As the deadline to pay real estate taxes for the first half of 2013 rapidly approaches, property owners may suddenly question the County’s valuation of their property. Why is valuation important? Because a property’s valuation is a significant factor relative to determining the real estate taxes associated with that property. Disagree with the County’s valuation? You may wish to consider whether filing a Complaint Against the Valuation of Property (also known as a real estate tax appeal or real estate tax complaint) makes sense for you and your property. There are several critical points to consider before filing a tax …
Payroll Reporting in Asset Acquisitions: Revenue Procedure 2004-53
With the flurry of activity that occurs during an asset purchase transaction, it is not uncommon to overlook the details involved with coordinating the payroll reporting for employees that are acquired or hired by the purchaser. As with most issues in an asset purchase transaction, it is preferable for the parties to address the issue directly in the asset purchase agreement. Planning ahead reduces the chances for missed filing deadlines and associated penalties and interest. Internal Revenue Service Revenue Procedure 2004-53 provides the two methods by which a predecessor (seller) and successor (buyer) employer can report payroll in the year …
Fleischauer testifies before Ohio House Judiciary Committee
Employment attorney Marc Fleischauer testified before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee on January 22, 2014, regarding the impact and legal history of HB 376, the proposed Ohio Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The bill purports to set uniform standards by which Ohio courts would evaluate governmental actions that burden individual religious freedoms. Several states are adopting such standards, in accordance with the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997). The Flores case held that similar standards under a similar federal statute could not be imposed on the states, absent state legislative action. Mr. …
Blankenship co-authors article for Dayton Bar Briefs
Coolidge Wall attorney Amy Blankenship and Dawn Frick of Surdyk, Dowd & Turner recently co-authored an article entitled The Techno-Savvy Deposition, which was featured in the December 2013 issue of the Dayton Bar Briefs. Ms. Frick and Ms. Blankenship are the Chair and Co-Chair, respectively, of the Civil Trial Practice Group of the Dayton Bar Association. To view the article, click here: Techno-Savvy Deposition.
What happens to our digital property when we die?
As is often the case, sometimes it takes a while for the law to catch up with society’s technological advances. Since the Internet is invisible, most people forget that their intangible digital assets are just as real as their tangible personal property. Currently, there are an estimated thirty million Facebook accounts that belong to people who are deceased. According to McAfee, in 2011 American consumers valued their digital assets, including online gaming, photos, music, client lists, bank accounts and bill-paying accounts at an average of $55,000 per person. And yet, few people plan for what will happen to those digital …
Sixth Circuit Expands Damages in ERISA Case
In December the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of North America. Rochow, the president of a company, began experiencing short- term memory loss and other symptoms of illness in 2001 which led to him being demoted. The symptoms continued to interfere with his performance and he was forced to resign in 2002. Rochow filed a claim for long-term disability benefits and the Life Insurance Company of North America (“LINA”) denied his claim and three appeals. Finally, Rochow filed a complaint in court against LINA and stated two claims under ERISA: one …
Arbitration, Should it be the New Litigation?
In 2013, the federal courts decided several cases that upheld arbitration clauses in commercial and employment contracts. These courts further upheld arbitration clauses that require individual as opposed to class action arbitration. Some dissenting United States Supreme Court Justices wrote that it may no longer be economically feasible for individuals to take on big corporations in arbitration. While the use of arbitration clauses is likely on the rise as a result of these decisions, the process is not without its problems. The advocacy group, Public Citizen, questions the cost efficiency of arbitration, and notes court costs are generally lower than …
In the digital age, justice never takes a holiday…
Even when the courthouse is closed on the weekends and holidays, the wheels of justice are still turning. The Montgomery County, Ohio Clerk of Courts, in keeping with Dayton’s rich history of technological innovation, has an extensive electronic filing system that allows attorneys (and judges) to file documents 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from virtually anywhere on the planet that has a secure internet connection. Each electronically filed document receives an electronic stamp that includes the date and time it was filed. With a keystroke, a judge signs an electronic document “via a digitalized image of his …
Advanced Directives: Something to Think About
With a legacy of more than 165 years of service to clients in Dayton, throughout Ohio, and beyond, we understand the importance of time. You should know the right time to create or sell a business, the right time to grow your assets and the right time to decide where those assets should go when you are no longer able to take care of them yourself. Estate planning is an essential process to care for yourself, your loved ones and the wealth you have built and nurtured over a lifetime. The preparation of advanced directives is a key aspect of …
Supreme Court’s GPS Constitutional Privacy Ruling Could Impact Private Employers
In U.S. v. Jones, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment (protecting a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy and against unreasonable search and seizure) was violated when law enforcement inserted a Global Positioning System (or GPS) device in a vehicle, without a valid warrant, and tracked the vehicle’s every move on public streets for a month. Although Jones is a criminal case involving the U.S. Constitution which prohibits unreasonable searches by government actors, the decision may have a ripple effect on private employers who use GPS and other tracking devices to monitor employees’ whereabouts. Currently, only two states, …