Author Archives: Site Administrator
Claim for Defamation Differ vs Claim for Defamation Per Se
Florida Law: Defamation vs. Defamation Per Se In Florida, a plaintiff must prove the following elements to succeed on a claim for defamation: a false statement concerning another person or company; an unprivileged publication of the statement to a third party; negligence or intentional conduct on the part of the author of the statement;… Read More »
The Myth of the Closely-Held Corporation
Florida Law: Closely-Held Corporations A closely-held corporation, also called a close corporation, is generally defined as a corporation in which the stock is not freely traded and is held by only a handful of shareholders. While this term has been used frequently by Florida courts to describe small, family-held corporations (a single search on… Read More »
Can Whistleblowers Use HIPAA to Support Their Claims?
HIPPA and Whistleblower Cases Most people in the healthcare industry know that documents covered by HIPAA must be treated with utmost secrecy and care. Protecting patient privacy is a big deal. Thus, questions frequently arise when a healthcare worker wants to blow the whistle on fraud. Can he or she use HIPAA protected documents… Read More »
The U.S. Trade War with China – How the False Claims Act Can Help
The United States is currently at war with the People’s Republic of China – a trade war. The False Claims Act has an important role to play in this battle. Every year foreign countries, but most particularly China, engage in a practice of “dumping” goods into the U.S. market. Generally, this occurs when a… Read More »
Are “Hot Yoga” Moves Just Hot or Copyrightable?
Can You Copyright Yoga Moves? Under federal copyright law, it does not take much originality for a work to merit copyright protection under the liberal standard for such protection. Indeed, the standard is that only a work have been independently created and been the product of minimal creativity. For years, the founder of Bikram… Read More »
What Notice Must an LLC Provide to Appraise a Member’s Interest?
We previously posted on this blog: “LLC Members Appraisal Rights: What Are They?” In that post, we explained the eight circumstances in which a member may exercise appraisal rights, i.e., an “appraisal event,” and how the appraisal process works for the LLC and affected members. The purpose of this blog post, however, is to inform you… Read More »
What are Violations of the False Claims Act?
Any fraud on a federal government agency could potentially be a violation of the federal False Claims Act. Not every government fraud involves millions of dollars. Take, for example, a recent settlement announced by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General. According to the DOJ’s press release, Douglas daCosta of Livermore California,… Read More »
What are Appraisal Rights for LLC Members?
LLC Members Appraisal Rights: What are they? “Appraisal rights” are rights that minority members of an LLC have to be paid the fair market value of their ownership interest in certain circumstances. In essence, these rights give a member a legal right to be bought out of the company when major changes are made… Read More »
U.S. Tax Court Expands the Scope of I.R.S. Whistleblower Awards
Business Litigation Attorney Explains: I.R.S. Whistleblower Awards Expanded by U.S Tax Court The statute governing whistleblower claims, I.R.C. § 7623, grants awards to private citizens who provide information to the IRS that leads to the collection of at least $2 million in taxes, penalties, interest, and “additional amounts.” The whistleblower can get an award… Read More »
Help! Someone Has Served Me With a Subpoena For My Bank Records!
Served With Subpoena for Bank Records? Business Litigation Law Firm shares the following tips: Occasionally, we will get contacted by clients who have been served with a subpoena demanding that person or business turn over its general ledgers, bank statements, tax returns, or other financial records. They often question whether they are, in fact,… Read More »