Posts

In an opinion issued last Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer will allow a suit by employees of the Tribune Company to proceed against company chairman, real estate investor Sam Zell and the Greatbanc Trust Company, over the stock buy back plan that plaintiffs claim drove the company into bankruptcy. Employees claim that when Zell took the Chicago-based Tribune Co. private in an $8.3 billion stock buy back in 2007, the action violated federal pension protection laws....

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a host of programs and loan incentives targeted at small business. So, the essential question: what is an SBA small business? The SBA defines a small business as one that is: independently owned and operated is organized for profit and is not dominant in its field The SBA also takes into account the size of the business using quantitative indicators. size standard eligibility is based on the average number of employees for the preceding 12 months alternatively, it can be based on sales volume over a 3-year span Here are some of the size standard limits, each is dependent on particular features of the type of business....

CLIMB Works has been rated the #1 zipline in Tennessee for the past eight years, according to its website. But the reviews the company has been receiving this summer are far from positive. The Tennessee Department of Health revealed more than 500 cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported at CLIMB’s facility near Gatlinburg since mid-June. Tests conducted by the TDH indicated contamination of E. coli in the well water CLIMB was serving its customers, and multiple patients tested positive for norovirus as well....

For a country that prides itself as being on the cutting edge of hot dog pizza, fried cheesecake, and Dorito-shelled taco technology, there are a surprising number of foods banned in the U.S. Some foods are illegal due to health concerns, some due to environmental hazards, and others because the main ingredient is an endangered species. So what deliciousness are you missing out on? 1. Milk. Well not all milk, obviously, just the unpasteurized stuff....

Over the past six months, the U.S government has been split on transgender military service, with the president tweeting a ban, transgender service members suing over the tweets, the Secretary of Defense defying the president’s order, and ultimately a federal court blocking the order. All that political and legal back-and-forth looks to be over – starting January 1 of this year, transgender people are now allowed to enlist in the military....

A federal judge has awarded $17.8 million to the family members of four persons who were killed in a December 2008 Marine jet crash. The plane crashed into Don Yoon’s San Diego home, killing his wife, mother-in-law and two daughters instantly. The military admitted it was at fault – the plane was manned by a student pilot who panicked when the engine failed. Still, the two sides opted for a nonjury trial....

In a nutshell, “ministerial exception” allows religious institutions of all kinds to be able to choose who their ministers are, even if in making such choices, federal laws are violated. That concept is something most Americans can somewhat agree with, given that one of the basic principles this country was founded on was separation of Church and State, as evidenced by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – Freedom of Religion....

Tomorrow’s Powerball is inspiring millions of workers to dream of a day when they will be free. No more boss. No more job. And 1.5 billion dollars to play with! What could be better? But what about the stores that sell these lottery tickets? What’s in it for them? And is this a business you want to get in on? Is the lottery a money maker for retailers? Winning Stores With so much money at stake in tomorrow night’s drawing, it is easy to see why people are playing like crazy....

A Denver man has filed an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit in the New York Federal Courts after he attended a performance of the hit Broadway play, Hamilton. While ADA lawsuits regarding physical access to public accommodations are not uncommon, this one seems to be turning heads, most likely because anything related to Hamilton creates a pretty big stir. The plaintiff didn’t have any difficulty getting in or out of the theater, or using any of the facilities within the theater, as is common in ADA lawsuits....

Don’t think drowsy driving is a problem? Here’s a scary statistic: 1 in 24 adults admit they’ve recently nodded off while driving, a new CDC study finds. Just think about the number of cars you pass by every day. How many of these drivers were actually alert at the time you pulled up next to them? What’s worse, health officials say that the study probably underestimates the number of drowsy drivers out there....

A transvaginal mesh injury verdict has led to a $2 million award for the victim. It was the first trial in federal court to determine if C.R. Bard Inc. failed to warn of the dangers associated with its mesh implants, which are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence. Thousands of cases against the New Jersey-based company are pending nationwide. Jurors apparently felt that Bard should have to pay a hefty price for failing to warn of the dangers associated with vaginal mesh devices....

Are you ready to fill out your 2010 1099 forms? Well ready or not, it is the month of January also known as Form 1099 season. So if you have a small business, you need to make sure that you have your 2010 1099 forms in order. So if you are confused about what you need to file, here are some frequently asked questions and 2010 1099 instructions that you can use:...

Halloween always has the threat of danger from ghouls and goblins. However, the much more likely cause of Halloween injuries is cars and your own costume. There is no other holiday quite like Halloween, where an armada of young children dressed in strange outfits march around the town at night, knocking on strangers’ doors. But because of the strangeness of Halloween, hospitals are oftentimes very busy dealing with Halloween accidents and injuries....

The 9/11 crash site of United Flight 93 is actually worth nearly $1 million more than the federal government paid for it, according to a court ruling in an eminent domain case. A federal district judge ruled Wednesday that the site of the downed flight near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, originally valued at $610,000, was actually worth more than $1.5 million, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The federal government scooped up the land from its owner in 2009 under eminent domain, with plans to create a national memorial at the site....

High-end retailer Barneys New York has agreed to pay $525,000 to settle complaints that it racially profiled black and Latino customers at its flagship New York City location. The settlement follows a nine-month investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office that found a “disproportionate number of black and Latino customers being detained for alleged shoplifting or credit card fraud,” reports The New York Times. Critics labeled the practice “shop and frisk....

You can get workers’ compensation for injuries at work, but are you covered for injuries at the annual company picnic? Company picnics are full of hazards. You could twist an ankle while walking through the park. You could sprain your back defending the marketing team’s dodge ball championship title. You could get food poisoning chowing down on barbeque and the CEO’s famous potato salad. Can you get workers’ compensation for injuries received at a company picnic?...

Family … you can’t live with ’em … can’t shoot ’em. But can you sue them for assault or battery? The answer may depend on where you live. But should you? That’s totally your call, but we can touch on that. Sometimes we hurt the people we love the most, and families fall smack dab in the middle of that. Unfortunately family members do assault and batter fellow family members. Assault, which is threatened bodily harm, and battery, which is unwanted physical touching, can come at the hands of anyone....

As college students head off to school, it’s important that they develop solid credit card habits. If not, their poor pinpad decisions and damaged credit scores can potentially haunt them for years to come. This is especially true for incoming freshmen who will soon be tempted by free T-shirts and other knick-knacks that come with applying for credit cards on campus. If students aren’t careful, they could charge their way into personal bankruptcy....

Delaware is pushing estate planning into the digital sphere with a new law that allows loved ones to access online accounts after a person’s death. The Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts Act (HB 345) was signed into law by Delaware Gov. Jack Markell last week, broadening digital access for legal heirs. In a press release from the Delaware House Democrats, the bill was described as the “first comprehensive state statute dealing with the disposition of a decedent’s digital assets in the nation....

In South Dakota, Dena Knapp went into surgery to remove a mass on her adrenal gland. She came out with the mass still intact, but missing a kidney. Adrenal glands are located on top of each kidney, and evidently, the surgeon got confused. Though he did get the memo the day prior of what to remove, and he did get the memo following surgery that he had removed the wrong organ, he continued to misrepresent the situation to his patient for days....