Articles Posted in Business Litigation

Every business owner, large or small, should take time to read the Department of Justice’s Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber Incidents. In today’s cyber world, it seems we cannot go a day without reading about another cyber security incident and its ramifications. For example, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals just…

It is not uncommon for a company to have a board meeting and have its attorney present to render legal advice. What happens though when in litigation the other side requests production of the minutes for this meeting? Can you successfully claim the attorney client privilege? What if an attorney was present but only in…

The Securities and Exchange Commission reported its first enforcement action earlier this month against a company that inserted restrictive language in an employee confidentiality agreement to impede the whistleblower reporting process. In this action, the SEC charged that engineering firm KBR, Inc. violated whistleblower protection rule 21F-17 under the Dodd-Frank Act. (Click here for Order).…

Foreign corporations may not transact business in Pennsylvania without first obtaining a Certificate of Authority from the Secretary of the Commonwealth. All that is required is a simple application, docketing statement and a small fee. The specific requirements are clearly set forth on the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website. What happens if you decide to…

On January 14, 2015, in a unanimous decision, the New Jersey Supreme determined that the ABC test is the proper test an employer must use to determine if its workers are independent contractors or employees. Of all the various tests used by New Jersey and other states, the ABC test sets the bar the highest…

On November 13, 2014 the New Jersey Supreme Court added New Jersey to the growing number of states that have established complex business litigation programs. Effective January 1, 2015, designated judges in each county will provide individualized case management to complex commercial and construction cases that meet the required criteria. The Supreme Court of New…

Last month I had a business client come into my office concerned about a data breach. A disgruntled former employee hacked into the company server. While it appears this employee did not enter into any sensitive areas on the server, my client wanted to know what his responsibilities were with regarding to notifying customers of…

On September 23, 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court in a unanimous decision held that an arbitration clause in a consumer contract was unenforceable because it did not clearly and unambiguously signal to the consumer that she was surrendering her right to pursue her claims in court. The Court was troubled that the arbitration clause…

On August 11, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed the “Opportunity to Compete Act” (Bill 1999) into existence. The Act will become law in New Jersey on March 15, 2015. The Act limits the ability of “covered” New Jersey employers from looking into an applicant’s criminal record at any time during the “initial application…

For those of us that actually read the bottom of their lawyer‘s email you probably noticed the arcane “IRS Circular 230 Disclosure” that stated the advice contained in this email is not intended and cannot be used for tax avoidance purposes etc… You then probably thought to yourself, but I was just confirming lunch, what…