A priest from St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Rockledge was arrested in September for allegedly stealing nearly $90,000 from an elderly widowed parishioner.
The case exemplifies a growing problem in Florida and nationwide: financial exploitation of elders by those in relationships of trust.
Louis J. Pearlman—Ponzi scheme mastermind, disgraced boy band manager, and all around con-man—passed away in August while serving a federal prison sentence in Miami, Florida.
The Orlando resident was a Svengali-like businessman who launched, and fraudulently cashed in on, the careers of the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and a host of lesser-known pop acts.
Bankruptcy proceedings can result in long-term consequences for the debtor, both positive and negative, and it should be of little surprise that such cases can feature complexities that are best handled by a skilled and experienced legal team.
One such issue is the institution of adversary proceedings. Adversary proceedings are a secondary lawsuit within the primary bankruptcy case. An adversary proceeding is governed by Part VII of the Bankruptcy Rules, which mirrors in many respects the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Water damage in your home is not only a nuisance; it can cause significant financial hardship and emotional distress. When you are a member of a condo or homeowners’ association, navigating the nuances of your association’s insurance coverage can add to your troubles.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but there are several steps you can take to ensure that the situation is properly resolved. Acting promptly can also help you recover any financial losses sustained by the damage.
Lawyers are required to act in their clients’ best interests, a responsibility known as a fiduciary duty. When you are faced with a situation that forces you to hire a lawyer, you are already in a vulnerable position, and it is your attorneys’ responsibility to represent you or your business to the very best of their ability.
In many industries, victims of fraud and misconduct have the option of filing a lawsuit and seeking a just resolution from a judge and jury. For many investors and securities industry employees, however, the available legal options are far more limited. For them, FINRA arbitration is mandatory.
Providing a loan is never without risk, which is why promissory notes are so important for lenders.
Though promissory notes are not as formal as official loan contracts, they should clarify the terms of the loan and the applicable consequences in the event of delayed payment or failure to pay.
They are also legally binding, which is vital when the repayment process doesn’t go as planned.
Commercial real estate transactions are often complicated and can involve many moving parts, which makes commission disputes a challenge. Even when a listing agreement is written out in detail, legal disputes can arise during or after the sale of a property.
The confusion around procuring cause is a common source of disputes in real estate sales, and commercial brokers can easily find themselves embroiled in contentious litigation as a result.
On May 26th, 2016, the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago made an important decision regarding the arbitration agreements many companies require employees to sign.
The case involved Epic Systems, a Wisconsin company whose arbitration agreement prohibited employees from joining class action lawsuits against the company or going to court against the company at all.
A recent study conducted by BTI Consulting Group revealed that rates for top-earning attorneys have reached an all-time high of $2,000 per hour. As jaw-dropping as that number may be, almost equally astounding was the study’s finding that the average hourly rate companies paid for outside counsel was $982 per hour.
