San Diego Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

In San Diego, many business’ and individuals use a facsimile machine. This has become an essential part of the San Diego working community and telephone providers such as AT&T and Sprint can provide this service as well as other carriers. Our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP does not endorse any specific carrier.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits any person within the United States from using a telephone facsimile machine to send an unsolicited advertisement to a person with whom the sender does not have an existing business relationship. A prior business relationship will be treated as consent to a faxed advertisement unless the recipient withdraws that consent.

Court remedies under the TCPA should command the attention of any company giving thought to a fax advertising blitz directed at potential customers. A person receiving an unsolicited fax may bring an action to prohibit violations of the TCPA and for actual damages, or statutory damages of $500 per violation. For a willful or knowing violation, a court has the discretion to triple the amount of statutory damages. Actual damages may amount to cents per page and the costs of tied-up telephone lines. Statutory damages, however, could reach into the millions for a “blast-faxed” advertising campaign with hundreds or thousands of faxes, with each transmission considered a separate violation.

In San Diego, there are thousands of employers and employees. It is important to remember that federal law supersedes state law. There are also many state laws. For your convenience, we have provided links to the United States Department of Labor and the California Department of Labor.

The combined effects of an aging population and a sluggish economy have led to an increase in lawsuits alleging age bias in the workplace. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination in the employment of persons who are at least 40 years old. The ADEA covers most private employers of 20 or more persons. It forbids age discrimination in advertising for employment, hiring, compensation, discharges, and other terms or conditions of employment. Retaliation against a person who opposes a practice made unlawful by the ADEA or who participates in a proceeding brought under the ADEA is a separate violation.

The ADEA takes into account that sometimes there is a correlation between age and the ability to fulfill the requirements of a job, and that even older workers must comply with employers’ rules and requirements that have nothing to do with age. An employer does not violate the ADEA if it takes an otherwise prohibited action where age is a “bona fide occupational qualification” necessary to the operation of a particular business. Nor is it a violation to differentiate among employees based on reasonable factors other than age or to fire or discipline an employee for good cause.

In San Diego, many civil lawsuits are filed in the San Diego Superior Court. Some are actions for defamation. There are many search engines such as Google, Yahoo and others which are internet service providers. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP cautions you regarding posting defamatory comments on any internet [or non internet] communication. Doing so can expose you to civil liability. Please feel free to e mail us with any questions.

The free-wheeling give and take in various online forums is leading to more defamation claims by individuals and businesses. Given that so many online speakers are anonymous, however, Internet service providers sometimes become trapped between the speaker and his offended subject. Before the alleged victim can seek redress, the perpetrator must be identified, and providers often resist divulging such information. Courts are still in the early stages of setting rules for these legal contests.

An electronics company brought an action in California against an anonymous individual who allegedly had trashed the company’s publicly traded stock on an Internet message board. Among other comments, the secretive critic had said that the company produced “low tech crap” and that its president was manipulating stock prices. In its efforts to identify the speaker, the company discovered that his online name was registered with a service provider with headquarters in Virginia.

In San Diego, many residents are home owners. In San Diego, as well, most home owners have a mortgage and insurance policy. Many companies such as Farmers and State Farm and Geico may have home owner insurance policies. Our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP does not endorse or represent any of these companies and the links are placed for information purposes only. If you have any questions, please feel free to e mail our office.

Reading and understanding all of the language in a homeowners’ insurance policy are not formalities to be skipped over while searching for the signature line. As with any contract, the fine print can have real and lasting consequences, and its contents will control over any contradictory verbal assurances. Taking the time to understand the terms of their policies might have headed off bad outcomes for homeowners in two recent cases.

Business Purposes Exclusion

In San Diego, there are thousands of employers. It is important to keep current with the laws regarding the Department of Labor. Our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation does not practice in labor law however we can refer you to the San Diego County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service which has a panel of qualified employment and labor law attorneys. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us by e mail or phone.

The U.S. Department of Labor has published a guidebook to provide businesses with general information on the laws and regulations that the Department enforces. The guidebook describes the statutes most commonly applicable to businesses and explains how to obtain assistance from the Department for complying with them.

The authority of the Department of Labor extends to many statutes, but the following are several that affect most employers: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA); Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

In San Diego, the laws of the State of California apply as well as the Federal law. It is important to understand the correlation between the two. If you have any questions regarding this, please e mail our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation.

The Federal Arbitration Act requires courts to enforce clauses in commercial contracts that require arbitration of disputes. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce are exempt from the Act. For other types of workers, the effect of the Supreme Court ruling was to reaffirm the enforceability of mandatory arbitration provisions in agreements entered into by workers engaged in interstate commerce.

Interstate Commerce Requirement

In San Diego, there are many casinos. The below example happened in Las Vegas. Local casinos also may offer lines of credit or other incentives to gamble. In San Diego County alone, the casinos include Sycuan, Barona, Viejas, Harrahs and many others. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation offers a complimentary consultation by phone or e mail. Our law firm does not endorse, represent or support any of the casinos listed above and these are used for illustrative purposes only and were not the casino in the below example and no allegations regarding the misconduct in the below case is attributed to these casinos.

Steven was a multimillionaire businessman with a fondness for high-stakes gambling. His reputation as a high roller led a Las Vegas resort to recruit him to gamble at the grand opening of its new casino. The enticement from the casino was a $2 million line of credit.

When Steven was just getting warmed up in what figured to be a long stretch of gambling, casino officials informed him that he had used up the line of credit, plus several million dollars of his own money. Steven had been gambling not with chips but with a “player card,” and cameras had been recording his betting results. He strongly disputed how much in the red he really was, but the casino made him leave the premises.

In San Diego, there are many banks which issue credit cards. It is very important to review all of the terms and conditions of any credit card offer before and after approval. This is not a San Diego case, however the issue which arises has also arisen for many San Diego residents. Our law firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation offers a complimentary consultation by phone or e mail. If we cannot assist you, we will refer you to the San Diego County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service which can refer a qualifiied attorney in the specific area of law you require.

In a variation on the typical “bait-and-switch” scheme, a bank made a promotional offer of a “no annual fee” credit card, then changed the terms mid-year to require such a fee. A credit card holder sued the bank under the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA). She alleged a violation of the requirement in TILA that an issuer of a credit card disclose the terms of the card accurately and without misleading statements. A federal court allowed the lawsuit to continue.

Both the advertisement soliciting customers for the credit card and the card holder agreement stated that no annual fee would be charged, but the agreement also stated more generally that the bank had the right to change any of the terms at any time. The bank maintained that the latter provision gave it the right to impose an annual fee whenever it wanted.

In San Diego, there are many companies competing for business. Attorney marketing and advertising are regulated by the State Bar of California. Attorneys also have to comply with the federal law as below. Our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation is located in San Diego, California and is a Limited Liability Partnership registered with the State Bar. If you have any legal questions, please feel free to call or e mail us.

The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits advertising that is untruthful, deceptive, or unfair, and it requires advertisers to have evidence to back up their claims. There are also other federal laws applicable to advertisements for specific types of products and state laws that apply to ads running in particular states.

Unfairness