Vlad “Dracula” Smith was looking for some new digs big enough to accommodate his growing family. While searching the MLS listings, Dracula stumbled across a castle belonging to Victor “Frankenstein” Jones. Little did Dracula know, but the castle was widely reported to be haunted. “Frankenstein” had even made the front page of the local paper when he reported the haunting to the local paper and Reader’s Digest last Halloween. However, in negotiations for the sale of his castle, Frankenstein, and his broker, failed to tell Dracula about the newspaper and magazine articles. When Dracula later learned of the stories, he sued Frankenstein for rescission and damages. Did Frankenstein have a duty to disclose the haunting to Dracula?
Continue Reading Duty to Disclose that a House for Sale is Haunted?
Concealed Carry Permits & Regulatory Reporting Requirements: Who Decides?
How do subjective decisions of government officials, when it comes to issuing any kind of permit, affect private citizens?
What are the risks of making any sort of “ownership database” publicly accessible?
Setting aside the emotional pros and cons of gun control, consider how the issuing of a concealed carry permit affects private citizens, or
Whistleblowers, Do Tell?
Whizzle Blour, a professor of surgery at University Medical School, complained to his supervisor that trauma residents at University Hospital were treating and operating on patients without an attending physician’s supervision in violation of Medicare and Medicaid law. After agreeing to settle those federal claims, University Hospital stripped Whizzle of his faculty chair position claiming he was a poor administrator. Later he was fired. He filed a whistleblower suit alleging his demotion was in retaliation for reporting the federal law violations. Will Whizzle Blour prevail?
No. Whizzle Blour failed to prove all the required elements for retaliation under the Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA). Reporting the Medicare and Medicaid violations to his supervisor did not satisfy the TWA because the supervisor was not qualified as “an appropriate law enforcement entity.”
How to Dissolve a Business
Anita Deal and Ivana Bie formed their commercial real estate business Dirt Cheap, LLC several years ago. Through 2007 it was wildly successful. Then the bottom fell out. Their friendship, tenacity and cash reserves are waning. Ivana believes that the market has turned and that now is the greatest real estate buying opportunity of all
What to do when a Client Files for Bankruptcy
Much of the corn that Ethan Awl raises is sold to Beau Plymouth for Beau’s company Plymouth’s Pride to feed its turkeys. Ethan’s payment terms are net 30 days. As the economy worsened and alternative fuels gobbled up corn supplies dramatically increasing feed costs, Plymouth’s formerly prompt payments from Beau are well beyond 30 days
SLAPP Happy – Can a Business Sue a Customer who Gave a Bad Online Review?
Xavier Breath goes to his local barbershop, the Best Little Hairhouse in Texas, looking for a cut and a new hairstyle to replace his tired comb over. His young stylist recommends a “Justin Bieber” cut, which she says is very popular. Xavier does not know who Justin Bieber is, but agrees to try it out.
Do Recreational Waiver Forms Really Limit Lawsuits?
It’s Halloween. Linda Blair, Rosemary, Buffy and fellow high school senior girlfriends are looking for something to do. Trick-or-treating is boring. The thought of staying home with parents is unbearable. With no particular plan in mind, the eighteen year olds, like all bored teenagers, head to the mall. As the girls leave Abercrombie and Fitch
Problems with Owning a Business 50/50
Tim and Harry were friends. They both love ice cream and inventing their own flavors. The latest, “Cold Sweat” made of an ice cream base with hot sauces, picayune, habanero and Thai chili peppers was so successful they decided to partner in a new company – 50/50… and on a “handshake.” Later, Harry bought a
“Whistleblower” Lawsuits
Tatt L. Tale was beside himself. His company FreshLike Grocers was the largest supplier of food sold and shipped to U.S. troops in the Middle East during the Iraq war. One day, Tatt caught his boss Kot “Red” Handid changing the “use-by” labels on the food it was supplying. Freshlike Grocers did nothing to stop
Employers liability for Employee’s Conduct
Sales representatives of Bedlam Pharmaceuticals invited a client’s employee Fonda Looney to join them for lunch. After lunch and an afternoon of drinking at Sam n’ Ella’s Pub & Cafe, a heavily intoxicated Nurse Looney drove home at speeds up to 95 mph when she rammed into another car killing the infant in the passenger