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Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows many businesses a chance to reorganize and attempt a comeback in tough times. However, we also see the remnants of those who do not make it, such as the dormant Circuit City stores still haunting many US shopping centers. Many business owners have been forced to face the realities of how commercial leases can affect their ability to reorganize. Four years ago, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA)....

A night of reverie turned to tragedy when a bridal party’s stretch limousine burst into flames. The bride was killed in the limo fire, along with four of her friends. The limousine’s driver was unhurt, and four other passengers who survived were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Investigators still aren’t sure what caused the limo fire Saturday night. While victims and relatives of the bride who died may be considering wrongful-death or personal-injury lawsuits, the limo company could potentially claim some valid defenses....

While some adoptions can add more life and joy to a family, not all adoptions work out as planned. Sometimes adoptive parents just aren’t as ready or able to care for an adopted child as they thought they were. It also happens that an adopted child grows up and apart from the parents who adopted her. Or a child’s birth parents want custody back. Adoption can be the right choice for so many children and families....

Businesses not only want to make money, but they want to impact their community in a decidedly good way. And social entrepreneurship is on the rise. Many states are starting to recognize a new class of companies: benefit corporations. Several other states have pending legislation. A benefit corporation is essentially a company that has a social or charitable goal built into its business model. For example, a company where part of the profits are given to philanthropic efforts....

Many cities in California have banned plastic bags at grocery stores. In Ohio, it’s illegal to get a fish drunk. And in New Jersey, you are not allowed to sell handcuffs to anyone under 18. But you know what is still legal in all 50 states? Child marriage. This feels like one of those things we really should have dealt with a while back. Well, a few states are finally making it a priority, as Delaware and New Jersey race to be the first to ban child marriage entirely....

A mentally disabled woman’s parents are suing Walmart after a bizarre incident which ended in a shoplifting arrest. Jodi Kozma, 25, of Novi, Michigan, has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old. Yet while shopping at a Walmart in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, she was “muscled to the floor” by police who suspected her of stealing hair ties, reports the Detroit Free Press. Kozma’s parents are now suing Walmart and the Livonia police for excessive force and emotional scarring....

The phrase “passenger bill of rights” often gets thrown around when air travelers are stuck on the tarmac for hours. But cruise ship passengers can get stuck on the open ocean, as a recent Carnival Cruise Lines mishap shows, Reuters reports. Don’t cruise passengers have rights too? The short answer is yes, but just what are those rights? That can get complicated. At the very least, a cruise ship has a duty to provide reasonable care to its passengers....

The human body typically bears only two kidneys, but a California surgeon has been placed on probation for removing the wrong one from a federal inmate. In 2012, Dr. Charles Coonan Streit, a surgeon at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California, erroneously removed a healthy kidney from a 59-year-old incarcerated male. According to the Orange County Register, Streit was supposed to remove the tumor-ridden left kidney from the patient, but left the CT scans of the kidneys back at the office....

A patient is suing a hospital for posting her patient records on Facebook, after her sensitive information appeared on a Facebook page called “Team No Hoes.” Shawntelle Turley was treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) for syphilis, but she likely never imagined that her medical bills and diagnosis would be shared on Facebook. According to the The Cincinnati Enquirer, Turley’s ex-boyfriend and at least two UCMC employees are also being sued for releasing her medical info on Facebook....

Love is international. Unfortunately, so are some of the disputes that arise after the love is gone. And for love stories that included chapters on children, figuring out custody issues across international borders can be a tough read. So here are some frequently asked questions, and answers, regarding international child custody laws: Custody issues are legally and emotionally complex, even when they don’t involve international law. If you need help with an international custody issue, you should contact an experienced child custody attorney near you....

Guns don’t kill people, they give you 10 percent off your Cajun sausage order. At least when you visit Louisiana-based Bergeron’s Boudin and Cajun Meats, that is. This local eatery started giving armed customers 10 percent off their orders a few weeks ago, and according to Port Allen’s WVLA-TV, it’s been “a hit.” Kevin Cox, Bergeron’s owner, is bucking the trend of private businesses barring guns by welcoming those who slap iron to a discounted meal....

When your neighbor gets on your last nerve, you may be able to turn to your homeowners’ association (HOA) for help. HOAs are set up to enforce certain standards for their members under the covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) that legally bind each member. And that includes your aggravating neighbor. So here’s a general overview of how to legally enforce your HOA’s rules against your neighbor: Like a corporation, your HOA likely has a set of bylaws written at its creation which govern amending, restricting, or even enforcing its rules....

We here at FindLaw know that legal jargon can be confusing. We hear people misusing legal words and phrases all the time. So we’ve decided to help you better understand all the legal phrases tossed around on Law & Order. Here is a new educational series we like to call FindLaw’s Legalese 101. It’s called freedom of speech! How many of you have heard that response when you’ve not-so-politely requested that someone stop talking?...

Slowly but surely, our weekly series Legalese From A to Z has been working its way through the alphabet, one letter at a time. Legalese is the name given to the specialized language used by lawyers and judges, found within statutes and other legal documents. It’s not necessarily its own language, but it can seem pretty foreign to those outside the legal world. Each week, we pick a letter of the alphabet and take a closer look at five important, noteworthy, or particularly interesting bits of legalese....

Maine is considering passing legislation that would require a cell phone warning that cell phones cause brain cancer. The New York Times recently reported that this will be the first state to consider this topic. There is currently a lack of scientific consensus that cell phones cause brain cancer. State Representative Andrea M. Boland introduced the legislation because she was convinced by a study done by the Swedish National Institute for Working Life that indicated that there may be a link between heavy cell phone use and brain tumors in 2006....

West Virginia Governor Gov. Joe Manchin has appointed the Clinton Administration U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration chief, J. Davitt McAteer, to head an independent investigation of the explosion at the Massey Energy Upper Big Branch coal mine. The death toll from the explosion in that mine now stands at 29. In reports, McAteer has already been critical of current safety standards and the lack of transparency by government and mine officials when dealing with safety regulations....

A former editor for the New York Post, Sandra Guzman, has filed a harassment and workplace discrimination lawsuit against the paper for what she feels is an unfair termination over her feelings about a NY Post cartoon. New York Magazine reports that the NY Post cartoon was considered to be racist by many news outlets. Guzman’s complaint has been posted by the Huffington Post. While the lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, it did detail how Ms....

Perhaps your business has considered fining customers or charging them extra if they leave a negative online review. Employers may want to think again before implementing this sort of policy, both for public relations and legal reasons. Slate reports that the Union Street Guest House in Hudson, New York, attempted to exact revenge against a negative online reviewer by threatening to subtract $500 from a wedding couple’s deposit at the hotel....

While most battery cases are handled in criminal courts, if prosecutors are unwilling or unable to bring a case, you may be able to sue someone in civil court for battery. Battery is generally defined as the intentional touching of another person in a harmful or offensive manner, without consent. But a seemingly straightforward battery claim can be surprisingly complicated. Here’s a simple guide to battery lawsuits: Battery Elements There are four main components to any battery claim:...

No one likes a speeding ticket, but what about getting one without ever being pulled over by an officer? Across the nation, cities have taken advantage of speeding cameras – automated devices that record the speed of passing cars and snap photos of the ones that exceed the posted speed limit in that area. Local jurisdictions may be happy to collect the revenue. But drivers, and even legislators and some judges, are not smiling at all for these camera tickets....