Articles Posted in NEWS AND COMMENTARY

In Southern California, we have many banking institutions. In San Diego, some of the prominent banks are Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Union Bank of California and Wells Fargo. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP does not endorse or support any of these institutions and these are used for illustration purposes only.

We Americans write about 40 billion paper checks each year. In addition, for the first time that number recently was eclipsed by the annual number of automated transactions involving checking accounts. Checking account transactions are such a widespread part of our lives that consumers of banking services are well advised to become acquainted with major changes affecting banking laws. Federal legislation called the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, or “Check 21” for short, went into effect on October 28, 2004. This is part of the Federal Reserve Board.

Check 21 will allow financial institutions to process “substitute” checks–high-quality paper reproductions created from electronic images of both sides of an original check. In time, check processing will be faster, and this is where there will be ramifications for check writers and depositors.

Many celebrities live in Southern California and attend the Oscar ceremony. Below is an article about a different “Oscar” but one as famous. Our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP would be pleased to offer you a complimentary and confidential consultation on estate planning or family law. Please feel free to call or e mail our law firm.

Nineteenth-century writer Oscar Wilde had not yet produced the works for which he is best known when he came to the United States in 1882 for a lecture tour to promote a touring opera. He clearly was a celebrity in the making, however, and that is what brought him to the attention of Napolean Sarony. Sarony was making a name for himself, and lots of money, in the still emerging field of photography. He took photographs of the rich and famous, to whom he paid large sums in return for the exclusive right to distribute the photographs.

Wilde posed for 27 pictures taken by Sarony. When the most famous of these was used in an advertisement without Sarony’s permission, he sued. The defendant was a lithographer who was said to have reproduced many thousands of copies of the image. Sarony alleged a violation of his copyright in the photograph. The defense was that Congress had the power to protect authors’ writings, but not authors’ photographs, which were described as mere reproductions of nature created by the operator of a machine.

In San Diego, there are many independent insurance agents. The Department of Consumer Affairs can be contacted for the status of many different licenses. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP is pleased to offer you a complimentary and confidential consultation in the areas of estate planning and family law. Please feel free to e mail our office.

Richard was an independent insurance agent who sold policies for a major insurer on an exclusive basis. After a period in which there was some dissatisfaction and acrimony on both sides of the relationship, the company terminated its agreement with Richard. In subsequent litigation brought by Richard, the parties disagreed as to the reason for the termination. The company’s position was that it had fired Richard for disloyalty. How the company came by its evidence of disloyalty led to a separate element of the ensuing lawsuit.

When other events raised suspicions about Richard, an attorney for the company and a systems expert searched the company’s main file server for any e-mail to or from Richard that caught their attention because of the e-mail headers. There, they claimed to find two messages from Richard to a competing insurance company that essentially asked if the competitor might be interested in acquiring some clients who supposedly were unhappy with Richard’s company.

In San Diego, many employees work part or full time from their residence. The IRS has specific regulations regarding employees and deductions. We recommend you consult with a licensed Certified Public Accountant for any tax issues. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP can assist with estate planning or family law matters. Please feel free to e mail or call us with any questions.

The benefits of working from your home for an employer make telecommuting appealing to many people. In most cases, however, the plus side may be confined to subjective, hard-to-measure factors. What is it worth to you to avoid rush-hour traffic jams or to wear whatever you want while working? CalTrans can tell you how to avoid the most congested route home.

If you are counting on an income tax benefit in the form of a home office deduction, you should understand that most telecommuters do not meet the demanding requirements for the deduction. Still, you will not know how you stand unless you first know the rules. If you do qualify, worthwhile tax breaks are available, consisting of deductions for such items as property taxes, mortgage interest, and utilities.

In California, corporations are controlled by the Secretary of State. Our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP can represent you in the formation of a corporation as well as making sure that you are complying with all of the rules and regulations so that no personal liability is incurred. Below is an example of what can occur if all policies and procedures are not carefully followed. The San Diego Superior Court is where a case is filed for Court’s to pierce the corporate veil. Please feel free to call or e mail our law firm with any questions on the formation of a corporation.

Generally, business entities such as corporations or limited partnerships are legally separate and distinct from the shareholders and members who compose them. When justice requires it, however, courts have ignored the separation of the business and the individual and have allowed a creditor of the business to satisfy the debt from the assets of an individual closely connected to the business. This concept is known as “piercing the corporate veil.” A variation on the idea, called reverse piercing of the corporate veil, allows someone to reach the assets of the business entity to satisfy a claim or judgment obtained against a corporate insider. In both instances, a court disregards the normal protections given to a business structure in order to prevent abuses of that structure.

Neither type of “piercing” is done lightly. There must be such a blurring of the lines between a business and an individual that the separate personalities of the two no longer exist. Moreover, while a court’s analysis is highly dependent on the facts of each case, typically the party seeking to disregard the distinction between a business and an individual associated with it must show that the individual controlled or used the business so as to evade a personal obligation, perpetrate a fraud or a crime, commit an injustice, or gain an unfair advantage.

In California, there are many developments. The below was not tried in the San Diego County Superior Court and is used for illustrative purposes only. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP would be pleased to offer you a complimentary and confidential consultation. Please feel free to e mail or call our office.

Developers bought 12 acres in a hilly, rural area, with plans to build homes on the property. Because surface water pooled on a large central part of the land after heavy rains, the owners channeled the excess water into a roadside ditch. The roadside ditch was connected to a series of waterways that eventually reached a river eight miles away.

The developers’ plan hit a major snag when they were sued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps contended that the roadside ditch was a waterway of the United States that fell under the protection of the Clean Water Act and the jurisdiction of the Corps. With that premise, the developers first needed a permit from the Corps before digging the drainage ditch on their property.

In San Diego, we have many major hospitals including Scripps Clinic, Sharp, Pomeraod and others. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP does not endorse or support any medical institution.

Margaret worked in a clerical position for a hospital. During the first three years of her employment, she was disciplined several times for unexcused absences, and she risked termination if her absenteeism continued. Then, Margaret slipped and fell while at work, fracturing her elbow and ankle and aggravating an existing wrist condition. Over the next 10-day period, she worked only one complete workday. Margaret missed parts of the remaining workdays because she had medical appointments, or was not feeling well, or both.

The hospital, seeing these absences as the straw that broke the camel’s back, fired Margaret for excessive absenteeism. Margaret sued her ex-employer, contending that her absences after her fall were protected leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). A federal court ruled that the hospital was free to fire Margaret without running afoul of the FMLA.

Many San Diego residents received unsolicited offers from credit card companies. Legitimate lenders include San Diego County Credit Union Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, American Express, Discover, Visa, Mastercard and many other lenders. Have you ever received an unsolicited offer from the above lenders or any other lender?

Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP does not endorse any of these lenders and uses them for illustrative purposes. Our law firm does not represent any of these companies. At our firm, we want you to have information to make an informed and intelligent decision regarding your legal issues. If your goal is to stop these offers, below is information on how to assist in obtaining this goal.

If you want to stop the flow of unsolicited credit-card offers, there is a way. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers have the right to stop credit bureaus from providing their names and addresses for marketing lists.

In San Diego, we follow the laws from the State of California and the United States. The below example is from New York. With PC AnyWhere and other services, it is possible to work at home with the same programs as at work. There can be, however, security issues and at our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP we do not use telecommuting and all of our staff works in the office. This issue of unemployment, however, is not one unique to New York and in San Diego this is the EDD.

Maxine worked in New York for a financial information services provider. When she moved to Florida, her employer agreed to allow her to telecommute. Maxine was responsible for the same tasks that she had handled in New York, only now from her laptop in Florida she logged onto her employer’s mainframe computer each workday.

Two years into the telecommuting arrangement, Maxine’s company decided to end it. When she turned down an offer to return to New York, Maxine was without a job. She was denied unemployment benefits in Florida following a ruling that she had voluntarily quit her job without good cause. However, the Florida agency advised Maxine that she might be eligible to receive unemployment benefits in New York.

While San Diego residents live in San Diego County in California, both State and Federal Taxes are collected. The Franchise Tax Board is the taxing agency for San Diego in California and the Internal Revenue Service is the taxing agency for San Diego for the United States. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP are not Certified Public Accountants and do not prepare tax returns for clients. We can, however, discuss estate planning strategies. Please feel free to e mail or call us for a complimentary consultation.

On May 28, 2003, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 became law. Much of this federal tax law applies only to the years 2003 and 2004, after which provisions in the 2001 Tax Act will again become effective. Nonetheless, the Act contains some significant changes for individuals as well as businesses.

The child tax credit increases from $600 to $1,000, which is an acceleration of a scheduled phase-in that was to have occurred between 2005 and 2010. In 2005, the credit will fall to $700, but will then gradually rise to $1,000 again by 2010 by virtue of the 2001 Act.