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Strapped for cash, California is considering legislation that could result in many online merchants needing to collect tax on sales to California customers. The bill, AB 178, would require collection of sales tax on sales to California customers by any online merchant who utilizes an affiliate marketer that is in California. As one would expect, California affiliate marketers and online merchants oppose the legislation. First, we should explain what affiliate marketing is....

It’s becoming a more common question: Do landlords need to give Spanish-speaking tenants Spanish-language rental documents? As the nation’s population has grown more diverse, so have our legal interactions, especially between landlords and tenants. Considering the legal requirements to comply with state contract law, tenant rights, and fair housing statutes, there may be cases where landlords must supply tenants with residential lease documents in Spanish. If this applies to you, FindLaw’s collection of legal forms in Spanish, available for purchase here (scroll down to “Formularios en Español”), may speak to your needs....

In the wake of the Asiana Airlines crash, 83 passengers are taking steps to sue Boeing, the plane’s manufacturer, alleging a mechanical defect caused the disaster. The passengers filed a petition in Chicago on Monday, marking the start of a long legal battle that will seek compensation for those injured in the July 6 crash at San Francisco International Airport, reports the Los Angeles Times. What theories do these passengers offer for Boeing’s fault, and will they be able to recover?...

If you too have been avidly following the case of the spying school, there is news today as reported by The New York Times and PCWorld. Last week, a post on this blog reported the suit brought by a high school student and his parents against the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania, for allegedly spying on the plaintiffs and every other high school student via the webcams attached to school issued laptops....

A brain-dead pregnant woman was finally disconnected from her ventilator Sunday after a judge ruled Friday that Texas law did not require her to be kept on life support. Texas law requires “pregnant patients” to be kept on life support, but State District Judge R.H. Wallace ruled that Marlise Munoz, 33, was legally “deceased” and the law did not apply to her, The Associated Press reported. The Munoz family will now get to bury Marlise and her unborn child, but this case serves as a vital lesson for future litigants....

Depending on the size and location of your business, you may have a few windows on the front of your building or hundreds of windows looking out on all sides. In either case, broken windows at your business can require costly repairs and will likely need to be boarded up in the meantime – not exactly the look most business owners are going for. Some business owners on Virginia’s Eastern Shore are learning this first-hand after the catastrophic explosion of a NASA rocket shattered the windows of several businesses, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch....

California’s egg-production law is being challenged by Missouri’s attorney general, who claims in a lawsuit that it may raise costs for Missouri poultry farmers. Golden State voters passed Proposition 2 in 2008, prohibiting California farmers from confining chickens in a way that prevents the full extension of their limbs or prevents chickens from “turning around freely,” beginning in 2015, The Wall Street Journal reports. The law was extended in 2010 to cover all out-of-state egg producers who want to sell their yolky products in California....

With advances in technology come new legal and ethical dilemmas. Animal cloning, space colonization, and DIY gene therapies come to mind. But there are also plenty of legal questions surrounding the use of your basic smartphone. For example, in a new twist, police officers in Florida attempted to unlock a cell phone using the dead man’s finger. Did they need a warrant? Was it totally inappropriate? What kinds of rights does a dead person have?...

Most adoptions are warm, loving arrangements that permanently add more life and happiness to a family. But not all of them, and perhaps not one in particular in New York. According to court filings, investment banker Robert Roever is attempting to reverse the adoption of a 10-year-old boy, ostensibly to avoid paying the boy and his mother child support. Can he get away with it? From the judge’s comments and legal precedent, probably not....

Raising kids is hard. Parents have so much to worry about, including concerns over school bullies. One Florida father decided to take matters into his own hands, after his 11 year-old daughter, who has cerebral palsy, told him that she was being picked on by other children at school. Specifically, the girl claimed that her peers were hitting her in the back, placing open condoms on her head, and twisting her ear on a daily basis The end result: The dad confronts the bus bullies, and gets criminal charges....

A couple of stories about unusual sentences being handed out in New Hampshire…First, 34-year-old mom, Meredith-Leigh Pulkkinen-Walton, who kicked a police officer got a suspended sentence, and will be required to write a letter of apology plus take a tour of the county jail. Jail tour, not bad, but here’s one N.H. sentence to top it. After pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of shoplifting coffee from a Dunkin’ Donuts, Matthew Anderson, 20, got himself a suspended sentence, a fine, and a hefty 2-year citywide Dunkin’ Donuts ban....

A FedEx truck crashed into a tour bus Thursday, killing 10 people and injuring 34 others. The fiery crash occurred on Interstate 5 near Orland, California, about 100 miles north of Sacramento. The California Highway Patrol and National Transportation Safety Board are now trying to determine what caused the FedEx tractor trailer to cross the median and collide with a bus full of high school students, reports The Sacramento Bee....

The first part in the legal saga related to the Flint water crisis has settled for close to $100 million. However, that money isn’t going to the residents’ bank accounts. Instead, it’s going toward new plumbing in nearly 20,000 homes, and for continued monitoring, testing, and maintenance. About a third of the money is actually coming from the federal government, with the rest coming from the state. There is a separate class action being brought on behalf of the residents that have suffered injuries, or other damages, which is currently ongoing....

In 2012, a then-15-year-old Jane Doe was “friended” on Facebook by a user who appeared to know several of her friends in real life. The man messaged her through Facebook, and offered to console her after an argument with her mother. But that user’s online identity turned out to be false, and after picking up Jane Doe in his car, he beat her, raped her, and posted illicit photos taken during the incident to Backpage....

Jack and Jill sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage…No wait, scratch that. Marriage Checklist No. 1: Do you have a license to get married? If you want to get married, you need to get a license first. The requirements to obtain a marriage license vary from state to state. Applying for a license can be as simple as filling out a few forms, though some states also require a blood test....

April 15th is nearly upon us. And for those of you not quite ready to file, you might be freaking out. Not to worry, FindLaw and the IRS are here to help. You might have heard rumors about filing an extension and giving yourself some more time to get your paperwork in order. So let’s take a look at the extension process and what it can and can’t do. File the Form If you’re not ready or not able to file your full tax return by the April 15th deadline, you can file for an extension....

Earlier, a post on this blog noted the jurors in the corruption trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich had informed the judge they had only reached a decision on two of the 24 charges in the case. Now, the news comes that the jurors have reached a final verdict: on one count only. Jurors have found Rod Blagojevich guilty on one count of lying to federal agents. The judge has decided to declare a mistrial on the remaining 23 counts....

There are a lot of ways for startups and small businesses to raise capital, and most of them involve going to a large number of possible investors and asking for money. Modern technology has made this even easier, and modern securities laws have made it possible for small companies to raise up to $1 million from small investors without the expense of becoming a publicly traded company. This crowdfunding functions a bit differently that your standard Kickstarter or GoFundMe project, and if you want to avoid SEC sanctions or lawsuits, you have to be a bit more careful about how you plan and advertise your crowdfunding campaign....

Can police refuse to evict someone? That’s the question currently being asked by everyone who has heard of Elvinia Hall, the 103-year-old woman who almost lost her home. Hall, along with her 83-year-old daughter, has lived in the Northwest Atlanta home for 53 years. But a few years ago, Hall’s grandson failed to make mortgage payments, causing the home to go into foreclosure. A long legal battle over the home ended late last year, and Chase Bank decided it was time to evict....

Whether on foot, on your motorcycle, or even in a car, unrepaired potholes can be a serious injury risk. A recent case in Utah proves how hard it can be to hold municipalities responsible for pothole injuries. In 2011, Salt Lake City resident Jeffrey Wood seriously injured his left arm when he tripped in an unrepaired pothole in the street. Although city workers had visited the street over 20 times in the four months the pothole had been there, the Utah Court of Appeals found that a district court was correct in ruling that the city was not negligent failing to identify and repair the pothole....