To protect against competition within a shopping center, a tenant will often seek an “exclusive” right of use so that it will not have direct competition in the same shopping center where the tenant is opening its business.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reported that certain complaints about your work environment that are posted on social media sires such as Facebook and Twitter may be considered “protected concerted activity” which an employer cannot legally fire or discipline an employee for engaging in.
The recent report from the NLRB discusses the outcome of investigations into 14 cases involving social media by the agency’s Division of Advice. In four cases in the report, the NLRB found the workers were protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act because they were discussing terms and conditions of employment with fellow employees.
Throughout history, alternative dispute resolution or “mediation” has been the cornerstone of peace making dating back thousands of years. In Florida, mediation was incorporated into family law in the 1980’s. Today, nearly all litigants with civil law suits will mediate their case, usually under court order, in an effort to resolve their differences. Generally, mediation is conducted after the discovery phase or most of it has been concluded and both parties and their attorneys are sufficiently educated about the dispute to be in a position to negotiate a settlement agreement.
Unfortunately, because much of civil litigation and legal billing practice has become standardized, many matters are “litigated to mediation”, meaning instead of a specific strategy for a lawsuit, whether you are a plaintiff or defendant, the goal is to go to mediation. This is not always the best and most efficient use of a litigant’s resources. In some instances, a motion to dispense with or bypass mediation and move directly to trial may, although unusual, be a better strategy. In other instances, it may be better to press for a meeting of attorneys to discuss settlement as soon as is practical such as before or during the discovery phase of litigation.
Florida law provides for a reduction or termination of alimony if the court finds a supportive relationship has existed between the recipient of alimony and a person with whom the recipient resides. While common law marriage has not been valid in Florida in over forty years and de facto marriages are also not recognized, the legislature has determined that one under an alimony obligation (the obligor) can obtain relief when the alimony recipient (the obligee) has established a supportive relationship with another.
There are many factors for the court to consider whether a true supportive relationship exists to warrant a reduction or termination of the alimony provided at the time of the final judgment of dissolution of marriage. These include, but are not limited to: (1) The period of time that the obligee has resided with the other person in a permanent place of abode; (2)The pooling of income or assets or other proof of financial interdependence between the obligee and the other person; (3) The extent to which the obligee and the other person has supported the other, including the children of one another; and (4) Whether the obligee and the other have jointly contributed to the purchase of real or personal property or jointly incurred debts.
As is the case with most legal questions, the answer depends on the facts. At common law (the law which derives from old English court decisions based on societal customs), a parent was not liable for the wrongful acts of their children. Because children do not usually have any significant financial resources of their own, a person harmed by the child’s negligent or willful conduct was simply out of luck.
Central Florida has a large population of older workers. Therefore, it is not unusual for age discrimination claims to arise in the workplace. Age discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) less favorably because of his age. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. The ADEA does not protect workers under the age of 40. However, the State of Florida’s civil rights statute (the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, Florida Statutes, Chapter 760) protects all workers and applicants from age discrimination regardless of their age—whether they are over 40 years of age or under 40 years of age. Claims of age discrimination by younger workers or applicants are rare. But, they do occur.
Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both over 40. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
There are recent developments that provide relief to participants and beneficiaries of pension plans when the pension benefit is changed. The law that governs pensions provided through non-governmental employers is The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The law had been
unsettled as to the timing and content required, and what remedy was available if there was a violation of the law. Changes by statute and a recent ruling by
the U.S. Supreme Court have clarified this important issue.
The homestead protection that homeowners have in the state of Florida helps prevent Floridians from losing their homes due to debts owed to creditors. However, Florida law does allow equitable liens to be imposed on homestead property, particularly in cases of fraud. In the recent case of Hirchert Family Trust v. Hirchert, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D1290 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011), the Florida Appeals Court found that the Husband violated his fiduciary duties as Trustee, so that the beneficiaries of the Trust were entitled to an equitable lien against his 2nd wife’s homestead property.
In that case, the Husband and his first wife lived in California. They created two trusts which provided that upon the death of the first spouse, all their assets, including their marital home in California, would be divided into a Survivor’s Trust for the benefit of the 2nd spouse to die and a Residuary Trust for their children. The first wife died and pursuant to the trusts, the marital home was divided between the two trusts with 75 percent placed in the Residuary Trust for the children and the remaining 25 percent was placed in the Survivor Trust.
The Supplemental Register is the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) secondary register of trademarks. This secondary register permits the registration of trademarks that do not otherwise qualify for registration on the primary register of trademarks called the Principal Register. The only requirement for registration on the Supplemental Register is that a mark is capable of distinguishing goods or services.
Many of our clients have applied for registration of their trademark on the Principal Register only to be denied such registration by the examining attorney from the USPTO as “merely descriptive”. Except in certain circumstances, a trademark cannot be registered on the Principal Register if the mark’s name merely describes the goods and/or services it identifies to the consuming public.
It is recommended that you sign a written lease whenever you rent property so that you have a record of the terms which have been agreed upon. The written lease should include specific terms as to the amount of rent, the length of the lease term, the amount of the security deposit, and the amount of notice which must be given if you want to end the lease early, among other things. These lease terms should be reviewed carefully so that you understand your obligations and rights.
In Florida, after you move out, a residential landlord has 15 days in which to return your full security deposit (if any) or has 30 days in which to send you written notice that some or all of the security deposit will be retained for damage beyond normal wear and tear. Upon receipt of the list of itemized deductions, the tenant has 15 days to send a written notice to the landlord that there is a disagreement about the amount being withheld. If the parties cannot settle this dispute on their own, the tenant can file a complaint with the Small Claims Court to resolve the matter.
