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Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
False confessions, graphic testimony, framed spouses and ‘unknown blondes’: a history of the difficulty in getting divorced, and how it could now change
Unhappy couples in New York have long gone to extremes to throw off the shackles of matrimony—in the worst cases, framing their spouses, producing graphic testimony about affairs, or even confessing to crimes they did not commit. All this will fade into the past if, as expected, Gov. David Paterson signs a bill making New York the last state in the country to adopt unilateral no-fault divorce.    More…

Topics in the Spring 2011 Issue

• New Federal Tax Law Enacted
• Real Estate Roundup
• Cybersquatting And The Courts
• Employment Retaliation Claims Surging
• Different Ways To Hold Investment Property

Topics in the Summer 2011 Issue

• How To Franchise Your Business
• Deleting Company E-Mail
• Social Media In The Workplace
• Borrowers, Lenders And Processing Payments
• New Gift Tax Break
• FDIC Insurance Update

Taneia, a 14-year-old girl, attended a field trip with a youth outreach program organized by a public university and the State of Iowa. On the field trip, she was injured when she was struck by a car as she attempted to cross the street. Before Taneia had been allowed to go on the field trip, her mother had been required to sign two documents, entitled “Field Trip Permission Form” and “Release and Medical Authorization.” The gist of these documents was that they purported to waive any potential claims against the university and the State arising from injuries to participants in the field trip.     More…

In order to reform the real estate settlement process, Congress passed the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), 12 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2617. The purpose of the statute was to ensure that consumers are “provided with greater and more timely information on the nature and costs of the settlement process” and “protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain abusive practices.” 12 U.S.C. § 2601(a).

One significant section, RESPA § 8(b), deals with “splitting charges“:

Courts in a number of states have addressed the enforceability of an arbitration clause prohibiting one party to a contract from bringing a class action against the other party. For example, in Scott v. Cingular Wireless, 161 P.3d 1000 (Wash. 2007) (en banc), the representative plaintiffs had purchased cellular telephones and calling plans from Cingular. The contracts they had all signed were standard preprinted agreements that included a provision requiring mandatory arbitration. That arbitration provision, in turn, contained a clause prohibiting consolidation of cases, class actions, and class arbitration. The plaintiffs in Scott nevertheless filed a class action against Cingular, alleging that it had overcharged individual consumers between $1 and around $45 per month by unlawfully adding roaming and other hidden charges. Obviously, the ability to bring this suit as a class action was crucial because, as the plaintiffs alleged, while no individual consumer suffered a significant overcharge, Cingular unilaterally overcharged the public by very large sums of money in the aggregate.     More…

We need to advise you of important changes in the federal tax laws. Do not rely on this information without a detailed conference with our attorneys as there are numerous exceptions to these rules and taxes.     More…