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Good, Bad, But Not Indifferent – The Beginning of Class Actions

Patrick Perotti April 20, 2016

Class actions are an area of law that brings out strong feelings in most people, including laypersons, lawyers, judges, politicians, corporations, unions, consumers, small business owners and the list goes on. Everyone seems to be an expert, whether class actions are good or bad. The cases are certainly large and high profile enough that everyone knows enough to be dangerous

Security Deposits Under Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Leasing Law

Sam Dreiling April 20, 2016

Tennessee’s version of the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (TURLTA) applies to counties having populations in excess of 68,000, including without limitation, Montgomery, Sumner, Wilson, Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson and Maury. Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-28-101 et seq. Accordingly, familiarity with TURLTA is a must for middle Tennessee real property practitioners. In my landlord/tenant practice, the disposition of security deposits and

The Challenge of Virtual Offices

Angela Hardway April 20, 2016

Our country has continued to change the traditional workplace with fewer manufacturing, trade and skilled labor jobs and more customer service-oriented, medical and virtual office jobs requiring travel as part of the employment. Workers are commuting more, blurring the lines of when work begins and ends, leading employers and employees to seek guidance as to what is considered a compensable

Appellate Jurisdiction & Scope of Review

Robin Bresky April 14, 2016

A district court of appeal can exercise either appellate jurisdiction or original jurisdiction. The scope of review can be either broad or narrow, depending on the type of order reviewed and the kind of jurisdiction exercised. Courts have appellate jurisdiction to review an order or judgment of a lower tribunal where a constitutional provision, statute or rule provides authority to

Understanding and Litigating Forum Selection Clauses

Michael Duncan April 12, 2016

In business transactions, drafters often include certain “boilerplate” terms within the transaction documents, including forum selection or venue clauses. These provisions typically attempt to mandate the location where any litigation arising from the transaction must occur. However, when not clearly drafted, these provisions can lead to the initial stages of litigation becoming consumed in a battle over where the case

Trademark Trivia: These Laws Are Obscure, The Marks Are Not

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young April 2, 2016

Seventy years ago, Congress agreed on comprehensive federal trademark legislation that, for the most part, still exists today. This 1946 law is commonly referred to as the Lanham Act See 15 USC 1051. Collectively, we’ve been practicing trademark law for about as long as this statute is old, but it’s important to know that the Lanham Act is not the

Top Whistleblower Protections & Impact on California’s Employment Landscape

Stephen Danz April 1, 2016

Whistleblowing continues to be one of the fastest growing and grossing areas of law. In addition to the financial incentive for whistleblowers, laws are constantly added to fuel the field’s meteoric growth. In 2015, the U.S. Justice Department reported that it settled False Claims Act (FCA) cases with over 450 hospitals for more than $250 million related to improper billing

Seeking Asylum: Effects of the Immigration and Nationality Act

Alan Diamante April 1, 2016

The human right to seek asylum from persecution is fundamental. The controlling international convention on refugee law is the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Optional Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. The United States committed to protecting refugees in 1967 when it enacted legislation to incorporate the Optional Protocol’s key provisions. In 1996,

The Putative Father Registry: An Update

Kara North March 8, 2016

Over the course of the last few years, Utah’s adoption laws have regularly made headlines, but not for the reasons one would hope. Nationally, Utah has become an infamous forum for non-resident birth mothers in search of adoptive families, often without the knowledge or consent of the putative father. Utah, not unlike many other states, does not recognize the interests

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