Corporate Law

Firearms dealers sue California officials over ban on handgun window displays

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is familiar territory to those who seek to enforce gun rights. But it is the First Amendment that provides a basis for a lawsuit filed Monday by gun dealers against California officials in federal district court in Sacramento. At issue is whether the…

Nov 12, 2014 3:40 PM CST

Cleaning worker who got new job with $3-an-hour pay raise faces possible suit over noncompete pact

Benny Almeida admits he saw a noncompetition provision in paperwork he signed when he got a $15-an-hour cleaning job with ServiceMaster of Seattle earlier this year. But he didn’t think much about it, figuring the boilerplate language didn’t apply to him. And, when another company contacted him and offered to…

Nov 12, 2014 10:55 AM CST

Woman is in hot water over spilled-coffee claim against McDonald’s

A California woman is facing a felony insurance fraud case after being accused of falsely claiming that she was burned when the lid came off a cup of hot coffee at a fast food restaurant drive-thru in Fontana. Selena Edwards, 38, is alleged to have sent faked treatment documents and…

Nov 11, 2014 3:35 PM CST

CEO must pay $995M in divorce case; analyst calls ‘rather small’ award good news for shareholders

In one of the largest divorce-court awards ever, an Oklahoma court has ruled that oil magnate Harold Hamm, 68, must pay his ex-wife more than $995 million. But Sue Ann Hamm, 58, had sought more, and observers say the award in the Oklahoma County case is good news for shareholders…

Nov 10, 2014 2:50 PM CST

Willkie Farr plants flag in Houston, its first new US office since 1981

For the first time in more than 30 years, New York City-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher has opened a new U.S. office. The firm announced (PDF) Tuesday that it has planted its flag in the hot Houston market, saying that the move “furthers the firm’s strategy to combine the strengths…

Nov 5, 2014 4:25 PM CST

On Forbes 400 list before 2008 business bankruptcy, ex-billionaire has paid $141.07 to trustee

Less than a decade ago, real estate entrepreneur Tim Blixseth was on the Forbes 400 list, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. Now, after a divorce, the Yellowstone Club developer is dealing with its bankruptcy. A closed-door hearing is scheduled Monday in federal court in Butte, Montana, at…

Nov 3, 2014 1:15 PM CST

Towns across the country are blocking energy companies from fracking

On a hot June summer day this year, residents from the small farming town of Dryden, in upstate New York, gathered in front of the local courthouse to celebrate. The state's highest court had just ruled that their town could ban oil and gas development, including a controversial drilling method known as fracking.

Nov 1, 2014 5:15 AM CDT

Fisherman convicted of violating Sarbanes-Oxley will be heard by the Supreme Court

When Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, in the wake of the Enron scandal, a key provision was aimed at making a federal crime the type of conduct committed by the energy company’s auditors: rampant destruction of documents, computer drives and email that detailed Enron’s fraud on its investors.…

Nov 1, 2014 3:20 AM CDT

Personal connections are still behind why GCs hire an outside firm

Graphics by Jamie Gannon This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Because it’s still who you know: Personal connections are behind why GCs hire an outside firm.”

Nov 1, 2014 2:40 AM CDT

Risk-matrix graphs can give clients a colorful assessment of global risk

The risks faced by international businesses and those that represent them overseas may not be as severe as those faced by the humanist rebels in the sci-fi film The Matrix, but they face a matrix all their own. Not only are multinationals obliged to accept whatever challenges are presented by…

Nov 1, 2014 2:10 AM CDT

EEOC sues Honeywell, says wellness program medical testing violates ADA

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a federal lawsuit against Honeywell Corp., alleging that medical testing of workers required under the company’s wellness program violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. It seeks a court order putting a halt to a biometric testing program that could reveal lifestyle and health…

Oct 29, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

Federal suit over coffee machine bought at Starbucks settles for $250, but lawyer could get $175K

A Michigan woman who sued Starbucks and Kraft Foods over promotional claims made about a single-serve Kraft coffeemaker sold at Starbucks shops has settled for $250 after a 2½-year federal court battle. But the plaintiff’s legal counsel will get attorney fees under the deal, which are estimated at nearly $175,000,…

Oct 29, 2014 4:05 PM CDT

FTC sues AT&T over claims about smartphone data plans, says ‘unlimited means unlimited’

Saying that a company’s marketing claims about “unlimited” data offered to smartphone customers should, in fact, mean that data usage is unlimited, the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced that it has filed suit against AT&T Mobility LLC. The company, contrary to its claims to consumers, “throttled” their data speeds…

Oct 28, 2014 3:55 PM CDT

Americans worry most about becoming victims of this crime

Americans worry they will fall victim to hacked credit card information more often than other property and violent crimes, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday. The poll asked respondents to state how often they worry about several listed crimes. At the top of the list: Sixty-nine percent said…

Oct 28, 2014 7:46 AM CDT

Jury convicts 4 Blackwater guards in slaying of unarmed civilians in Iraq

After about two months of trial and seven weeks of deliberation, a federal jury in Washington, D.C., has convicted four former Blackwater Worldwide private security contractors in the 2007 slaying of more than a dozen unarmed civilians in Iraq. Charged with killing 14 civilians and injuring 17, the four were…

Oct 22, 2014 1:30 PM CDT