Legal Blog And Client Alerts

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation today requiring all passengers age 16 and older who are riding in the back seat of a passenger vehicle to wear a seat belt.

The law takes effect on November 1, 2020 and expands the previous law requiring only front seat passengers age 16 and older to be belted in.

Once the new law takes effect, how could that impact personal injury cases where an injured back seat passenger is not wearing a seat belt?

Social media has been lighting up in recent weeks with stories about life behind the scenes on the Emmy Award-Winning talk show, “Ellen.”

The tales range from stories of rude behavior, to hostile working conditions, racism and sexual harassment. Despite her squeaky clean image as America’s fun-loving, dancing talk show host, current and former staffers report a workplace that is anything but fun-loving.

On February 12, 2020, the New York Stock Exchange reached an all-time high, closing at 29,551. Consumer confidence was skyrocketing and for many Americans, their retirement accounts were growing.

We all know what happened next.

Barely two weeks later came reports of the first American death attributed to COVID-19. Within a month the American economy would be paralyzed by a national shutdown of all “non-essential” businesses. Just a few months removed from a record high on the New York Stock Exchange, America was plunged into a recession.

Former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison after admitting he stole trade secrets from Google related to self-driving car technology.

In sentencing Levandowski to jail time, U.S. District Judge William Alsup sent a clear message to would-be IP thieves: brilliance is no excuse for theft. In denying the Levandowski defense team’s request for home confinement in lieu of jail, the Court refused to “give a green light to every future brilliant engineer to steal trade secrets.”

You’ve probably read articles or seen news reports touting the reduction in auto accidents during COVID-19. It makes sense — millions of Americans are working from home — less driving equals fewer accidents. One study estimates Americans in some states are driving 60 percent fewer miles per week than they were before the pandemic struck.

There was a time when working from home was considered a perk. Today, in the midst of a global pandemic, it has quickly become the norm.

Working from home has afforded companies a way to stay productive while minimizing the risk of employees transmitting COVID-19. However, without proper planning, companies may find themselves exposed to myriad other risks.

Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reports (FBARs) are information returns required to be filed by any U. S. citizen wherever located and by an individual, person, business, etc. that files U. S. income tax returns and has a financial interest in or signature authority over non-U. S. financial accounts (including bank accounts, brokerage accounts, mutual funds and trusts) where the aggregate value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 U. S. at any time during the calendar year.

For at least the reasonably foreseeable future, the “American Taxpayers Relief Act of 2012” (the “2012 Act”) ended the eleven-year saga in which the U.S. estate tax provisions changed almost annually, often dramatically.