Articles

03.23.17

Stop Pulling My Leg: Pully Block Systems Not “Made in USA”

A distributor of pulley block systems agreed to stop making what the Federal Trade Commission said were false, misleading and unsupported claims that its products are “Made in USA.”Texas-based Block Division sells metal pulleys for industrial use (to lift boats, for example, or operate ...


03.21.17

Facebook Scores Second Dismissal in TCPA Suit

For the second time, a California federal court dismissed a Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuit against Facebook, ruling that the plaintiff failed to adequately allege that text messages from the social networking site were sent using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS).Noah Duguid ...


03.16.17

Transfer Tax on Ground Lease Assignments

Documentary transfer taxes collected on the transfer of real property interests are a major source of revenue for counties and municipalities in California. As local governments endeavor to refill their coffers, depleted in the wake of the recession, many have taken a closer look at the tax ...


03.16.17

New in False Ad Suits: Paint, Beer, Dog Food and Shampoo

From paint to beer to dog food to shampoo, consumer class action false advertising suits continue to proliferate.Citing a decision from the National Advertising Division, two plaintiffs filed suit against Rust-Oleum Corporation in Illinois federal court, accusing the company of scamming consumers ...


03.10.17

New California Single-User Restroom Law in Effect

Why it mattersCalifornia employers, take note: the state's single-user restroom law took effect on March 1, 2017. The new law requires all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation or government agency to be identified as available to all ...


03.09.17

Draft Budget Would Slash Legal Aid Funds

President Donald J. Trump's first draft budget includes the elimination of funding for the Legal Services Corporation. This has renewed the ongoing national debate over LSC and whether government should fund legal assistance to the poor. The conservative Heritage Foundation, which now holds ...


03.05.17

How to Keep Toxic Substance Inventories EPA Compliant

Included in the 2016 amendments to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a one-time reporting requirement for industry, designed to bring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of chemicals in commerce—referred to as the “TSCA Inventory”—up ...


03.03.17

Can a Tenant Really Protect Against Inefficient Operating Costs?

In today’s competitive real estate market, where the cost of utilities and infrastructure use are always rising, shopping centers (whether mall or strip), industrial and office building leases frequently require that the tenant pay all or some portion of the landlord’s operating ...


02.24.17

The 'Whole Parcel' Takings Conundrum

"Takings law is not for the faint of heart. It is contrived of rules that have been described variously as 'arcane,' 'mystical' and 'confused.' And that is how people who know and understand the rules describe them. Much of the problem undoubtedly arises ...


02.17.17

CFPB Fines Real Estate Entities Over RESPA Violations

Targeting violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) by a mortgage lender, two real estate brokers, and a mortgage servicer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced almost $4 million in penalties and consumer relief.What happenedAccording to the Bureau, a ...