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After opting for new-home construction so that everything is perfectly new, you may find that everything isn’t so perfect. Construction defects are unfortunately a regular occurrence in the building industry, and homeowners can sue for damages. But perhaps the more pressing question isn’t can they sue, but when can they sue. Construction Defects: A Primer Construction defects are defined as conditions in your home that reduce the home’s value. Some defects are patent, or apparent, such as erroneously using black paint in the bathrooms instead of blue....

You can’t put a price tag on peace of mind. But for billionaire oilman Harold Hamm, settling his divorce with ex-wife Sue Ann Hamm didn’t come cheap. A court filing released Monday shows that Hamm will pay his former wife nearly $1 billion, reports Forbes. Despite the huge payout, Hamm was actually relieved at the outcome of the divorce proceedings, calling it “a fair and equitable outcome to the case” in an email to Forbes....

A California power plant implosion went horribly wrong when two spectators were seriously hurt by flying debris. One of the victims, a 43-year-old-man, had his leg partially amputated in the blast. At least two other spectators suffered minor injuries from the demolition of a power plant in Bakersfield on Saturday morning, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fortunately, there were no casualties. So who could eventually be held liable for these injuries?...

A decision by the San Diego City Council not to appeal a ruling by the Fourth District Court of Appeals may spell the end of that city’s annual hosting of what has become a comic book culture institution: San Diego Comic-Con. The appeals court decision earlier this month struck down the proposed levying of a special tax on hotel rooms around the San Diego Convention Center, where the yearly event is held, reports The Hollywood Reporter....

It’s the holiday season, and you know what that means? Package theft will be on the rise. Officers in Williamson County, Texas have been on the lookout for one prolific thief, active since mid October. Last week, they caught the culprit. Surprised? Don’t be! According the Sheriff Chody and his Twitter account, “Williamson County doesn’t play around.” Evidently, the apprehended culprit stole packages containing both personal property and weapons. If Convicted, Possible Jail Time and Fine It is a federal offense to tamper with or steal a package that is delivered through the US mail, UPS, and FedEx, for which a culprit can spend up to five years in jail and be hit with a sizeable fine....

The Internet is laden with pirated TV shows and movies, and it turns out that the 10 most pirated shows of 2013 are also among the most viewed. But for anyone caught illegally downloading one of these shows, the consequences can potentially be quite costly. So which shows made it onto the Top 10 most-pirated list? And how can illegally downloading these shows make a pirate’s 2014 anything but tops?...

Although nearly all employers, by now, know that discriminating against pregnant employees is illegal, some just don’t know how to recognize when it is happening. Pregnancy discrimination occurs more often than most employers expect. Frequently, it is not borne out of any ill will, but rather just the implicit biases that have been ingrained in most of us since birth. There’s something natural about wanting to protect a pregnant person. However, employers need to exercise caution and common sense when it comes to offering support to pregnant workers....

Prescription drugs can save our lives. Whether for diabetes, heart disease, or even schizophrenia or autism, certain medications not only improve our quality of life, but help us live it. But every drug has its intended effects and its unintended side effects, and some of those side effects can be dangerous, even deadly. If a drug company fails to warn patients or doctors about certain side effects, they could be on the hook for any injuries or death....

We depend on our jobs for our livelihood. And getting hurt on the job shouldn’t take that livelihood away. That’s why employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance – to compensate employees injured while working. Many workers’ comp questions cover the types of injuries that may be covered, and the oversimplified answer is: work-related injuries. But what about the more procedural issues of workers’ comp, like when you must file or whether you can sue your employer?...

As discussed in prior posts on this blog, the question of how to handle same sex divorce in a state that does not recognize same sex marriage is an on-going dilemma for the courts, attorneys and soon to be un-married folk of Texas. The State Attorney General Greg Abbott has attempted to intervene in the two same sex divorce cases that are currently in the courts of the state. The first, in Dallas, is on appeal before the Texas 5th District Court of Appeals....

The Kansas electric company Westar Energy Inc. recently announced that it has settled a federal lawsuit over air quality regulations in the Clean Air Act. According to Reuters, the company has agreed to spend $500 million dollars to help reduce air pollution from their Kansas coal-fired electric generating plant at the company’s Jeffrey Energy Center near St. Marys, Kansas. The money will be spent to install pollution control equipment at its Jeffrey Energy Center, which is aimed at reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 78,600 tons annually....

Like our annual tax filings, the majority of us want to avoid a bankruptcy filing like the plague. But, just like the tax system, there are those among us that try to game the bankruptcy system to their advantage. And bankruptcy courts, just like the IRS, will occasionally audit filings to weed out fraud and misrepresentations. While not all bankruptcy filings will be audited, the possibility that your Chapter 7 filing might be is a powerful deterrent to fudging any numbers regarding your assets or your income....

There are two major legal protections of our medical privacy: the physician-patient privilege and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Both preclude doctors from disclosing your medical records to third parties without your consent. But what happens to your medical records after you die? What if you need access to a deceased loved one or family member’s medical records? Here’s how death affects medical privacy under HIPAA and the physician-patient privilege....

An Iowa administrative law judge has blasted QC Mart convenience store owner William Ernst for operating a “firing contest.” Ernst announced the contest in a chain-wide memo sent to his employees. He encouraged them to predict which cashier would be fired next. The winner would earn $10, and the contest would start anew. His plan was to whip his employees into shape, but instead he’s ended up paying for their voluntary unemployment....

The Permanent Resident Card or green card process can seem overwhelming – the qualification, the documentation, and, of course, the forms you’ll need to fill out. One of those forms is the G-325A, Biographic Information form, which seeks background information on the applicant like family names and former residences and places of employment. While much of the G-325A is self-explanatory, there can be sections and questions that are daunting or just confusing....

Owning property with family members seems like a good idea on the surface. You probably are going to pass the asset on to the same people anyway. So why not avoid probate by ensuring that ownership is handled before you die? There are a few reasons to avoid this. First, you run the risk of saddling family with the gift of higher estate or income taxes. Second, you expose the property to more creditor claims....

If you’re in any kind of business, you’re also in the contract business – negotiating, writing, signing, and enforcing. In many ways, the contracts we sign end up running our businesses. We just have to be sure they don’t end up ruining our businesses. We want clear and concise terms that will be enforceable, if necessary. But just because a clause is in a signed contract doesn’t mean a court will enforce it....

The husband of a brain-dead pregnant woman is suing a Texas hospital for refusing to take his wife off of life support. Erick Munoz argues in his lawsuit that his wife Marlise is brain-dead and that keeping her on life support is denying her family the right to “take her body and give her a proper burial,” reports CNN. Does Munoz have a good case against the hospital? Erick Munoz’s wife has been unconscious in a Fort Worth, Texas, hospital since November....

As with most workers’ comp claims, it will largely depend on exactly how you were injured, so let’s take a look at how workers’ compensation insurance works for neck pain. On the Job or Off Workers’ compensation insurance is is designed to provide compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other accommodations incurred when employees are injured on the job. However, only injuries that are work-related are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits....

You’ve gotten everything you think you can get out of your current gig, and you’re ready to strike out on your own. But if your new startup is in the same field as your old job, you may run into one or two legal hurdles first. Understandably, employers don’t like competing against ex-employees, especially those who took some proprietary information or an intimate knowledge of the business with them. There are a few ways that companies try to protect their secrets, and you might need to be wary of them before launching your startup....