Chicago Business Attorney Blog

Mandatory Arbitration: Friend of Big Business and Enemy of Consumers?

Virtually every consumer contract now contains a mandatory arbitration clause that reads something like this: “All claims and disputes arising under or relating to this agreement are to be settled by binding arbitration.”  That sounds innocuous enough, at least until you find out what binding arbitration really means.

According to a report from the American Association for Justice, mandatory binding arbitration is a “license to steal.”  An example they use bears this out:  Back in 1998, an 81-year-old woman named Mabel Strobel was a client of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.  On the advice of her broker, Strobel sold a rental property in San Diego and invested the proceeds in the stock market.  In the next four years, through the magic of the market, Morgan Stanley turned her $1 million investment into about $700,000.  Strobel claimed the company inappropriately invested her money, considering her investment objectives, risk tolerance and sophistication.  Unfortunately, the contract Strobel signed with the brokerage contained an arbitration clause.   So she brought an arbitration case against Morgan Stanley.  In 2004, an arbitration panel sided with Strobel, holding the brokerage liable for her losses.  So we have a happy ending for the consumer, right?

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Seattle rolled over Denver in Super Bowl 48, but according to that most reliable source—somebody on the Internet, Challenger, Gray & Christmas in this case—the day after the Super Bowl costs American businesses $850 million in lost productivity.  People call in sick because of overindulgence, or come into work hung over, or spend an inordinate amount of time talking about the game, to the detriment of getting something done.

Of course, the Super Bowl isn’t the only thing sapping productivity.  Fantasy football allegedly costs employers $1.1 billion a week, so with a 17 week season, that adds up to $18.7 billion annually, a figure ignores the draft and the preseason, but whatever.  ($19.55 billion total.)

Other sporting events also take a toll: March Madness? $192 million.  ($19.74 billion) Fantasy baseball? Couldn’t actually find any figures, so I’ll assume that it is not as popular as fantasy football, making the weekly figures smaller.  But the season lasts about six months, so we’re going to assign it the same cost as football, at $18.7 billion.  (Total, $38.44 billion) The fantasy baseball number is the last that is not backed up by that most reliable source.

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The Lawyer Grinch has stolen what made the office holiday party fun.

No more mistletoe.  No more open bars.  No more all-night bashes.  No more “fun” gifts.  No more firings for conduct unbecoming.  No more lawsuits from molested interns and employees injured on the way home.  No more sexual harassment claims.  No more cleaning bills for disgusting fluids forcibly expelled onto a fine suit.  No more making bail for drunken drivers.  No more creeping into the office the day after hoping nobody noticed.  No more resentments that last for six months after Christmas.

While there is no way to mitigate all of the possible risks for your holiday party, we have some guidelines for employers to help get you through the holidays and keep the Grinch away from the office party.  Go to our web site for our suggested Best Practices for the Holidays.

In my 40+ years of helping people start new businesses, I have identified several potential problems that entrepreneurs often overlook in their eagerness to get their business up and running. Businesses succeed because of a number of variables, not all of which can be foreseen. But many of the problems could have been easily avoided by consultation with a lawyer who understands the issues confronting a new venture.

The Entity That’s Best for You:

There are many  ways to organize your business and each alternative has good and bad points. The most common choice is between a corporation or a limited liability company. A corporation limits your liability and increases your potential for raising capital. But a corporation also comes with strict reporting requirements and unfavorable taxation issues. A limited liability company, as its names suggests, also limits your personal liability and it comes with tax advantages, but there are restrictions on selling an interest in the LLC and the laws governing LLCs are not uniform across the country.

There are other choices and there are many factors that go into deciding which type of organization is best for your venture. Our website has some information to help in comparing corporations and limited liability companies. Continue reading

   In this electronic world, signatures are still required to create a binding and enforceable contract.  Many negotiations take place thru email or the web.  Many contracts are negotiated without the parties ever having met face to face.   Laws have adapted to the changing world, and these changes make it possible to create binding contracts without a pen touching a piece of paper.

   The UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce was adopted by the United Nations in 1996.  This model law helped form electronic signature laws around the world, including in the U.S.   The U.S. Code was changed in 1999 and e-signatures are broadly defined in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and includes “an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”   This definition and many other core concepts of UETA are echoed in the U.S. E-Sign Act of 2000.   Every state but three have enacted the UETA.   Illinois has not enacted UETA but has adopted its own e-signature laws. 

   For more information on e-signatures and the related laws, go to my firm’s web page that goes in to more details: “Is an E-Signauture Legally Enforceable?”

The Illinois Supreme Court overrules the Amazon Tax Law

Illinois lawmakers’ attempts to level the playing field for Illinois small businesses took a major hit by our own Illinois Supreme Court last week.

We all know that we don’t pay Illinois sales taxes on purchases made thru the web.  Those books we buy thru Amazon.com don’t have the Illinois sales/use tax added.  But, the same book purchased at a “bricks and mortar” business in Illinois is subject to the Illinois sales tax.    What consumers don’t know is that if the retailers don’t collect the pay the sales tax, the buyer must report the sale and pay the “use tax” on the transaction.   (Which is why it is called the Sales/Use tax!)

So, the Illinois legislature adopted a law requested by Illinois business owners to level the playing field by requiring the sellers on the web to collect and pay the Illinois sales tax on sales made to Illinois citizens, and the Illinois legislature responded with the a taxing statute – Public Act 96-1544 effective in 2011 – called the “Main Street Fairness Act” which has been referred to as the “Amazon.com Tax Law.” Continue reading

It’s started.  The federal courts are beginning to shut down.

On October 7, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an Order which stated that all civil cases involving the U.S. as a party are suspended and nothing will be done in those cases unless there is a special need.

This Order does not affect any criminal cases.

Congress has breached its contract with the taxpayers.  Can we sue?

Client comes to me with a problem.   She hired a consultant to take care of her company’s computers and telephone systems, and agreed to pay them a monthly retainer.  She is paying for their services.  But, the company shut down and is no longer performing the services that she pays for. 

The answer is obvious – Stop making the payments.  It’s basic contract law.  You know, the law that Professor Kingsfield in “The Paper Chase” pounded into the first year law students brains.   They had a contract, they breached it by not paying, so your performance is excused.    In fact, they owe her money for services she paid for but did not receive. 

Litigation Against Modern Day Pirates

Pirates have gone from sailing to surfing.  Surfing the Internet that is.  They are no longer found sailing the open seas, but rather pillaging materials, many of which are copyrighted, off of the Internet.  Modern day pirates are able to steal copyrighted materials because they hide behind the mask of an anonymous IP address.  These anonymous pirates steal music, t.v. shows, computer software and electronic books every day.

Plaintiff’s attorneys must become familiar with the current technology and the various obstacles that arise during these types of copyright infringement cases.  For starters, Plaintiff’s attorneys need to understand the terminology used in these cases. Below is a list of common terminology used in these types of copyright infringement cases: