You’re operating a profitable business, and a consumer comes in and asks if you’ve seen the latest Facebook post about your business. The customer then informs you that the post claims your products are a ripoff from someone else’s patent, and wants to know if that is true.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to businesses in a variety of ways. Shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, and shifting consumer demands have wreaked havoc on the way businesses operate. Many have not survived, while others are facing monumental change.
As if businesses weren’t subject to enough trouble from lawsuits — real and frivolous — before COVID-19 arrived, the pandemic only exacerbated the challenges of running a business. Employees, consumers, suppliers, competitors, and other parties all seem ready to rush to the courtroom to drain your pockets.
The California Corporations Code governs how individuals and entities can file articles of incorporation. The code also stipulates that, unless the articles specify the number of directors for the new corporation, the new entity must also create corporate bylaws.
Most employment in California is “at-will,” meaning either employee or employer can end the relationship at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all, so long as it’s not an illegal act like discrimination. When an employment agreement exists between employer and employee, then the rules of the game change.
Operators of e-commerce sites are coming under increasing pressure, not only for monitoring credit card usage but also for compliance with ever-evolving governmental regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) here at home. Online retailers must now allow consumers to opt out from sales of their private information and can be held liable for data breaches.
Shareholders in corporations can bring lawsuits against the company if they feel they have been personally harmed, or if they feel the corporation as a whole has been harmed. In either case, they must show that the harm resulted from decisions or actions by the board of directors or company officers.
Indemnity clauses — common to the construction industry — will often protect a general contractor at a construction site from losses incurred and are used to transfer common law and statutory risk arising from one party’s negligence to another party. Whether you’re the indemnitee or indemnitor, you may need guidance on how to proceed.
Someone slips and falls at your retail establishment, and your business liability insurance denies your claim. Do you have any other options for recourse?
A partnership may spring into existence with great hope and expectations, but after a while, disagreements over management and financial issues can often pit one partner against another, or even create factions if there are multiple partners involved.
