North Carolina has been host to colonists, pirates, rebels, and tobacco farmers, so you may guess that the state also has a rich legal history. You may only be visiting North Carolina for some good BBQ or planning to put down roots in Raleigh-Durham, but either way, you need to know the laws of the land. While in the Tar Heel State, be sure to know these 10 laws: Don’t be a heel in the Tar Heel State....
If you’re starting a new business, there are probably any number of things that require your immediate attention. But among your foremost priorities should be educating yourself on the local laws that may affect your business. Putting off potential legal issues until after your business is already open may end up costing you big in the long run. What local laws do you need to know before you start your business?...
If it was easy to get what you needed from your spouse, you two would not be splitting up, so you are worried about the custody of your kids. You expect a battle and need to prepare. Custody battles can be long and emotionally painful. Prepare your psychological reserves and plan a practical approach. Think long-term. Here are three tips to help you show the court that you deserve custody....
Among the reader comments following a report of yesterday’s court action in the almost infamous Lower Merion School District spying case, was this: “that’s one more reason you should keep duct tape handy.” This is an excellent, common sense solution to the immediate concerns of parents and students who are coping with the fall out of learning via lawsuit, Robbins v. Lower Merion School District, that their schools allegedly have been spying on them using the webcams attached to school issued laptops....
Anthony Sowell, already charged in the slayings of 11 women whose bodies were found buried around his home, now faces new charges in a separate case. According to the Associated Press, a grand jury indicted Sowell of kidnapping, felonious assault and attempted murder charges. The case involves one of the many women who came forward following the discovery of remains in Sowell’s home. Authorities say Sowell had a history of luring women to his Cleveland home and attacking them....
We normally think of exercise equipment as inherently healthy, but a CEO’s recent death has many wondering about the health risks of using treadmills. Dave Goldberg, CEO of SurveyMonkey and husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, died last week after falling and striking his head while using a treadmill. Goldberg’s death was a shock to Silicon Valley and a wake-up call to the 50 million Americans who use them that treadmills may be dangerous....
BLINC sounds like a new social network or tech device, but it is a mnemonic device designed to remind you of the important factors when drafting an arbitration clause. It’ll also help when you are reviewing a contract and reading someone else’s terms. If you don’t BLINC you might miss all there is to get about these agreements. Increasingly arbitration agreements are a condition of closing deals and doing business. Know what you need to about these all-important alternatives to litigation....
An Illinois man has won a $5.1 million settlement in a brain injury suit that cited NFL studies about the effects of concussions. In 2005, 56-year-old Willie Wakefield worked as a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning worker at a construction site in Chicago. As he worked, a pile of lumber fell three stories from a forklift and struck him on the head, reports the Daily Herald. Following the accident, Wakefield claimed that he’d suffered a concussion that diminished his capacity for memory and learning....
Pay women less, promote women less often, fire women first. That is a business model with a virtual guarantee for a gender bias lawsuit, and all also happen to be the claims against Citigroup. Citigroup is being sued for gender bias stemming from the company’s large 2008 layoffs. The Associated Press reports that Citigroup has always assumed a “boy club” mentality in their approach to middle and upper management hiring and promotions....
A Colorado man brought a handgun to a movie theater, triggering panic and an evacuation Sunday night. James Mapes’ gun was visible in a holster around his waist, and he claims it was for self-protection, Denver’s KDVR-TV reports. But police in suburban Thornton, Colo., arrested Mapes, 48, on suspicion of possessing a dangerous weapon – a municipal law in Thornton, The Denver Post reports. Mapes’ gun was confiscated, and he was released with a summons to appear in court....
Are you considering cremation? There are many legal issues that come with that. While it’s not easy to think about one’s final days, it’s always best to be prepared, especially if you have particular wishes about what happens to your body after your death. Cremation is a popular option. Many people specify a special manner or location for their ashes to be interred or scattered as a profound way to cap off their life....
Electric scooter rental companies have been hit with numerous suits over the last few years, but few will be as hard for the companies to handle as the new crop of disability suits. Recently, a class action was filed against the City of San Diego, Lime, Bird, and Razor for violating the rights of disabled people through the public’s use of their e-scooters. Can the courts come up with a better solutions than the defendants have?...
Cities are responsible for keeping streets clean and safe, including clearing the snow. But bike lanes are usually in the part of the street where snow plows push all the snow. So if you are a cycling commuter, you may find getting around on your bike difficult in winter. The extent to which a city must clear its bike lanes of snow and can be held responsible for injuries that occur due to plowing negligence depends on local laws....
Health officials in Oregon last Friday announced the state’s first known case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. The victim is a woman whose partner had active Zika symptoms. Officials do not yet know if the disease can be passed to sexual partners when it is dormant, which would make infection even more dangerous than it now seems. “Though mosquito bites appear to be the most common way Zika is spread, there is increasing evidence for sexual transmission as well,” Dr....
If your business is growing, at some point you are going to need to recruit help. However, the job hiring process can be filled with legal pitfalls for those who are not prepared. So you will definitely need to know how to conduct a job interview. Depending upon the job, a lot of employers take different approaches to the interview. Some employers may require the prospective employee to actually perform the job while others may ask vague questions about someone’s strengths and weaknesses....
An NJ state trooper has filed lawsuit for harassment this past Tuesday. According to Philly.com, Trooper Alexis Hayes claims that a total of six troopers are guilty of either harassing her, or enabling her tormentors to harass her. She also claims that the NJ state police administration conducted an internal investigation which served to only humiliate her and worsen the harassment. Her lawsuit claims that she was not only abused verbally through the state trooper hazing process, but she was also sexually assaulted by a superior officer in her unit....
Skiers and snowboarders may want to take note of a recent ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court regarding ski resorts and blanket liability waivers. In a somewhat unusual decision, the Oregon high court ruled in Bagley v. Mt. Bachelor Inc. that the liability waiver preventing a paralyzed man from suing the resort over his snowboarding injuries was legally unenforceable. The Oregonian reports that this may change the entire ski industry, as many resorts make use of similar waivers....
The male enhancement pill Enzyte may be worthless, but the man behind it has done us all a good turn in another way. In a decision on the appeal of the convictions for fraud and other charges against Enzyte founder Steven Warshak, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has confirmed that the government does need a search warrant to search your email. That is, at least if you live in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee or Michigan....
If you haven’t been interested in wage and hour compliance before, this bit of information may pique your interest. There have been more wage and hour lawsuits filed against employers in the first seven months of this year than the whole of last year. Specifically, there have been 7,064 Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits filed this year, as compared to 7,006 filed for all of 2011, reports NBC. A decade ago, there were only about 2,000 such lawsuits filed a year....
You hear a lot about defendant rights – right to an attorney, right to remain silent, right to a speedy trial, etc. And those are very important. But what about victim and witness rights in a criminal case? Do you have any? How do you protect them? These are important questions as you navigate the unfamiliar waters of a criminal trial. Do I Have to Testify? When it comes to testifying, witnesses do have certain rights and obligations....
