New ACA Legal Battle Could Affect Individual and Employer Health Coverage
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacting in 2010, has been controversial since the start. The latest legal attack raises the question as to whether insurance carriers will continue to be required to issue coverage with individuals no matter their pre-existing medical...
Florida Court Rejects Active-Passive Framework in Appreciation Analysis
Bair v. Bair When appraisers deal with the issue of appreciation of nonmarital property, they often think in terms of “active versus passive.” A Florida divorce case shows that the rigid adoption of this framework may result in an erroneous valuation. Cannot pick and...
Safeguard Your Company from Defective Product Suits
Does your Maine business deal with products instead of services? You need to make sure to factor in the potential liability for defective product claims. From state to state, laws regarding defective products vary, but in general, a product is considered defective if...
Judicial Appraisal Lacks Valuation Evidence and Gets Dinged on Appeal
Lally Orange Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc. v. Sandhu Although both sides in a Florida judicial appraisal action offered expert opinions on the value of a car dealership, the trial court used a valuation whose author and methodology were unknown. In rejecting the lower...
Be Careful When Setting Up an ‘English-Only’ Policy
When your company’s staff is culturally diverse, it can be tempting to require all employees to only speak English during the workday. You may be thinking it’s easier to promote unity and teamwork when everyone speaks the same language. It may not be legal though....
Move to Exclude Damages Expert at Class Certification Stage Fails
In re Stericycle Financial expert testimony is critical to class actions, which are their own breed of lawsuits. What is still an unresolved issue is whether courts must perform a full Daubert inquiry at the class certification stage. A contract case illustrates the...
Will States Conform to the New Tax Rules?
Many state legislatures are now in session. One of the major issues that state lawmakers face this year is whether to conform their state income tax systems to the many changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Some states are giving consideration to, or...
Misunderstanding of Facts Results in Overvaluation of Fuel Supply Rights
r2 Advisors, LLC v. Equitable Oil Purchasing Co. (In re Red Eagle Oil, Inc.) When the distributor of Exxon-branded fuel ran into financial trouble, it agreed to transfer its rights to supply several retail stores to the defendant in exchange for the latter’s...
Effects of the Tax Law Vary Based on Major Life Events
The one thing that never changes is that life is always changing. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has made huge changes to the federal income tax rules for individuals. But how will you, your family, and your business be affected? It depends on your specific...
Expert’s Exclusion Dooms ‘Frozen Market’ Theory and Loss of Value Claims
TiVo Research & Analytics, Inc. v. TNS Media Research LLC A damages case involving significant amounts of money began to unravel when the trial court excluded the plaintiff’s expert, saying the damages opinion failed the causation requirement. The plaintiff’s...