Legal Articles, General Practice

If I Get Sued because of Something that Happened at Work Does My Employer Have to Pay for My Defense?

The California Fair Pay Act: What Businesses Can Do to Prepare and Comply

Reminder to San Diego Employers: Deadline to Issue Minimum Wage & Sick Leave Notice is October 1, 2016

What Does California’s Legalization of Marijuana Mean for Employers?

Business Valuation Disputes and Valuation Standards

Serious medical issues and debilitating complications can result from product malfunctions and faulty equipment.

In a product liability case, a product has malfunctioned in a way that causes serious injuries to an individual.

On August 9, 2016, a New York Surrogate’s Court entered an order requiring an attorney, who had drafted a decedent’s Last Will & Testament which was now the subject of litigation, to produce his computer during discovery.

The devastation of Hurricane Harvey will be felt for years to come. While relief efforts are underway to assist victims of the storm the Internal Revenue Service has also established procedures, via announcement or news relief, to assist those adversely impacted.

In Ajemian v. Yahoo!, Inc., (Mass., No. SJC-12237, Oct. 16, 2017) the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed the issue of whether the personal representative of a decedent’s estate was entitled to access their email account. Yahoo had refused to provide the personal representative with access to the account and the estate was subsequently forced to commence a declaratory judgment action to gain the access it sought. In reliance on the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) , 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq., which prohibits unauthorized third parties from accessing communications stored by service providers, the matter was initially decided by the Probate and Family Court Judge by summary judgment. The personal representatives then appealed the ruling. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the issue, reversed the lower court ruling and found that the SCA did not prohibit the personal representatives, who stepped into the shoes of the decedent, from accessing the decedent’s emails since the personal representatives consented to the disclosure on the decedent's behalf and granted them unrestricted account access.