Law

What is a disability access claim (lawsuit)? A disability access claim arises under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its California counterpart, the Unruh Act, which prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on disabilities.  Among other types of business, restaurants and retail establishments are the main targets of many disability access claims.  A litigant named Jarek Molski […]

What is a Corporation? A corporation is a separate legal entity controlled by the shareholders of the corporation.   Shareholders nominate and select officers, such as CEO, CFO and Treasurer, to run the corporation.  A corporation must follow corporate formalities by holding annual meetings, keeping minutes and recording all share transfer transations.  More information on how to satisfy corporate formalities, see […]

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a final rule on the use of the tip credit under Section 3(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Tip credit is the amount of hourly wage that a restaurant owner can add to the hourly wage actually paid to a tipped employee in order to satisfy […]

On May 26, 2011, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision holding that states and local governments can impose sanctions on businesses for the employment of unauthorized immigrants. The decision can be found here.  http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-115.pdf.  The decision resulted from a lawsuit brought by the Obama Administration in federal court which alleged that federal immigration […]

Paternity litigation refers to disputes concerning the identity of a child’s father.  For mothers, establishing paternity is the first step to enforcing a father’s obligations to the child, including payments of child support. For fathers, establishing paternity is the first step to seeking custody and visitations rights.  There are various ways of establishing paternity (or parentage) but below […]

“Pro per.” Many people believe that being “pro per” or self-represented is the best way handle their legal issues without having to pay for an attorney.  While some pro pers got their day in court, like this guy, http://calapp.blogspot.com/2011/03/mccollough-v-johnson-rodenberg-lauinger.html, this is a rarity.  An individual with legal representation is much better off in terms of obtaining […]

The Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”) requires that employers pay covered employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and time and one-half for all hours worked in excess of forty hours in a single work week.   Under federal law, “work” is defined as “physical or mental exertion (whether burdensome or not) […]

The Superior Court of Orange County has implemented a unique program aimed at helping defaulting borrowers and lenders reach a common ground in the foreclosure war.  The goal of the program is to prevent foreclosure-related lawsuits from clogging the court docket and being drawned out in expensive and time-consuming litigation.  Under the program, once a defaulting homeowner files […]

Family law is the one area where the cases are abundant and the majority of the litigants are pro per (not represented by counsel).  Due to the high-volume court dockets and limited resources, many courts have adopted local rules to facilitate order to show cause hearings (where you ask the court to make an order) […]

So you formed a corporation or a LLC for your small business. Think your personal assets are safe from lawsuits or creditors–think again! The law allows a third party to “pierce the corporate veil” to hold the shareholder(s) liable for any claims asserted against the corporation.  Under this doctrine, if the third party is successful, the court will regard the […]