While most of the US media is focused on various bills that have been hung up in congress over the last year, a bill providing additional tax relief to family farmers through Chapter 12 bankruptcy, has not received much attention. On October 26, 2017, President Trump signed the Family Farmer Bankruptcy Clarification Act of 2017 (H.R. 2266) into law. This new law expands the tax relief granted to family farmers in 2005, and legislatively overturns the narrow interpretation of the Supreme Court of that 2005 act. The legislation in 2005 was intended to give tax relief to family farmers in …
Wilberding Establishes Endowed Prize for Law Review at University of Dayton
Merle Wilberding, long-time Coolidge Wall attorney, has established an endowment to create the Susan Newhart Elliott Award for Excellence in Legal Scholarship fund to recruit legal scholars to write for the University of Dayton Law Review. Wilberding also established a trust last year to support the law review in perpetuity. “These gifts honor Susan’s longstanding service and contributions to legal scholarship, and the law review, for which I have a great deal of respect and admiration and is close to my heart,” said Wilberding who wrote the law review’s first article, “Banks and the Equal Pay Act, 1 U. Dayton …
Congressman Turner Introduces Bill to Rename Dayton’s Federal Building
At a press conference on November 17, 2017, Congressman Mike Turner announced that he had just introduced a bill in Congress to name the federal building in Dayton the “Walter H. Rice Courthouse,” to be named after Judge Walter H. Rice, long-time United States District Court Judge and long-time civic leader in the Dayton community. The nomination was based on a recommendation by a Citizens Committee appointed by Mike Turner and chaired by Merle Wilberding from Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A. The committee also included Amanda Wright Lane (Wright Brothers Family), Idotha “Bootsie” Neal (former Dayton City Commissioner), Debbie Lieberman (Montgomery …
Merle Wilberding Meets the Chief Justice of the United States
Congressman Mike Turner invited Merle Wilberding as his guest at the Congressional Dialogues at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, October 24, 2017. These educational conversations for a limited number of Senators and Members of Congress are hosted by David Rubenstein, the Chairman of the Board of the Library of Congress. At this convocation, David Rubenstein interviewed John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, followed by a Q&A session. During the evening, Merle Wilberding, long time attorney at Coolidge Wall, had the opportunity to meet the Chief Justice, and they posed for this photograph.
IRS Announces 2018 Pension Plan Limitations
On October 19, 2017 the IRS announced cost-of-living adjustments for 2018 retirement plan contributions. For 2018, the amounts that individuals will be able to contribute to retirement plans will increase from $18,000 to $18,500. However, the catch-up contribution limit for employees age 50 and over will remain unchanged at $6,000. This chart summarizes the limitations for 2018: Contribution Limits 2018 2017 Elective Deferral Limit – 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) Plans $18,500 $18,000 Catch-Up Contribution Limit $ 6,000 $ 6,000 Elective Deferral Limit – SIMPLE Retirement Plan $12,500 $12,500 Catch-Up Contribution Limit – SIMPLE Retirement Plan $ 3,000 $ …
Changes to Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law
On June 30, 2017, Gov. John Kasich signed H.B. 27 into law, not only funding the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), but also enacting a number of substantive changes. The new law became effective September 29, 2017. Below are some of the important substantive changes that are now law: Statute of limitations for filing a claim: For claims involving injuries or deaths occurring on or after September 29, 2017, the claimant must file the claim one year from the date of injury or the date of death. Prior to this change, claimants had two years to file their claim. …
Lu Ann Stanley Featured Barrister of the Month in Dayton Bar Briefs
Coolidge Wall attorney Lu Ann Stanley is the featured “Barrister of the Month” in the October 2017 issue of Dayton Bar Briefs, a publication of the Dayton Bar Association. Besides being an experienced Estate Planning and Probate attorney, Lu Ann is a proud wife to Steve and mother to Sam. Her varied interests range from active involvement in community organizations such as The Women’s Board of The Dayton Children’s Hospital and the Wright Memorial Library Board to membership in the Merry Readers Book Club. Lu Ann is an avid reader and lover of Shakespearean works. In fact, each year family …
Federal Judge Strikes Down White-Collar Exemption Rule
A federal judge in Texas has held that the Department of Labor exceeded its authority by substantially raising the minimum salary threshold required for employees under the “white collar” exemptions. In May 2016, the DOL issued regulations that would have more than doubled the minimum annual salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s “white collar” executive, administrative and professional exemptions, from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to $913 per week ($47,476 annually). However, on August 31, 2017, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant struck down that regulation concluding it would “essentially make an employee’s duties, functions, or tasks irrelevant if …
David Pierce Named Best Lawyers® 2018 Litigation-Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Dayton
Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A. is pleased to announce that one of the firm’s attorneys, David P. Pierce, has been named Best Lawyers® 2018 Litigation–Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Dayton. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is honored as “Lawyer of the Year.” “Being a peer-based designation and one that only a singular attorney in Dayton receives in each practice area makes David’s Best Lawyers’ inclusion a special one, and as his colleagues we are proud of his accomplishment,” said J. Stephen Herbert, President of Coolidge Wall. Best Lawyers has become universally regarded …
David Pierce Named Best Lawyers® 2018 Litigation-Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Dayton
Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A. is pleased to announce that one of the firm’s attorneys, David P. Pierce, has been named Best Lawyers® 2018 Litigation–Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Dayton. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is honored as “Lawyer of the Year.” “Being a peer-based designation and one that only a singular attorney in Dayton receives in each practice area makes David’s Best Lawyers’ inclusion a special one, and as his colleagues we are proud of his accomplishment,” said J. Stephen Herbert, President of Coolidge Wall. Best Lawyers has become universally regarded …