A contract that an executive quickly scrawled on two pieces of notebook paper was not only binding, but was the basis for a $10.5 million jury verdict. This case goes to show that just because a business agreement isn’t contained in a formal document doesn’t mean you can’t be held to it. The chairman of a telecom company met at his office with a former employee who was considering starting a new venture. Unexpectedly, the chairman
Employees don’t have to be disabled to sue under the Americans With Disabilities Act – they merely have to be regarded as disabled by their employer. That’s why it’s essential, whenever you have an employee with any sort of impairment, to fully understand the nature of the impairment and not leap to conclusions about what the employee can and cannot do. A recent case illustrates the potential problems. An electrician at an aluminum can factory suffered
A company can’t refuse to hire people because they are genetically disposed to develop a particular disease or condition, even if this would cause the company’s health care costs to skyrocket. That’s the result of the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which was recently signed into law by President Bush. The law also prohibits insurance companies from using genetic information to deny coverage or increase premiums.
A new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court is good tax news for companies that operate in multiple states. The case involved a packaging company that was based in Ohio and did business in Illinois. The company had a separate Ohio-based subsidiary with an unrelated information-technology business. When the company sold the subsidiary, it had a significant capital gain. Illinois wanted to impose a tax on a part of the capital gain. It said it should
If you own a business and you plan to leave it to one of your children when you die, be aware that taking out a business loan or line of credit could affect your estate plan. The reason: Many wills that provide that a child will inherit business assets don’t specify whether the child will inherit the assets subject to any debts, or whether the child will inherit the assets free and clear and any debts
A recent $100 million verdict against Starbucks for the way it required employees to participate in “tip pools” should jolt employers with all the force of a Venti extra-shot Caramel Macchiato. Tip-pool lawsuits have been filed recently not only against restaurants, but also against hotels, transportation companies, delivery services, casinos and sports facilities. Recently, many companies have been tempted to expand the number of employees who participate in tip pools. This can seem like a good
Wondering which remodeling projects are most likely to pay for themselves in terms of resale value? The latest edition of Remodeling Magazine’s annual survey of builders and real estate agents is out, and it offers some answers, both nationally and for different regions. Of course, every house, every community, and every remodeling project is different, and the results will vary widely from home to home. But the national averages make for interesting reading. Nationally, the project
A homeowners association in a development could prohibit homeowners from leasing their homes, says the Indiana Supreme Court. In this case the homeowners association sued an owner for renting her house, which violated the terms of her deed. (The homeowner had broken her hip and moved to a nursing home, and wanted to rent her house to help pay her nursing home costs.) The homeowner argued that the “no-lease” provision in the deed was illegal. She
Some people borrow money from their parents or other relatives to purchase a house. If a relative has enough money on hand to be able to finance a home purchase, this can be a very “friendly” alternative to a traditional mortgage. In addition, for some people without a sufficient down payment or credit history, it might be one of the few ways to arrange buying a home. If you borrow money from relatives and you plan
A landlord can’t put a clause in a lease that says it won’t be liable if a tenant has a slip-and-fall injury, says the Idaho Supreme Court. The law on this issue varies from state to state, but the Idaho ruling is interesting and points out that landlords need to be very careful if they want to limit their responsibility for injuries. The lease in this case said that the landlord was not liable for any
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