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Music listening has changed a lot in the last decade. We don’t buy albums, we buy songs, and some of us buy no music at all, subscribing to music streaming services instead. The streaming services – Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and others – allow listeners to hear whatever songs they want in whatever order. The world of music is the listener’s oyster … more or less. Meaning, you can share your playlists at a party but not in a commercial venue....

If you are injured in a store parking lot and it is due to the store’s negligence, you can sue. Keeping the parking lot safe is part of the business’s responsibility under premises liability law. But not all injuries arise from negligence. In order for the store to be responsible for your injury, the store must have failed in its duty. That failure need not be direct but the cause of injury can’t be disconnected or impossible for anyone to anticipate....

AshleyMadison.com bills itself as a matchmaker for married people looking to have an affair. So, the general public probably won’t feel much sympathy for the 37 million users whose personal information was stolen in a hack last week. While releasing the names of attempted or accomplished adulterers would be personally damaging to those involved, could there be legal repercussions for the cheating site’s users as well? A Criminal Affair? Some 21 states still criminalize adultery, although prosecutions are rare....

Safe deposit boxes can provide individuals with confidence that important documents and valuable or prized possessions will be kept safe from loss, accidental destruction, and theft. However, courts do have the authority to issue an order requiring a bank to freeze, or open, a person’s safe deposit box. When it comes to collecting delinquent unpaid taxes, the IRS has quite a bit of leeway, but cannot act to seize assets without court approval, or other particular circumstances being met....

Processing time and technical difficulties have had auto dealers wondering, “but where’s the cash?” The Cash for Clunkers phenomenon, formally known as the CARS program, ended for consumers last month– but only 20% of the rebate checks have been mailed. With $2.8 billion left to be distributed, there is plenty going on behind the scenes to make good on the program. The Obama Administration announced this week that it hopes to process the majority of the rebate applications by the end of the month, on or before September 30th....

A severed hand lawsuit blames a 5-year-old boy’s grandmother for negligence that allegedly resulted in the boy’s injury. The boy’s father filed suit against Sharon Setz, 52, of Thomaston, Maine, who was driving a vehicle with her twin 5-year-old grandsons in June, the Bangor Daily News reports. One of the twins, Noah Keene, tied a jump rope around his wrist. The other end of the rope, which was dangling out the window, got caught on one of the vehicle’s wheels and severed Noah’s left hand....

There are so many do-it-yourself kits and guides for how to incorporate that a lot of small business owners assume that they don’t need a lawyer to do it. Unfortunately, this is one of those times when assuming makes an… well, it makes you look bad. It’s true that some people will be able to navigate the incorporation process without a lawyer, but most of those DIY kits make the process look like an easy cut-and-paste job....

The U.S. Education Department made a student-friendly move on Friday, announcing it would renew focus in its contracts with student loan servicers on being “borrower-focused.” Undersecretary of Education Ted Mitchell noted in an interview that the new student loan servicers would be put “on notice” that they have to be more consumer friendly, reports The Wall Street Journal. The new federal contracts even provide quarterly bonuses for servicers who have lower rates of borrower delinquency....

We might remember 2014 as the Year of the Data Breach. But 2017 saw what has the potential to be the most catastrophic hack in history. And 2018 might be the year when Congress cracks down on companies concealing data breaches. Last week, three senators introduced new legislation that would require companies to report data breaches within 30 days, and even provide prison time for executives who knowingly conceal a data breach....

Times are tough and even your kids could use an extra buck. So maybe this year, rather than buying the children holiday gifts, you’re thinking of giving them cash. If so, and you have a lot to spare, beware the kiddie tax. This is a tax on a child’s unearned income. It exists so that parents will not shift funds to children just so that the money will be taxed a lower rate....

While filing a lawsuit in small claims court often requires little more than filling out a few forms and notifying the defendant, filing a civil lawsuit in federal court or a higher-level state court is a little bit more difficult. In addition to proper forms and notice, you need to determine which court to file in, as well as how to write a complaint that conforms court rules. To help you through this sometimes tough process, here is a step-by-step guide on how to locate what you need to file a lawsuit....

There’s a new sheriff in town. Well, not exactly… But the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has issued a new policy for chasing armed suspects. The new tactical approach instructs deputies to contain rather than confront armed and dangerous suspects. According to the Los Angeles Times, the policy shift was prompted by the department’s increase in police shootings last year. The new tactical approach is outlined in a 30-page booklet titled “Split second decision: The dynamics of the chase in today’s society....

Jamar Pinkney Sr. lost control. Fueled by anger when he heard disturbing news about his son having inappropriate sexual contact with his 3-year-old half sister, he reacted with rage. Investigators say that rage could be why Pinkney allegedly made his son strip his clothes off and kneel in a vacant lot before he was killed by a single bullet execution style, CBS and the Associated Press reports. The boy’s mother, Lazette Cherry said she was only trying to get her son help when she called his father to inform him their son made a startling confession about improper sexual contact with his 3-year-old half sister....

Even if you’re not a criminal defense attorney, watching a couple episodes of “Law and Order” will probably introduce you to the concept of police and prosecutors going after “small fish” in order to get the “big fish,” criminally speaking. This process involves lower level suspects or defendants exchanging testimony against higher level targets for lighter sentences or immunity. The practice of flipping has become especially prominent in the investigation headed Robert Mueller looking into possible collusion between Russia and the Donald Trump presidential campaign....

If your business has ever received criticism by an anonymous blogger, you may be irritated. You might also start to wonder if defamation law might be on your side. Suing someone who has caused harm to your businesses’ reputation and cost you money can be an option. But it’s more difficult now that there are various online platforms like Facebook, online message boards, Twitter, or forums where bloggers can keep their identity under wraps....

How many Americans support laws that limit cellphone use while driving? According to a new FindLaw.com survey, it depends on what kinds of limits you’re talking about. Half of those surveyed (50 percent) said they support laws that require hands-free cellphone use while driving, while 42 percent said they support a complete ban on drivers’ cellphone use. Just 8 percent said they didn’t support any limits at all. Regardless of your feelings on the issue, laws restricting cellphone use while driving are in effect from coast to coast....

Retail Giants’ Waste Disposal Practices are No Bargain for the Environment Target stores throughout California have been unlawfully disposing of hazardous waste materials for at least eight years, according to a lawsuit filed against the retail giant this week by the California Attorney General and a number of local prosecutors. Another big-box retailer, KMart Corporation, reached a settlement in May over similar waste dumping allegations, agreeing to revise its disposal practices and pay more than $8 million in penalties, the state’s AG announced....

If someone takes a picture of you and posts it on Facebook without your permission, is that technically an invasion of privacy? Imagine you’re at a party and someone posts a photo of you drinking or making a rude gesture. Or what’s also pretty common, imagine you and your ex break up, but your ex refuses to remove embarrassing photos of the two of you. Photos shared on social media can simply be a nuisance....

It’s fun to tell ghost stories and imagine things that go bump in the night, so long as they don’t involve your own home. Thinking of angry spirits stalking the halls of your new house doesn’t exactly lend itself to a good night’s sleep. With Halloween just around the corner, many folks will be decorating their homes to look haunted, but what if it turns out your house is actually haunted – is there anything you can do?...

Adidas, the sportswear and athletic shoe company, is on the receiving end of a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by the organizers of the popular annual art show, Art Basel. The lawsuit alleges that the shoe company manufactured a limited edition shoe that had the trademarked phrase “Art Basel” printed directly on the shoe’s tongue. While many Art Basel fans found these limited edition sneakers to be highly desirable, Art Basel contends that Adidas did not have permission to use the trademark....