Category Archives: Commercial Litigation
Copyright Infringement, Parody And The 1st Amendment
On one hand, we all know how important it is to respect others’ intellectual property. We know we can’t just use another company’s name, brand or login as our own, unless we want to get sued for copyright infringement. But the first amendment does protect our freedom of speech and we also know that… Read More »
Buy Now Pay Later Loans Could Be A Cause For Concern
Traditionally, when consumers or businesses needed credit, they were left to have to get credit through loans, credit cards, and other large lenders. But a new trend has emerged, in what is known as buy now pay later (BNPL). These hybrid types of loans can be tempting when your business needs a quick infusion… Read More »
Clawback Suits: Getting Sued In Bankruptcy When You’re Not In Bankruptcy
Neither you nor your business is filing for bankruptcy. You don’t offhand know anybody who is filing for bankruptcy. So how is it that you or your business has just been served with a lawsuit from a bankruptcy trustee? How did you get involved in a bankruptcy lawsuit without seemingly doing anything wrong? Clawback… Read More »
How Juries Are Picked In Business Law Cases
If you have a business law case that goes to a trial, your trial may involve a jury, which will decide whether you are right or wrong, and how much money you will have to pay or not pay. However, to many people, picking a jury is a mystery. It may help you in… Read More »
What Is Included In A Typical Shareholders’ Agreement?
When someone buys shares in, say Microsoft, or Amazon, or Costco, or any number of larger companies, shareholder agreements aren’t really vital—after all, you’re probably buying the shares largely to make money, and your involvement in the company will be limited to choosing how long you keep the stock you purchased. But in a… Read More »
Is A Contract Enforceable If Only One Side Signs It?
Let’s say that you have a small business fixing computers. A company hires you. They send you a contract, but you miss it or get busy, and you don’t sign it. You do show up and do the work. The company later doesn’t pay you, or pays you less than agreed, based on the… Read More »
Doing Business With The Government Can Threaten Your Trade Secrets
When you sign up to do a government contract, or any service for the government, you may be forgetting one thing: Government information is public, both under federal and state law. That means that anybody can ask for it, and receive it. But you may have information in your bid, or correspondence with the… Read More »
Social Media Companies Go To Battle With Texas
If you have a business, it’s likely you have a website. If your website has opinions or viewpoints on it, you may feel that you are safe under the First Amendment to say or write what you want. But a Texas law aimed at social media companies is poised to try to change that…. Read More »
LLCs, LLPs, And LLLPs…What’s The Difference?
If you are looking to start a business, there are a lot of options. Many people know about an LLC, which can provide some benefits that a traditional corporation cannot do. You can be a single-member LLC, there are tax benefits, and you have flexibility over who has what decision making for the business…. Read More »
Be Careful When Drafting And Approving Corporate Minutes
When your company has meetings, you may already know that you need to take minutes of the meetings. Minutes are written recordings of what happens in your meetings, and while there is no official way to do them correctly or incorrectly, there definitely are things to keep in mind when taking corporate minutes. Be… Read More »
Anticipatory Repudiation: Breaching A Contract Before Its Breached
You probably know that if you don’t live up to the terms of a contract, or you fail to do what a contract requires that you can be sued for breach of contract. But what if you just say that you don’t intend to comply with or that you can’t comply with a contract?… Read More »
What Does A Home Seller Have To Disclose?
In a hot business market, many people are looking to buy and sell homes, or fix up older homes and flip them for profit. Selling homes can be big business. But it can also lead to big legal problems, as the sale of a home involves a complex set of laws, including questions of… Read More »
THC Makers, Candy Manufacturers, Fight Over Intellectual Property Infringement
If you made or created a food product, you would probably know better than to design your packaging exactly like a Snickers Bar, a Doritos Bag, a Nestle candy bar or some other well known and protected brand. But in the rising THC industry, many companies have done just that, leading to copyright and… Read More »
What Is The “Family Member” Evidentiary Presumption?
Nobody relishes the idea of suing family members. But families aren’t perfect, and they often are involved in business transitions or contracts with each other, and sometimes, family relations get hostile. If you are in the unfortunate situation of having to sue a family member, or you are being sued by a family member,… Read More »
Drafting An Enforceable And Legal Security Agreement
The business of lending can be a profitable one, but as everybody knows with lending comes the risk of not being paid back. That risk can often be minimized by securing property, but securing property the right way and the way the law requires is an absolute necessity. Why Secure Any Property? The benefit… Read More »
What Is Accord And Satisfaction?
Let’s say that someone owes you money. They agree to that. What they don’t agree to, is how much they owe. They send to you the part of the debt that they feel is legitimate and owed. You, of course, take what they have offered, and you prepare to file a lawsuit to collect… Read More »
Someone Who Owes You Money Files For Bankruptcy – What Do You Do Now?
Your company may not be near bankruptcy, or even thinking about bankruptcy. But then it happens—a company or person you are suing files for bankruptcy. What do you do now? Bankruptcy Happens If a company or person doesn’t pay you, or you have a contractual dispute with a company that you are suing, it’s… Read More »
False Advertising Claims Are Becoming More Common
Your business does things the right way. By the book. With honesty. You can’t imagine that your business would ever be hit with a false advertising lawsuit, either by a private citizen or by a government agency. But more and more, false advertising claims are becoming common, and your business can learn something from… Read More »
Health Tech Companies Must Comply With Data Breach Laws
We love devices to tell us about our health. From fitness and heart rate monitors, to watches that give us oxygen blood levels and EKGs, the future is health information at our fingerprints. But if you thought a data breach intercepting our bank account information was bad, what about a data breach with these… Read More »
Successor Or Alter Ego Company? It Makes A Difference
So your company didn’t do well. Maybe it closed, you liquidated it, or filed for bankruptcy. But you’re convinced that if you can do it again, and do it the right way, things can be different this time. Should you start what is known as a successor company? Successor Companies A successor company is… Read More »
