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“Smilin’ Bob” isn’t going to be smiling anymore. The U.S. Justice Department has released $24 million to pay Enzyte fraud victims, the Associated Press reports. The money comes from Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals founder Steve Warshak and 10 other company executives. Warshak was convicted in 2008 for fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy in connection to the sale of BPN’s products. Chief among them was Enzyte, the supposed male sexual performance enhancer....

“Hostile work environment” is an often misused term. There’s a tendency to use it to describe a situation in which a supervisor simply dislikes an employee and decides to make her miserable until she quits. However, the concept of a hostile work environment falls under the ADA, ADEA, Title VII, and any state employment discrimination laws. So, unless the alleged at-work harassment is based on race, color, religion, sex, national original, age (40+), disability, or some state-protected characteristic, a hostile work environment most likely doesn’t legally exist....

A new video has surfaced in the fight over the late Hudson News magnate’s will, with new evidence supporting his granddaughter’s claim that he was incapacitated when he cut her out of his will. A video deposition of Robert Cohen taken in 2009 (three years prior to his death) has been introduced in Samantha Perelman’s case, the New York Post reports. Perelman, Cohen’s granddaughter, alleges that her uncle improperly influenced the addled Cohen into cutting her out of “a $600 million inheritance....

One of the risks of asbestos exposure is developing a rare form of cancer called malignant mesothelioma, which starts when cells found in the protective lining of your body’s internal organs, abnormally divide. Mesothelioma asbestos cancer is a life-threatening disease that can affect any of the millions of people that are exposed to asbestos due to their work environment. Generally speaking, men have far more cases of mesothelioma because they work in environments where asbestos is present more frequently....

Distressed homeowners, listen up! Help may be on the way. Well, relatively speaking, at least. Help has been on the way many times and despite the efforts by the Obama Administration, banks seem unwilling to take up the incentives offered to assist the distressed homeowners. Now, the Obama Administration has announced a new plan, which in essence, is not too different from the older ideas. This plan, which launches on April 5 under the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program is another incentive-based program for distressed homeowners who want to “short-sell” their home....

Would you ever donate a kidney to your boss? Probably not, but Debbie Stevens of Long Island did, and now she’s filed a discrimination complaint with state regulators. In what is being called the “kidney donor case,” Stevens claims boss Jackie Brucia turned on her after the organ donation. She even demoted her when she took time off to deal with the pain. And then, when she complained, she was fired....

If you’re looking for “The Psycho Ex Wife” blog, look no further. The blog, written by amateur blogger and Pennsylvania resident Anthony Morelli, has been shut down by a family court judge. In its place, the website is now redirecting to another site: “Save ThePsychoExWife.com,” a site that is soliciting donations for a legal fund. Morelli says a family court judge’s order to shut down the site was violating his right to free speech as well as his right to due process....

It’s time for congressional redistricting 2011, and things are starting to get a little contentious. Arizona’s Governor fired the head of the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission, and the Colorado Supreme Court flat out rejected the state’s new legislative maps. And then there’s Texas, where the redistricting battle is being fought in the D.C. Circuit and in front of a 3-judge panel in San Antonio. What’s with all the drama? Some states use a citizen-run or bipartisan committee, while others require a legislative vote....

UPS will be dropping health care coverage for some 15,000 employees’ spouses, citing “costs associated with” Obamacare. United Parcel Service told employees in a July memo that “limiting plan eligibility” is a prudent way to maintain coverage for current employees “now and into the future,” especially in light of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), reports The New York Times. Even if it’s just to save a dime, should your business cut employee benefits?...

Cyberbullying is a terrifying reality for today’s youth, affecting them in ways that prior generations could never have imagined. Gone are the days when the end of the school day meant the end of the school bully. Today’s cyberbullying goes on well into the midnight hours given the ubiquity of the internet, affecting children’s self-esteem, safety, schoolwork, and sleep patterns. If you child is being harassed online by a schoolmate, check the school’s Student Code of Conduct regarding cyberbullying....

People slip and fall every single day. And while most falls don’t result in anything more than a bruised ego, all too often a serious injury results. Injuries can be especially serious when a person slips and falls down a flight of stairs. Thanks to gravity, a fall in a stairway can cause a person to tumble some distance. Unfortunately for property owners, stairs can be the source of serious, and costly, premises liability claims due to the fact that the injuries tend to be rather severe....

Summer is officially upon us. And if your teen hasn’t gone out and gotten a summer job yet, what are they waiting for? Time is running out to get them off the couch and out into the real world, where they can learn valuable life lessons of punctuality, diligence, and hard work, and maybe make their own spending money for a few months. And while teenagers will be, for the most part, treated like adults in the workplace, there are a few legal ins and outs of hiring teenagers, being a working teen, and seasonal employment....

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday reinstated the death sentence of a Ohio killer convicted of murdering a man he met in a gay bar. This overturns a decision last year by a federal appeals court in Cincinnati that ruled the lawyers who represented Robert J. Van Hook, 49, during the sentencing phase of his trial in 1985 failed to do an effective job. But these guidelines came out 20 years after Van Hook’s trial....

What happens when a high school teacher confiscates your cell phone, the principal looks through it, finds nude photos and turns the phone over to police? You get paid. A minor student from Pennsylvania, identified in the lawsuit as N.N., settled with Tunkhannock Area School District and school officials for $33,000. As is typical in settlements, the school did not acknowledged any wrongdoing in the cell phone privacy case. N.N.’s claims against the District Attorney’s Office were not part of the settlement, according to the American Civil Liberties Union....

What is common law? Is it a type of law or just the name of that cable TV show about cops? Well, actually, it’s both. But the focus here will be more on the former (you can check out the latter on your own time). Common law is one of the main systems of law in the United States – the other main kind being civil law. With that said, what exactly is common law?...

Google Street View. Credit Cards. Online Banks. Facebook Places. More and more of our private information is online everyday. As Internet privacy continues to evolve into a complex issue fraught with questions and concerns, the Obama administration is moving to take on the matter. The White House recently announced the formation of a subcommittee to advise the administration on internet related regulatory and legislative matters. The internet privacy panel will focus first and foremost on internet privacy....

When a plaintiff files a lawsuit in state court, an opposing party may try to remove the case to federal court. Lawyers for Walmart are trying to do this in one woman’s slip-and-fall case; KFC’s lawyers did it in another. But why? As the above cases show, when parties are in the throes of a lawsuit, one of the initial battles between the parties is over venue. Here are a few reasons why lawyers try to remove injury cases to federal court:...

Wrongful imprisonment lawsuits can try to use two different tactics when seeking compensation for those wrongfully incarcerated. The first is the most sensical: a suit by the former inmate against the city, state, or federal entity which imprisoned him or her. The second involves suits by the ex-inmate’s family members, claiming their lives have been tragically altered by their loved one’s incarceration. How do these two types of wrongful imprisonment suits work?...

Landlord-tenant relationships are notorious for being less than pleasant. Some end up being more unpleasant than others. For the sake of civility, landlords should always try to deal with potential problems before a lease or rental agreement is signed. Here are five legal issues for landlords to keep in mind: 1. Using Old, Standard Lease Forms Most landlords know the sage rule of “getting it in writing.” It’s crucial for landlords to have a written lease or rental agreement....

Neighbors can be the greatest people in the world, or they can be your worst enemies. But the reality is that most neighbors fall somewhere in between – yes, even if you think you love them. There are dozens of ways your neighbors can hurt you or your property value without ever letting it be known. That’s not even including the usual ways, such as noise and failing to maintain their homes....