Binding mediation: a new alternative to going to court
“Binding mediation” – a hybrid of mediation and arbitration – is catching on as an alternative to a full-blown court trial. In arbitration, a private arbitrator acts as a judge and issues a binding decision. In mediation, a mediator or “go-between” tries to resolve the dispute by working with both sides, but can’t force an […]
Here’s a second chance if you elected early Social Security benefits
Did you elect to take Social Security benefits before your full retirement age? If you did and are now looking for extra income, there may be an answer. Once you reach full retirement age, you can pay back the money you have received and reapply for full retirement benefits. Although you can collect Social Security […]
New law makes it easier to sue for wage discrimination
A new federal law signed by President Obama will make it easier to sue an employer for wage discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is named after Lilly Ledbetter, who worked as a plant manager for Goodyear Tire but realized only after some years had passed that she was getting paid less than her […]
Many die each year from hospital and nursing home infections
A large Boston jury verdict in the case of a woman who died from an infection while undergoing cancer treatment illustrates a growing trend across the country toward lawsuits against health-care providers for causing (or not preventing) such infections. Nationally, more than 2 million people each year develop serious infections while they’re in the hospital […]
Limo company sued for dropping off drunk passenger
A limousine company can be sued where it dropped off a drunk passenger at his car and the passenger then drove drunk and killed someone. The limo had been hired by six men attending a bachelor party. It picked them up at a Boston sports bar, drove them to a Rhode Island club, and then […]
Child support guidelines change in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts child support guidelines have been thoroughly revised for 2009. That means that anyone who gets divorced in 2009 or after will have the amount of their child support payments calculated under new rules. If you have a child support order from a divorce that occurred before 2009, your payments won’t change. And you […]
Real estate slump may help with estate planning
Real estate prices are in a slump in most places, but this can be good news if you want to transfer real estate assets to your children as a means of estate planning. Often, a good way to reduce estate taxes is to give your heirs an interest in your assets now, while retaining control […]
Average rents for offices and apartments decline
The average rent for a residential apartment fell in the fourth quarter of 2008. Although the average decline was small – only 0.4 percent – the drop was significant because this was the first time rents have fallen overall since 2003. The average vacancy rate was 6.6 percent, up from 5.7 percent a year earlier, […]
Can a city be sued for rezoning a property?
Can a landowner who planned to build a shopping plaza sue a city for changing the land’s zoning to “residential”? Maybe … but only if the rezoning almost totally destroyed the land’s value. That’s the result of a decision by a New York appeals court. Parviz Noghrey wanted to build a shopping center in Brookhaven, […]
Shopping mall must allow protest against tenant
A shopping mall cannot prevent a union from leafleting in front of a tenant’s store to urge a boycott of the store, according to the California Supreme Court. The union in this case represented employees of a San Diego newspaper. Union members wanted to protest outside a department store in the mall, urging shoppers not […]