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Business owners may want to pay close attention to this news out of Utah: A woman is in critical condition after drinking tea laced with a toxic cleaning chemical at a Salt Lake City-area restaurant. According to the woman’s lawyer, investigators believe that the woman’s sweet tea was contaminated with lye – an industrial degreasing chemical, also found in drain cleaners such as Drano – when a worker at a Dickey’s Barbecue restaurant inadvertently mixed it into the sweet tea mixture thinking it was sugar....

Editor’s Note: On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade. Wondering what happens now? Our Supreme Court blog has coverage of the practical effects of the court’s latest decision on abortion and what the future might hold for legal fights over reproductive rights. Use these links to jump to different sections: Roe v. Wade Legal Arguments How the Supreme Court Decided Roe v....

The SBA offers a variety of disaster related loans that can help small businesses recovery from natural disasters and even prevent future damage. Whether to repair damaged property or equipment, or to help run the business in the recovery period, small businesses needing funding to bounce back from a disaster should explore their SBA options. SBA disaster loans are actually available to homeowners and businesses alike. SBA disaster loans become available after a disaster is declared by the President, a governor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce or the SBA itself....

Monday, your employee Bob doesn’t show up to work. He doesn’t even call to tell you why he won’t be in. Tuesday, he’s a no show again. Wednesday, you’re getting worried and angry. Can you fire a no-show employee? Are there steps you must take first? Sometimes, employees don’t show up to work. Usually, they’ll call to tell you they’re sick, but, every once in a while, an employee will go incognito for a couple days....

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced last month that it was extending surety bond guarantees to federal contracts of up to $10 million. That’s up $5 million from its previous threshold, implemented in March 2009 and slated to run through September 2010 on all public and private contracts. Does your small business qualify for the SBA’s new surety bond guarantee? Here are some facts about the program. Related Resources: Surety Bond Guarantee E-application (E-app) System - New (SBA....

Injuries are stressful. Trying to get someone else to pay for your injuries can be even worse. But it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’ve been in an auto accident, were attacked by a dog, or are the victim of a slip and fall, there are some easy things you can to do to lessen the headache. In fact, you should try doing the following five things after an injury – they’ll help....

As more and more companies leverage social media as a marketing tool, tricky issues might soon arise such as: who owns the actual corporate Twitter account? On one hand, an employee who manages the account is the one who builds the following and tweets the messages. But if this position is a social media marketer, should the Twitter account actually be owned by the company? These are the types of questions that may soon be analyzed in an upcoming case involving Noah Kravitz, an ex-employee of a company called PhoneDog....

Mosquitoes and hangnails are everyday nuisances, but legally speaking, what is a public nuisance? You may have seen the term used in the news, as a Southern California city recently decided that odors from a spicy Sriracha plant are a public nuisance. So what is the legal effect of being deemed a public nuisance? Although the common use of “nuisance” is something that annoys a person, nuisance laws actually deal with property....

What is fracking? You may have heard about it in the news: Fracking has been blamed for triggering earthquakes and making tap water flammable, and now the EPA is fueling concerns about drinking water contamination. Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing – forcing water and chemicals, at a very high pressure, into shale rock deposits deep in the ground, the EPA explains. Fracking releases natural gas that’s trapped in shale; byproducts are trucked away as toxic waste....

Princeton University plans to make a non-FDA-approved meningitis vaccine available to its students in December, prompting some to worry about the risks. According to The Associated Press, Princeton is set to make the vaccine for Type B meningococcal bacteria available to undergraduates, some grad students, and employees with compromised immune systems in an attempt to curb a disease that is “sometimes deadly” on campus. Although the vaccine is not mandatory, what legal trouble could Princeton potentially face from making this vaccine available?...

Will the parents of the Rutgers student who committed suicide this past fall sue the university for their son’s death? The parents of Tyler Clementi, who killed himself in a case of cyberbullying. He committed suicide after his roommate allegedly streamed video of Clementi having sex. His parents have now filed a court document indicating they wish to preserve the right to sue. Jane and Joseph Clementi filed a notice of claim which will protect their right to file a lawsuit within the next few months, reports CNN....

Want a big law firm to take your case, but disappointed that they won’t? Don’t feel bad, even the rich and powerful seem to have trouble getting law firms to represent them sometimes. So why isn’t any lawyer or law firm you reach out to interested in your lawsuit? Here are five potential reasons why they won’t take your case: 1. Money, Money, Money. You may be able to get some free legal help in some cases, but most law firms expect to be paid....

As the weather heats up, summer music festival season will soon be in full swing. But besides being a great place to check out some music and have a good time, an all-day or multi-day concert is also, unfortunately, a great place to get injured. If you do find yourself on the wrong end of a music festival mishap this summer, here are five legal tips to keep in mind:...

The real estate market is slowly picking up and you may be looking to sell your home. However, you may not be the only seller with this idea, and in certain parts of the country the market may still be rough. As a result, you will need some guidance on the basic steps to selling your home. Here’s a quick overview of the home-selling process: Study the Local Market. Understanding your local market can make a huge difference in terms of when you should sell and what you should ask for....

Before prosecutions can begin in the 9/11 trial next year, major details still need to be hammered out. Those issues include not only the questions raised in our previous discussions about which detainees get civilian trials and the location of where those federal court trials might be held but also selecting lawyers to defend Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and others accused in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The 9/11 lawyers will be chosen from short list or “capital panel” of New York attorneys who have broad experience in death penalty and other complex criminal cases....

What is this world coming to? You put up a billboard outside your business with a xenophobic joke and people get upset? “BBQ PORK RESTURANT IS SAFEST NO MUSLIMS INSIDE.” Chuck Biddinger, owner of Electronic Repair Company put up the sign outside his East Lake, Alabama business. He says the billboard is a joke that he received in an e-mail. “Muslims do not eat pork. And, uh, it’s a known fact, Muslims have tried to commit crimes in this country,” Biddinger said told the local ABC affiliate ABC 33/40....

If you’re on the East Coast, earthquake insurance probably isn’t at the top of your list. But Tuesday’s earthquake centered in Virginia caught millions of Americans off guard. How many East Coast earthquake insurance policies do you think were in effect at the time? The East Coast is generally not afflicted by earthquakes. Hurricanes and blizzards are more their cup of tea. But, the 5.9-magnitude quake was felt in the Carolinas, Virginia and several other Eastern states, including New York....

Many small business owners who deduct expenses for work clothes and uniforms on their taxes may want to look a bit closer at the tax rules. It turns out that many entrepreneurs choose to write off expenses that may not actually be tax-deductible at all, including clothing. So are your business’ work clothes and/or uniforms tax-deductible expenses? Here are some general guidelines: Work Clothes Emily Farrar of TaxAlli.com quips that while your Armani suit may be a fabulous way to impress clients, this doesn’t automatically make it a business expense that you can deduct from your taxes....

For a moment it looked as though online poker could become legal in California. But SB 1485, the California Online Poker Law Enforcement Compliance and Consumer Protection Act, was dealt a swift surprise defeat. It is especially surprising considering that it was estimated that the passage of the bill would bring in $500 million annually, one quarter of the state’s estimated $2 billion deficit. At first glance the bill had a lot to offer the cash strapped state, so why did Senator Rob Wright quickly withdraw the bill?...

A minor generally cannot become emancipated from just one parent unless there is only one parent, such as when one of the minor’s parents has died, or has terminated their parental rights. Emancipation of a minor terminates all parental custodial rights, which in turn makes that minor an adult for legal purposes. While we’ve all heard the stories of young celebrities that sought emancipation from their parents, it is important to note that there are many reasons why celebrities, as minors, would choose to petition for emancipation....