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What do you get when you weld a barstool to a metal frame, add some wheels, and top it off with a lawnmower engine? Odds are you probably didn’t guess a DUI, but that’s exactly what 28-year-old Kile Wygle of Ohio received after he crashed his “vehicle”, reported CNN. Only its picture does the contraption true justice, but it’s true justice that Wygle is looking for now. He has asked for a jury trial on a charge of driving under the influence....

The Obama birthplace lawsuit was dismissed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday. The “birther” lawsuit was filed by several different plaintiffs including taxpayers, political rivals, and military officers. The suit sought to challenge President Obama’s citizenship. They claimed that Obama wasn’t born in the United States, which would have larger ramifications. Only a “natural born” citizen can serve as president. The “birthers” persisted despite the fact that President Obama released his “long-form” birth certificate....

How many hours a week do your employees work? 40? 50? 60? Do they get overtime pay? Most salaried workers do not get overtime pay, but President Obama may be looking to fix that. Since last year, the President ordered the Labor Department to implement new rules to expand overtime pay for millions of workers. Reports speculate that the Labor Department will announce its new proposed rule soon. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates the minimum wage, child labor, and much more....

But who’s liable for opioid addiction? The addict? Doctors? Drug manufacturers? All three? Here’s what you need to know about opioid lawsuits and addiction liability. 1. Can I Sue My Doctor for Opiate Addiction? Physicians owe their patients a duty of care, and can be liable for medical malpractice if their prescription of opioids – either the dosage, the type of drug, or the failure to notice your developing addiction – constituted a breach of this duty....

We all have our retirement dreams. Some couples dream about retiring early, rich, and in a tropical location, while others just want an RV and a ticket to ride. When couples start planning for retirement, the big question is always whether their goal is actually achievable? This isn’t just a financial question, but also a question of pragmatism. After you have settled on the basic idea, you need to figure out the who, what, when, where, and most importantly, the how....

Seven members of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six worked as consultants on the new video game “Medal of Honor: Warfighter,” but their employer wasn’t too impressed with their side jobs. The seven SEALs received non-judicial punishments for their work on the video game, CBS News reports. Four others are still under investigation for potentially violating their duty to their employer, the Navy. Just like any other job, members of the military sign employment contracts that dictate what kind of behavior is expected of employees....

If you’re an entrepreneur or startup that’s been banging on the doors of banks, best friends, and potential backers you barely know, it can be frustrating to see a Kickstarter campaign raise half a million bucks in just a few months. Especially when you think your idea or company is better than whatever silly thing all these strangers are throwing cash at. But before you start salivating at the seemingly bottomless pool of internet investors, you need to figure out if crowdfunding is right for your small business or startup....

It happens to every driver. Driving home from work, the road meanders through gentle curves and then BAM!, you find yourself driving due west, directly into the blinding sun. You can’t see a thing and your only strategy is hope – that you don’t hit a car, bicyclist, or pedestrian before you can safely see again. But what if hope fails you? Sun glare is a common cause of accidents in the United States....

Catering to the demands of multiple tenants makes property management a tough job. While fielding complaints and handling maintenance, papers get lost and things get overlooked. Landlord Tip No. 1: Write It Down Writing everything down is the number one way to make a landlord’s job easier. This doesn’t only include leases, either. If you need to enter an occupied unit, notify the tenants via writing and keep a copy in a designated folder....

Just because you’ve heard “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” doesn’t mean that saying no to those too-good-to-be-true opportunities is easy. After all, how does one distinguish between a really good business opportunity and one that’s too good to be true? While that can prove pretty difficult, figuring out if a business opportunity is actually a Ponzi scheme can be a little easier. Here’s how to spot a Ponzi or pyramid scheme and how to report it....

Your romance was a flash in the pan, so can you avoid burning through your income and savings paying alimony? Spousal support calculations are based on a variety of factors, one of which is to what extent your spouse became dependent on your income. So a short marriage could work in your favor. But there’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to the length of the marriage and the amount you’ll owe in spousal support after a divorce, so just because your marriage fizzled out fast doesn’t mean you won’t owe any alimony....

A wrestling camp lawsuit blames a teenager’s brain injuries on improper supervision. Parents with teens participating in summer sports camps may want to take note. Zach Varghese suffered severe head injuries when another wrestler dropped him on his head at a camp run by Chattanooga Wrestling Camps LLC in June 2012. The lawsuit, filed by Zach’s father last month, seeks $600,000 in damages, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press....

The next time you have the urge to playfully toss a stress ball at a friend, think twice about it. You may find yourself on the wrong end of the lawsuit. That’s what happened when Mayor Ron Onslow of Ridgefield, Washington tossed a foam ball towards a Ridgefield Councilman and accidentally hit Jeanne Harris of Vancouver, Washington in the temple. He apologized and thought the incident was over. That was in June 2011....

You go through surgery to feel better or to address a pressing medical problem. But sometimes after surgery, you end up in a worse condition. A lot can go wrong in the operating room, and you may need to consider bringing a lawsuit to get compensation. Considering that you’re typically unconscious when the surgery is performed, you may not realize what went wrong until after you’ve recovered. So what types of mistakes can happen during surgery?...

The American Law Institute is walking away from its decades of death penalty work that has helped to shape and synthesize our modern capital justice system. According to the New York Times, the American Law institute is made up of about 4,000 judges, lawyers and law professors and is responsible for creating the framework for the modern capital justice system almost 50 years ago. The group has decided to abandon the field, citing frustration and that the justice system in the United States is irretrievably broken....

A Louisiana brewery has settled with the legal owners of “Godzilla” over a beer dubbed “Mechahopzilla.” New Orleans Lager & Ale Brewing Co. (NOLA) had released Mechahopzilla and attempted to call it a “parody” of the Godzilla trademark before eventually settling. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Toho Co. Ltd, the owner of the Godzilla trademark, “wasn’t laughing.” Is this yet another case of trademark being used to squelch a small business?...

Today is National Flex Day, an occasion to celebrate the benefits and importance of flexible work arrangements: telecommuting, flex time (no more 9-to-5), and compressed work weeks (longer shifts, fewer days). Flex time is great for employees seeking work-life balance, especially those with dependent family members (children and the elderly) whom they have to care for. It’s also surprisingly important for employers. Here are three reasons why: 1. It Makes Working Moms Happier....

Social media has presented a plethora of potential challenges for employers. Should you follow your employees on Twitter? How should you handle an employee’s offensive personal tweets? Should you fire an employee for airing his grievances on Twitter, complaining about wages, and circulating a petition alleging workers couldn’t take breaks? While the answers to those first two questions are up to you, the third has just been decided by the National Labor Relations Board....

A church and a coalition of local clergy are challenging North Carolina’s gay marriage ban by making a novel argument: that it violates freedom of religion. Religious liberty has been the rallying cry for many opponents of same-sex marriage, so the lawsuit by the Cleveland-based United Church of Christ provides a unique opportunity to see whether gay marriage bans actually violate religious freedom. The Associated Press reports that the plaintiffs’ attorney, Jake Sussman, believes this is the only case to make such an argument....

Approximately 6,000 Compton residents are suing the local water company over the dirty, red-tinted water they claim is not safe to drink. The class-action lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses Sativa Los Angeles County Water District of misappropriating taxpayer dollars and causing low-income residents to suffer a financial burden. Residents say the water has been like this for months, and they want their money back: $65 per residence for each month that the water has been unsafe to drink, cook or bathe in, for a total of about $1....