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A California jury has awarded $150 million to a 13-year-old girl in a wrongful death case. Kylie Asam watched three of her relatives burn to death in a fiery car crash in 2009; a truck driver and a trucking company were to blame, the jury found. Asam, who was 9 at the time of the crash, crawled out of the burning SUV with her 11-year-old brother, The Associated Press reports. Asam’s parents and another brother were killed; her surviving brother later committed suicide....

Social media is a part of daily life for many Americans and small businesses are taking advantage of that fact. Rather than spending money on marketing, businesses can advertise for free by making a Facebook page or being active on Twitter. That’s a huge benefit for owners that are short on cash but have some time to spare. But social media is also a delicate balance between visibility and over-sharing. The decision of how to handle it requires some finesse....

For many businesses, expanding to the internet seems almost like a necessity. According to the FTC, “personal data” is all “individually identifiable information about a child” such as a full name, address, e-mail and telephone number. Other information, like hobbies and interests, can also be considered “personal data” if they are collected through cookies or other web tracking mechanisms. As a business owner, complying with COPPA can mean avoiding costly litigation down the road....

The United States was built through the hard work of immigrants and almost every person in this country descends from immigrants. If you are a business owner, you may want to continue this tradition by sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card to come work for you. Generally, to bring a foreign worker directly into this country with a green card, you’ll not only have to show that the foreign worker is qualified for the position, but also that there are no Americans qualified for the job....

Families are getting smaller; rental rates are skyrocketing; hipsters are headed back to the land (sort of). Hence, you have the tiny house movement, a whole lot of people trying to live within very little spaces. And whether you see the desire to live simply inside of 500 square feet an effort to save the environment or a quaint lifestyle choice, you may run into some legal obstacles getting there....

Let’s face it – not every small business is going to make it. And those that don’t can normally claim some protection in bankruptcy, if necessary. Well, those that also don’t sell marijuana, that is. The Tenth Circuit recently held that debtors in the marijuana business can’t obtain relief in federal bankruptcy court. Here’s why: The Feds v. the States While some state marijuana laws may allow recreational pot, marijuana cultivation, distribution, and possession are all criminalized under the federal Controlled Substances Act....

A New Jersey man who won the $338 million Powerball jackpot will now have enough money to pay his past-due child support. It can’t be all good news for lotto winner Pedro Quezada. After he made headlines for his big win, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office stated that the man owed $29,000 in child support, reports The Record. The 44-year-old Quezada is the father of five children ranging in age from 5 to 23....

First and foremost, you want to make the best hiring decisions for your business. And maybe that means that you don’t care if someone has a felony conviction on their record. Or maybe you say you would never hire a felon. Either way, hiring a felon might actually be good for your small business. Between compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and access to municipal contracts, there are a few reasons to consider hiring former felons....

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in Rhode Island are claiming they had unapproved IUDs implanted in them by their doctors. The suit against defendants OB-GYN Associates, Bayside OB-GYN and the Center for Obstetrics & Gynecology is leaving open the possibility of adding more defendants, more plaintiffs or even seeking certification as a class action, depending on the facts that are uncovered during further investigation. According to a report by the Providence Journal News Blog, the suit filed June 30, in Providence RI, alleges that the intrauterine devices (IUDs) implanted in possibly hundreds of women were bought by the defendants at half-price from a foreign source....

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a report showing the worst states for identity theft in the past year. States were ranked by complaints per 100,000 population. For the third year in a row, Florida topped the list; the more heavily populated states generally appeared to experience higher rates of identity theft. States with smaller populations like the Dakotas and Hawaii comprised the states least affected by identity theft, perhaps signaling that ID thieves don’t find it worthwhile to target individuals outside major markets....

To weld is to wield the power to make and destroy, but with that power, comes the risk of serious injury. When a welding accident happens, the result is usually a severe injury involving second or third degree burns, loss of eye-sight, severe respiratory problems, and even death. OSHA reports that welders have a high incidence of death, as they report four out of every thousand career welders will die due to a welding injury....

When you write a will, you name an executor. It’s relatively common knowledge. Yet many might wonder: What does the executor actually do? There are many different duties that the executor of a will might take on. Essentially, executors are tasked with an enormous responsibility. They are there to ensure that your last wishes are executed properly, in accordance with your will. Their duties are varied, and dependent on how complex your estate is....

Every parent who has spent more than nine minutes with their child has had to correct their behavior, whether to protect that child or others. And that never really changes. But what if their bad actions cross over into illegal behavior? How do you reconcile the desire to protect them with not wanting to condone a crime? Below are some ideas to keep in mind as you grapple with what to do if your child commits a crime....

Who says there aren’t any holidays in August? If you do business in one of 17 states with a sales tax holiday, a “tax-free weekend” – or even a “tax-free week” – may be fast approaching. The “tax-free weekends” coming up in July and August generally apply to back-to-school sales for items such as clothing, computers, and school supplies, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA), which works with tax-collection agencies in all 50 states....

There are a variety of ways to shoot yourself in the foot (literally and figuratively) and lose a personal injury lawsuit. From contributing to the accident to failing to take important legal steps, there are certain factors that can destroy your personal injury claim in court. Here are five common ways to lose a personal injury lawsuit: For more information on what steps you can take to give yourself the best chance in court, check out FindLaw’s section on Accidents and Injuries....

What to do if your bed is infected with tiny pests that can chew on your flesh as you sleep. About 300 current and former residents of two apartment buildings in Des Moines, Iowa have filed a bed bug class action lawsuit against the owners of two apartment buildings. The buildings, Elsie Mason Manor and Ligutti Tower, are for the elderly and disabled. Residents say that they were bitten by the pests....

The California sales tax rate will be slashed 1% across the state on July 1st. That is, unless the legislators pass another new sales tax law that will extend the heightened sales tax across the Golden State. Gov. Jerry Brown is calling for such an extension, reports the Sacramento Bee. California is facing a huge $9.6 billion deficit, and the higher sales tax could help bridge the gap and fund programs....

My job sucks and I hate my boss. Those are not the words, as an employer, that you want to see an employee broadcast anywhere, especially not on widely-disseminating social media sites like Facebook. Unfortunately, a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board argues that there are limitations to controlling employees’ Facebook speech. So, can a boss fire employees for Facebook work criticism and complaints? The NLRB would argue no, so long as other co-workers joined in on the protected “concerted activity....

Tragedy struck Soldier Field during a recent Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles game when a 23-year-old spectator fell to his eventual death. Stuart Haverty fell almost 35 feet from the colonnade level of the stadium and was pronounced dead at the hospital hours later. The open-air concourse has a railing about 3 feet high and, beyond that, a ledge about 2 feet wide. The Baltimore Sun reports that there were conflicting reports as to Haverty’s reason for being in such close proximity to the railing – ranging from a witness claiming he ran over the edge to another claiming that Haverty went by the railing to smoke....

You did your research before going into business, so you know that incorporation protects your personal assets if your business is sued. A corporate officer is not personally liable for the actions of the business, and that is one major reason to incorporate. This protection is called the corporate veil. But there are situations in which this veil is lifted, or pierced, and liability can attach to individuals. Let’s look at examples, as described in the San Francisco Chronicle, of things to avoid doing and not doing so that you stay personally protected....