You’re a landlord. You let someone rent your house or a room in your house. Is he a tenant or a lodger? Is there a difference? The rights and responsibilities of a landlord are many. However, if you don’t know the difference between a tenant and a lodger, you may be getting yourself into legal hot water or creating unnecessary headaches for yourself. So, what’s the difference between a tenant and a lodger?...
The only way to truly protect your business from a product liability claim: Don’t make, sell, promote, or have anything to do with any products. Unfortunately, that advice just doesn’t work for many businesses, particularly those that have the primary purpose of manufacturing products. However, startups big and small can take certain actions to limit exposure and risks related to product liability claims. While even the best warning labels alone can’t eliminate the exposure to liability for injury claims, warnings can certainly help when it comes to the valuation of claims....
A new online bullying survey finds that “cyber bullying” is still very prevalent, though it may be on the decline. About half of teens and young adults – 49 percent – claim they had at least one brush with some kind of electronic harassment in 2013, down from 56 percent in 2011. The survey of nearly 1,300 people between 14 and 24 was conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MTV....
The small city of Bell, California, has been in the news lately over the story of the excessive salaries the city’s officers were paid. Now, it seems that the huge salaries were not quite enough for the Bell city officials, as eight current and former city workers have been arrested on corruption charges which include making illegal loans to themselves. Among those arrested were former city manager Robert Rizzo, ex-Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former assistant city manager Angela Spaccia, councilmembers George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo and Luis Artiga, and former councilmembers George Cole and Victor Bello....
A federal court of appeals yesterday upheld a lower court’s rejection of a lawsuit brought by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights against San Francisco. The lawsuit was brought after the Board passed a non-binding resolution in 2006 resolution that, to put it mildly, had some harsh language about a Catholic leader’s directive on same-sex adoptions. Although the suit itself was noteworthy (you can read more about it here), people might wonder just what the laws are on same-sex adoption in the first place....
The man behind the popular Buckyballs desk toy is being sued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission over a costly recall. In a rare twist, the toy company’s founder, Craig Zucker, is being sued personally by the CPSC over a recall of Buckyballs and similar products which could cost up to $57 million, reports The Washington Post. The CPSC estimates more than 1,000 children have been hospitalized after ingesting magnetic balls sold by various companies....
Those who were caught off guard by the Obama Administration’s move to resume full diplomatic relations with Cuba might also be surprised by this fact: the U.S. is already the fourth largest exporter of goods to Cuba. But this doesn’t mean Cuba is completely open for business. The country is still subject to a trade embargo, meaning there are heavy restrictions on American exports to Cuba, and the Cuban government still sets the rules on who can do business in the country....
As a small business owner, you probably have a lot of people working for you. Is one of them a small business attorney? If no, why not? A small business lawyer can take care of all the legal requirements of owning a business, defend your business from employee harassment and discrimination claims, facilitate business deals, and draft favorable contracts. Do you have the expertise to do that yourself? If you don’t have a small business attorney, hire one....
Everyone’s suing everyone these days and everyone’s buying insurance policies to cover the costs of litigation. Well almost everyone. It turns out there was one market underserved by the legal insurance industry, but those days may be over. One insurance brokerage based in Los Angeles has begun selling insurance policies that cover franchise chains facing litigation, and the company’s owner thinks this previously untapped market is “going to be a gold mine....
As discussed in FindLaw’s Legally Weird, a teenager in New York recently was saved by a playful message posted on his Facebook page. Rodney Bradford, 19, wrote that he was craving pancakes on his Facebook status. His Facebook evidence of an alibi prevented him from being charged with robbery. This is a natural extension of the increased use of electronic evidence in both criminal and civil cases. In 2006, Congress mandated changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, expanding the acceptance of electronically stored information as evidence....
A fall can cause injury to anyone, but for senior citizens, falls are becoming increasing fatal. The number of those over the age of 65 who died after a fall has increased sharply in recent years, reports The New York Times. And as Americans live longer, the numbers of seniors affected by serious or fatal falls is likely to continue increasing in coming years. What should you know about seniors and potentially fatal injuries caused by falls?...
The New York City Council has reached a deal on a mandatory paid sick leave bill that would affect companies with 15 or more employees. If the plan is approved, workers will be able to take five paid days off for illness each year. The bill could affect 1 million New York City workers who currently do not have paid sick leave at work, reports New York’s WNBC-TV. But while the bill may seem like a great idea for workers, employers who are already struggling have some concerns....
A parking ticket may be a strict liability offense where you live, but you’re still allowed to fight it. In fact, there are a variety of potential ways to fight a parking ticket. Here are a few strategies for fighting a parking ticket that you may want to consider: Need More Help? Of course these are just a few potential arguments, and each parking ticket case is different. For more complex cases, or if you need personal advice on the best way to fight your parking ticket, consider consulting an experienced traffic ticket lawyer near you....
Parents, society, and the media are becoming more open about the issues facing transgender children, the best way to protect and nurture transgender kids. And while the law has caught up in terms of protecting the rights of adult transgender workers and prison inmates, there are few legal protections in place for transgender children. Here are a few of the laws already on the books, and some legal issues that parents and their transgender kids may still face:...
For the last several months, our series Legalese From A to Z has been walking you through the sometimes wacky, sometimes confusing world of legalese , the specialized language of law used by those in the legal field. Letter by letter, we’ve been examining some important, interesting, or noteworthy bits of legalese. This week, we take a look at five legal terms that start with the letter “N”: Next of kin....
Here’s a tip that all businesses should take to heart: do not call customers racial slurs on receipts. You could be sued. This is the very reason why Orange County restaurant Landmark Steakhouse is faced a lawsuit. African-American patron Mark McHenry was a regular at the restaurant. He thought he was getting along well with the restaurant staff. That is, until he saw a glimpse of some receipts. Restaurant employeeshad identified him using different variations of the N-word....
Guy Heinze Jr., who had been arrested after reporting 8 members of his family brutally killed, is due to be released on bond. Authorities have revealed little information regarding the investigation, and have neither named him, nor excluded him as a suspect. Does his release indicate anything about the investigation? As reported by AP, eight members of Heinze’s family were slain in the Georgia mass killing, including his father, an uncle and several cousins....
Five deaths may have been caused by consumption of Monster Energy Drink. The federal Food and Drug Administration is investigating the deaths as well as one non-fatal heart attack. Monster Energy Drink markets itself as the “killer energy brew” and “the meanest energy supplement on the planet,” reports The Associated Press. However, the company probably did not expect these taglines to be taken literally. In its defense, the company says that it is unaware of any fatality anywhere that has been definitively linked to its drinks....
If you’ve been injured and are seeking legal help, the last thing you want is to get stuck with a huge bill for attorney’s fees. Luckily, personal injury attorneys have wide array of payment structures, some of which entail you paying nothing at all. So stop seeing red on attorney’s fees. Make sure you remember these three things about paying a personal injury attorney: One of the nice things about working with a personal injury attorney is that he or she may be willing to work on contingency....
A Stanford graduate student has filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming it failed to properly respond to multiple allegations of violence and sexual assault concerning another student, allowing him to prey on at least four female students during his undergraduate years. The lawsuit also claims that, when Stanford finally found the student responsible for “serious sexual misconduct” in 2014 (three years after his first reported assault) the school failed to enforce its own campus ban on the student, referred to as “Mr....
