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Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. It’s amazing how the Internet has completely changed the small business owner’s ability to advertise and sale her products or services. In fact, it is rare to find a business these days that doesn’t have a website. Recently I was speaking with a small business owner about her business’ website. She didn’t realize was that by having a business website she is subjecting her business to responsibilities and liabilities that she does not have in her brick-and-mortar store....

Just about every story about a personal injury lawsuit will make some reference to damages, noting how much the plaintiff is asking for and what kind. And a lot of specific legal terms get thrown around: general damages, special damages, and punitive damages. But what do they mean? Are they available in every case? And are they capped? Here are seven of the most frequently asked questions regarding damages in personal injury lawsuits, and a few answers:...

In a series of unfortunate events, Robert Westlake, an Uber driver, fatally shot a man that was stalking the customer in Westlake’s car, whom he mistakenly believed was his ex-girlfriend. In the end, the stalker was dead, and Westlake carries the weight of survivor’s guilt. Those were the last words Jason Boek spoke before he was fatally shot by an armed Uber driver. In the midnight hours outside a Florida bar, an Uber driver picked up a drunk woman who was helped to the car by a kind woman, a stranger to her....

You’ve been involved in a hit-and-run accident. So what should you do? Unfortunately, hit-and-run car accidents are all too common. Last week, a Minneapolis man was left in the middle of a downtown street with serious injuries after witnesses say a car appeared to deliberately hit him then speed away, the Star Tribune reported. In the confusion following a hit-and-run crash, it’s easy to allow anger or confusion cloud your judgment....

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), originally passed in 1994, is set to expire at the end of September. Thousands of women will be left vulnerable, and crisis centers will lose valuable funding, unless the House takes action. But time is of the essence, and there are only four working days left for the House to pass this bill. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) filed a bill to extend VAWA six months, which would at least keep the current version of the Act in place....

Think you aren’t getting paid enough? Or just want to make sure that you are? There’s an app for that. The Department of Labor has recently released DOL-Timesheet, a free hour tracker app that allows iPhone users to keep track of hours worked and wages earned. This includes overtime pay and mandatory break periods. The iPhone app may eventually track bonuses, commissions, holiday and weekend pay, and tips. It may seem like overkill to track your own hours and wages, but there are a few good reasons to do so....

When you lose your passport, international travel may become a bit of a nonstarter. Even if that means you’re stuck in a foreign country. Case in point: Pop star Chris Brown was stuck stateside and couldn’t make it to a New Year’s Eve gig he’d booked in the Philippines because he lost his passport. The Associated Press reports that Brown lost his passport the “day before the scheduled event.” Bummer....

A sweeping healthcare bill passed the House of Representatives last week and now awaits President Obama’s approval. The law potentially has a significant effect on the way small employers purchase and provide health insurance for themselves and their employees. By 2014, states will be required to set up Small Business Health Options Programs (“SHOP Exchanges”) where small businesses can pool together resources to buy insurance. As a larger unit, small businesses may be able to reap significant insurance savings with lower premiums....

When prepping for your Super Bowl party, you’ll need extra chips, plenty of drinks, and… a social media game plan? Yes, that’s right, you need all of these things. Isn’t this sort of overkill? Sure, companies need social media policies, but for individuals it may seem a little strange. Well, get used to the idea because crossing the social media party-foul line can lead to serious penalties – a lost job, a lawsuit, or even your arrest....

The release of retro-style Air Jordan shoes has sparked riots in malls across the country. Hundreds of sneaker fans lined up, pushed, and shoved their way to claim a pair of the $180 sneakers. It might be only a matter of time before the shopping madness results in a mall injury lawsuit. After all, the shoes did inspire a frenzied dash. There were long lines and instances of violence. In one California mall, a shopper pulled out a gun and fired a round into the air....

First there was a dry-ice bomb at Disneyland, now, a loaded gun at Disney World? When a grandma and her grandson boarded a ride in Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, they weren’t expecting this kind of thrill when a loaded gun was found on her seat. The woman immediately reported the gun to a park attendant. It was later discovered that the gun’s owner had a valid concealed weapons permit and didn’t realize that his gun had fallen out of his pocket when he was on a supposedly bumpy ride....

Worker’s compensation provides benefits to workers who are injured, even if they are injured away from the job site. But does worker’s compensation kick in if a person is injured while on vacation? One Australian woman successfully filed a claim for worker’s compensation after suffering an injury while having sex in her hotel room. In that case however, the woman was on a business trip. And U.S. worker’s compensation rules aren’t necessarily the same as those of Australia....

“The objective… is to achieve a comfort level between the cook/artist/performer and the customer/viewer/diner. And if we can achieve that, and the customers are happy and the cooks are happy, then we have a great experience.” -Chef Mario Batali Chef Batali allegedly left one aspect out of the equation, paying workers a legal wage. 27 workers are suing Del Posto, Batali’s restaurant, in Manhattan federal court. It’s not the first time....

Faced with pictures of 3-year-old Bryan, a little boy who was born without arms and only one leg, a jury in a wrongful birth lawsuit awarded parents Ana Mejia and Rodolfo Santana $4.5 million last week. The West Palm Beach couple asserted that OB/GYN Dr. Marie Morel and her ultrasound technician were negligent in detecting Bryan’s missing limbs. The couple argued that had they known about his disabilities, they would have saved him “a life of physical and psychological pain” and terminated the pregnancy....

As regular readers of our The Good Wife recaps will know, the show has had a lot of fun with elder partner Howard Lyman’s claims of age discrimination. But refusing to hire someone or harassing an employee because of his or her age is serious. Not only is it demeaning to the person, but it could be grounds for an age discrimination lawsuit. But what proof do you need to file an age discrimination claim, and how do you demonstrate age discrimination to a court?...

For the average couple going through a divorce, the notion of maintaining the same standard of living post divorce is nothing more than wishful thinking. Courts have long since recognized that a married couple enjoys certain financial advantages when cohabitating that vanish after a divorce, particularly that the couple only has to manage one household’s expenses. When a couple divorces, spouses usually stop cohabitating, which means each spouse must now pay rent or make a house payment....

Maybe the car you drove off the lot isn’t what you need anymore, or maybe the monthly lease payment isn’t something you can afford. But after signing all of that paperwork, is there any way to get out of a car lease early without having to pay an arm and a leg to do it? As it happens, there’s more than one way to terminate a car lease, each having its own costs and benefits....

A new identity theft report shows many Americans have been victimized, but also suggests certain forms of ID theft may be more dangerous or prevalent than others. The industry-sponsored study found that 12.6 million Americans were ID theft victims in 2012. That’s about 1 million more than in 2011, NBC News reports. There are many kinds of identity theft and lots of ways to deal with it. But it helps to know what kinds of issues are most likely to cause significant problems....

It used to be said that the man who represents himself has a fool for a client. In child custody cases, which can be contentious and emotionally difficult, there is good reason to seek representation. But times are tough and if you’re looking to cut costs, then you may be considering Limited Scope Representation, or unbundled legal services. There are risks to limited representation. It’s not right for everyone. Let’s look at guidance from the California courts on how to decide if LSR is right for your child custody case....

Whether you fell in love at first sight or had a long, drawn out romance, when you’re ready for a relationship to be over you normally don’t want to have to wait around to make it happen. Unfortunately, when it comes to ending a marriage, a divorce can’t exactly happen overnight. That said, there are some ways you can make sure the legal process doesn’t take longer than absolutely necessary. Here are some ways you could speed up your divorce....