Finding The Right Partner To Build A Company
What should you look for when seeking a co-founder for your start-up business? Finding a business partner is not unlike finding a romantic partner or spouse. Entrepreneurs seeking co-founders must find the right person with whom to share the hard work, ups and downs and, ultimately, the rewards of creating…
Medicaid Planning and Asset Protection: Act Before It’s Too Late
What can be done now to prepare you for funding long term care in the future? When it comes to estate planning and preserving your assets for future generations, it is imperative that you look ahead and take action before a problem occurs. In the case of Medicaid planning, the…
Appellate Decision Makes Prosecution for Some Insider Trading Cases More Difficult
What is necessary to prove insider trading? The U.S. Court of Appeals for Second Circuit has sent a message to regulators and prosecutors that aggressive prosecution of those allegedly involved in insider trading has gone too far. According to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, insider trading is buying or…
Determining if Your Spouse is the Best Business Partner
Should Your Partner be Your Partner? If you are thinking about starting a business you may not want to do it alone. Owning a business can be more than a full time job and getting the right person to help you can make the difference between success and failure. Where…
Maryland Construction Company Sues Montgomery County Over Limits on Homebuilding
When Are Land-Use Restrictions an Unconstitutional Taking? One of the nation's largest homebuilding companies, Pulte Home Corporation, invested millions in plans to build nearly a thousand homes on 541-acre site designated for residential development in Clarksburg, Maryland. Then the Montgomery County Council changed the 1994 Clarksburg Master Plan to limit…
Maryland Court Pulls Plug on Light-Pollution Lawsuit
When Can You Sue a Business for Creating a Private Nuisance? The Bengies is Maryland's last drive-in movie theater. It has survived the rise of the multiplex, DVDs and Netflix. But the theater, founded in 1956, may have lost a skirmish over a more immediate threatlight spillage from a neighboring…
Court Sees Interrelated Acts as Single Act in Director and Officer Liability Case
When Can Insurance Companies Refuse to Pay D&O Liability Insurance Claims? A recent lawsuit in a Maryland federal court over insurance coverage for litigation costs raises important director and officer liability insurance issues. Because of the court's view of the meaning of "interrelated" wrongful acts, the D&O liability insurance policy…
Forced Arbitration: The Double Edged Sword
Businesses can have many contracts and agreements with joint partners, suppliers, clients and customers. Language in those documents should determine how disputes will be resolved. If those disputes cannot be negotiated amicably, instead of potentially ending up in the court system, these documents could mandate they be resolved through an…
A Deadly Combination: Millions of Dollars, Sports, Family, and Unread Contracts
Mixing business affairs and family often has dire consequences. This is evidenced by a recent case involving a professional athlete and his family. Ryan Howard is the Philadelphia Phillies first baseman. Early in his career he was an all star slugger, part of a World Series winning team in 2008.…
How a Government Agency Can Take Your Property: Eminent Domain
Government bodies have long had the ability to take private property (with fair compensation) for a public purpose. Traditionally that might have meant for roads or schools, but government is increasingly getting into the real estate development business using their eminent domain powers. They team up with private companies and…
It’s That Time of Year Again – Update Your Estate and Tax Planning
The end of the year approaches. Extended school vacations are just around the corner and department store parking lots will soon be full. As part of your personal, financial life, you should also consider some year-end work as well. Here are some suggestions on what to think about as January…
IRS Seizes Assets of Citizens Who Have Done Nothing Wrong
Under a law designed to catch drug lords, organized crime bosses, and terrorists, the IRS has been seizing funds of ordinary citizens without even alleging that they committed a crime. Their offense has been to make bank deposits of cash under $10,000. Making such deposits to evade reporting requirements is…
