-timed....

If you or a loved one has been trying to get a green card, there’s a program that started way back in 1990 that you may have never heard of: The Green Card Lottery, also know as a Diversity Visa. This program awards green cards to 50,000 immigrants from countries that have low immigration rates to the United States. The Department of State has begun taking entries for the 2018 lottery drawings, and will continue accepting entries until 12:00 p....

The cliche is true: the one constant is change. As the New Year approaches, a series of regulatory, compliance, and legislative changes will occur that will affect U.S. small business owners. Paychex, Inc., recently put together a list of the most influential business regulations in 2011. We narrowed the list down to five that we found the most interesting. Tax changes - In 2011, taxes are going to get even more complicated for small business owners....

When you’ve got a bundle of joy on the way, the last thing on a long list of concerns and worries is how your life will change legally. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to ignore the legal ramifications of motherhood. So in case these weren’t on your mind already, here are the seven biggest legal issues faced by pregnant women and new mothers: You may not have a case if you’re merely laid off during your pregnancy, but it might be illegal if you’re laid off because of your pregnancy....

A “wobbler,” in criminal procedure parlance, is a crime that can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. That discretion is normally left up to prosecutors, although in some states judges may reduce felonies to misdemeanors under certain circumstances. When it comes to DUIs, most drunk driving offenses are misdemeanors but may be bumped up to felonies depending on the specifics of the case. So, what makes a DUI a wobbler?...

An Alameda water rescue policy has come under scrutiny after the drowning death of a man on Memorial Day. Police and firefighters stood back, helpless. They were untrained in water rescue. Due to budget cuts, the fire department’s water rescue program had been scrapped, and the policy for firefighters was that they were not to enter into the water in cases like this, reports USA Today. Zack reportedly drowned himself at Crown Beach....

Tropicana orange juice isn’t natural. Or so say plaintiffs in 20 different lawsuits filed across the country. The company markets its product as “100 percent orange juice” straight from the fields of Florida. But according to the orange juice lawsuits, Tropicana adds chemical “flavor packs” to the juice so that it tastes the same year-round. Does this make Tropicana orange juice unnatural? It’s unclear. Tropicana isn’t the first brand to be accused of misusing the label, reports the Associated Press....

We recently discussed the story of Las Vegas girl Takara Davis, who received a jaywalking ticket while in a coma after being hit by a car. Davis suffered injuries to her elbow, knee and head including bleeding from the brain, in the accident. She was treated at University Medical Center, as doctors put her into a medically induced coma to prevent swelling of the brain, the New York Daily News reported....

Good business means keeping costs low and earnings high to maximize profits. However, sometimes business practices can be too efficient, and workers are hurt by that efficiency. One of those harmful business practices is on-call scheduling. New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is now investigating 13 large retailers, including Gap, Target, and Abercrombie & Fitch, for on-call shift practices that may violate the state’s reporting time pay laws. The investigation comes after the office received complaints from workers who have been sent home early from shifts, told not to come in to work while already on their way to work, or who have to call in hours before their shift to see if they are scheduled to work....

Between starting a business from scratch and adopting a proven model, you may choose to go with the latter and buy a franchise. Once you have settled on this mode of entrepreneurship, you will begin the process of researching franchise options to find the right fit for you. One key law that you will come across is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s “Franchise Rule”. It was promulgated in 1978 and amended in 2007....

What, exactly, does it mean to be PCI compliant? With an increased number of security breaches, the Payment Card Industry (PCI) has made it mandatory for all merchants accepting cards issued by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB to make their systems PCI compliant. PCI compliance involves implementing a set of 12 specific security requirements that protect credit card data and secure payment applications and PIN devices. Regardless of your size or your number of monthly transactions, you must comply with these new PCI requirements or risk fines and removal from the credit card system....

A 29 year old man in Lebanon, Pennsylvania was cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana in a local convenience store. Reportedly, as he walked toward a police officer who happened to be in the store, the officer noticed what appeared to be a small bag of pot stuck to the man’s forehead. Let’s add forehead to the list of bad places to hide contraband – actually go ahead and add the whole head and facial area to the list....

Summer camping season is upon us. Camping can be good, wholesome fun, but doing it legally can prevent a good time from going sour. According to some statistics, nearly 14 percent of the country enjoys some form of camping annually. However, a peaceful night under the stars can actually land you, your friends, and maybe even your family, in police custody. Well, it could happen if you go camping on another person’s property, or on publicly owned land....

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly’s divorce has prompted him to sell nearly $17 million worth of shares in the company. The sale was disclosed in a filing on Tuesday, and a company statement confirmed the sale was to help pay for Joly’s divorce settlement, CNNMoney reports. Joly, who was born in France, has been CEO of Best Buy for a little more than a year. According to the company, this sale represented about 20 percent of Joly’s stake in Best Buy....

Brain injuries can cause permanent physical and mental damage. Determining the value of a person’s injuries can often be complicated. Generally, damage awards in a personal injury case include two types of damages: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Punitive damages are typically reserved for cases in which a defendant’s actions justify a monetary punishment as opposed to simply compensating a victim, and are generally awarded at the discretion of a judge or jury....

With the new season of “Game of Thrones” set to premiere Sunday, HBO subscribers may be wondering: Can you legally share your HBO Go password with friends and family? If you take HBO’s CEO at his word, the premium cable TV company doesn’t care if you do – as long as it keeps viewers hooked on its programming. Even if HBO looks the other way, is it technically legal to share your HBO Go password?...

Federal prosecutors served Chipotle with a subpoena as part of a criminal investigation into the restaurant’s involvement in norovirus outbreak last year. The Department of Justice and the Food and Drug Administration opened the investigation after E. coli outbreaks sickened hundreds of Chipotle customers. Chipotle’s in-store sales and share prices have been plummeting since multiple norovirus outbreaks occurred last fall in California, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington. A subpoena is a formal request for an appearance, testimony, or evidence pertaining to a legal proceeding....

New York City’s $340 license fee for keeping a handgun at home does not violate the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms, a federal judge ruled Monday. Seven handgun owners and two gun owners’ groups sued the city over its handgun license fee, claiming it placed a burden on a basic constitutional right, the Associated Press reports. But a judge disagreed, saying the gun-rights advocates failed to prove New York City’s license fee was a burden....

“I cursed, and it cost me $500. Are you serious? Where in America do you get charged $500 for two words?” Terry Duncan said after receiving a ticket for swearing on the city bus. “‘What do I get this for? What did I do wrong?” So said Mr. Duncan after receiving a ticket from an undercover officer riding the bus with him in Milwaukee. (No, it wasn’t a sting operation)....