– Legal Insights –
Defamation damages are unusually difficult to prove. A false accusation may circulate through a workplace, professional community, or social circle without producing a receipt for the harm it causes. Prospective customers rarely explain that they chose a competitor because of something they heard. Colleagues may quietly withdraw their trust. Friends...
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Are you certified to work on residential property containing lead paint? Are your subcontractors? If not, any work you perform on such properties built before 1978 could subject you to five-digit fines. Lead Paint is a Big Deal In 1991, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services...
No doubt all eyes of the sports world are on the O’Bannon v. National Collegiate AthleticAssociation trial, which is currently taking place in Oakland, California.[1] SB Nation called the trial “the biggest trial in the history of college sports” and Sports Illustrated implied that it could be the “most important...
Whether a contractor enters into a direct agreement with a customer or is acting as a subcontractor and is required to sign a subcontractor agreement, the document will most likely contain a dispute resolution clause. The clause might simply state where disputes will be heard (i.e. “all disputes and claims...
If you’ve entered into a contract with a customer, chances are good that you’ve approved via your signature some sort of dispute resolution-maybe you agreed that disputes will be heard at a particular location, or maybe you agreed to a specific form of dispute resolution. Did you realize that? Parties...
In the absence of a tornado, flood, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, or other “Act of God,” and without a specific contract provision on point, the contractor bears the risk of delays and additional costs associated with adverse weather. Even in the unlikely event of an Act of God, the contractor will...
Community Associations Beware: Minnesota law requires replacement cost insurance rather than actual cash value coverage Recently, one of our clients informed us that certain insurers were selling and providing actual cash value policies to Minnesota community associations; the client questioned whether such policies complied with Minnesota law. Minnesota law requires...
For many associations, the Board of Directors’ biggest issue is not collecting assessments, establishing budgets or even dealing with insurance claims…it’s dealing with difficult homeowners. Even the most even-tempered folks have “hot buttons,” and dealing with the emotions entwined in ownership of one’s home can push those buttons and create...
Some insurance companies are telling Minnesota property owners and their contractors that insurers do not have to pay overhead and profit under Minnesota law. There is no such law. Some insurance companies say they have what amounts to an unwritten policy to not pay overhead and profit. Unwritten policies do...
An interim ordinance was proposed and adopted by the Minneapolis City Council on March 7, 2014 that puts a halt to the demolition or new construction of single and two-family homes in the Linden Hills, Fulton, Armatage, Kenny and Lynnhurst neighborhoods of Minneapolis. This interim ordinance is effective immediately and...
IRA and 401k plans have been long thought to be fully protected from creditors. In recent years limitations on that protection have been put in place, usually for bankruptcy purposes. Since 401k plans are covered by a trust that contains a “Spendthrift” clause, creditors are not permitted to attach or...