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Ten partners of the law firm of Saalfeld Griggs took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge today in order to help raise local awareness for this disease. They did so in support of clients and friends who have been diagnosed with ALS, or passed away from ALS, and to support research for ALS. The Development …
Employees more and more frequently are working after hours. Smartphones, VPNs, and constant pressures to provide good customer service have some employees working a lot of time after hours – and, unfortunately, off the clock. The US Department of Labor announced LinkedIn is paying nearly six million dollars to 359 employees as part of a …
Summer Time and the Living . . . Isn’t Easy When the DOL Visits By Jennifer Paul Late summer means harvest time, but it also can mean unwanted or surprise visits from the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”). In 2012, the DOL found several Marion County farms in violation of wage and other labor violations. Rather …
Taking Off an Old Boot By Business & Taxation Practice Group SAALFELD GRIGGS PC Every taxpayer’s goal is to defer taxes as long as he or she can. Like-kind exchanges under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code are one way to accomplish this. When a taxpayer owns property that is held in a trade …
The 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) recently issued an opinion in which it emphasized the importance for lenders to complete the due diligence process on loan guarantors. In Kelly v. Merrill (In re Merrill), the BAP affirmed a bankruptcy court ruling that a creditor’s judgment against a guarantor was dischargeable in bankruptcy, because the creditors failed …
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the largest fine to date related to a HIPAA data breach. The fine, totaling $4.8 million, was levied against two entities as part of two affiliated entities that had shared patient information. The breach involved a physician inadvertently taking down a firewall that had protected …
The growth of the cider market continues to be recognized in the press, this time with a good article by Harry Esteve at Oregonlive.com: Cider takes off as Oregon’s latest boutique alcohol trend Caleb Williams, one of our attorneys who represents cideries, was fortunate to attend CiderCon 2014 in Chicago earlier this year and nearly 100 cideries from …
The Oregon Court of Appeals recently affirmed that a secured creditor can choose their remedy, such as a forbearance agreement, without waiving their right to priority in the borrower’s collateral. In Davis v. F.W. Financial Services, a lender extended credit to an electrical business and properly perfected its security interest which gave it priority in the …
The Oregon Court of Appeals recently affirmed that when there is a mistake in a deed transferring real property from one party to another, the contract between the two parties, and not the deed, should be used to determine what is actually transferred. In Frontgate Properties, LLC v. James Bennett, et al., Frontgate entered into a …
The Surprising Importance of Proper Beneficiary Designations By Jeff Moore Most of us have some form of a “beneficiary-designation asset,” such as a life insurance policy, an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), a 401(k) or other retirement account, an annuity contract, or any other type of asset that permits the naming of a beneficiary to receive …