Law Blog
New Jersey Legislature Permits Treble Damages for Failing to Pay Sales Commissions within 30 Days of Termination
Employment Law: As part of the 2008 Legislative Session, the New Jersey legislature passed, and Governor Corzine signed, a law which provides treble damages (triple the amount of actual damages) for sales representatives who are not paid earned sales commissions...
The Confines of a Cybersquatting Claim: Western District of New York Case Emphasizes Limitations
Cybersquatting: The United States District Court for the Western District of New York recently found that cybersquatting had not occurred in connection with the registration of a similar domain name. In Dudley v. HealthSource Chiropractic, Inc., 2008 WL 4507714, the...
Pennsylvania Passes Law Imposing Strict Requirements on Home Improvement Contractors
Home Improvement Regulation: In an effort to strengthen the protections afforded consumers against wrongful acts by home improvement contractors, the Pennsylvania legislature recently enacted the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. The Act, which will become...
Employees’ Information on Work Computers Not Protected
Employment Law: Under New Jersey law, an employee does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the content stored on his work computer. This is true notwithstanding the fact that the employee may have created confidential passwords to preclude third parties...
New York City’s Regulations Governing Home Improvement Contractors
New York City has promulgated regulations relating to home improvement contractors, the purpose of which are presumably to protect consumers against contractors’ deceptive and fraudulent practices. However, the requirements go beyond such a prohibition and impose a...
Utilizing State Claims To Obtain Relief Where You Lack Standing Pursuant to Federal Anti-Trust Laws
Federal antitrust laws seek to protect those entities that purchase goods directly from parties engaged in unlawful trade restraints, monopolies and other acts that violate antitrust laws. However, in a situation involving an antitrust violation, it is evident that...
“Personal Client Defense” May Not Apply to a Breach of a Restrictive Covenant Signed in Connection with the Sale of a Business
A restrictive covenant is a provision of an employment contract that restricts the rights of the employee after he leaves a job. For example, a restrictive covenant might prevent a former employee from providing similar services to clients that he established a...
Master Electrician Licensing Regulations
Construction Law: New York Legislation: Licensing Requirements: New York legislators recently amended the County Law governing master electrician licensing in order to provide Dutchess County with the authority to establish a board of examiners for master...
Internet Websites May Be Vulnerable to Regulation by Foreign Countries
Commentary: International Websites: The Internet has been amazing tool; enabling even the smallest voice to reach people throughout the world. It has, in fact, breathed new life into many small businesses who now can reach millions of potential customers in mere...
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Third Legislative Effort by Congress to Stamp Out Child Pornography on the Internet
Internet Law: Supreme Court Caselaw: In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld a law aimed at regulating child pornography in the age of the Internet. U.S. v. Williams examined a facial attack against the PROTECT Act of 2003, which prohibits not...
U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals Holds Exculpatory Clause Enforceable
Commercial Contracts: A fundamental principle of contract law is the public policy of freedom of contract: the idea that individuals should be permitted to bargain freely amongst themselves. Under this legal doctrine, courts will generally uphold the majority of...
Simply Registering a Company Name is Insufficient to Avail Business Owners of the Protections of the Corporate Shield
Business Law: It is an oft-asked question: I created a name for our business, isn’t that enough? Simply operating under a business name is generally not enough to protect the individual business owners’ rights, nor to comply with state laws regarding the operation of...
The Application of Sarbanes-Oxley to Non-Profits
Non-Profits: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is a United States law that was enacted on July 30, 2002 in response to several major, high-profile corporate accounting scandals, such as those involving Enron, WorldCom and Tyco International. Although most provisions of the Act...
Newly Enacted Law Removes Maximum Price Restriction on Sales of Admission Tickets to Entertainment Facilities
New Jersey Legislation: The New Jersey legislature recently enacted a statute which removes the maximum price limitation on sales of tickets for admission to various places of entertainment. Under the law, a “place of entertainment” is defined as any privately or...
A Work for Hire Agreement: A Critical Tool for Production Companies
Commentary: Many companies operate under the misconception that if they have hired and paid freelancers for their work, the company has that paid them has all of the rights to it. Quite simply, this is not necessarily true. Simply paying someone for their services...
Parker v. Google: Internet Law is too Unsettled to be Frivolous
Pennsylvania Caselaw: In Parker v. Google, 2008 WL 2600299 (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2008), the Court was presented with a lawsuit filed by Gordon Roy Parker, a pro se (a person without a lawyer) against Google. In...
Adding Corporate Value: Making the Most of Your Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property: As a business owner prepares to sell its business, he seeks to highlight what the company has to offer a potential buyer. This may be the customer base, current accounts, inventory, equipment and other items. But, often what the buyer really...
The Child Online Protection Act is Ruled Unconstitutional
Internet Law: In July of 2008, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Child Online Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 231 (“COPA”) was unconstitutional. This was a crucial ruling that affects all websites that display adult content. Under COPA, such websites...