Category Archives: Court Rulings

Michigan Court Explains How to Handle Retained Earnings in Divorce Cases

September 7, 2018 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations

Jensen v. Jensen, 2018 Mich. App. LEXIS 40 (Jan. 9, 2018) This Michigan divorce case involving an S corporation that was the owner’s separate property raised a number of valuation-related questions, including an issue of first impression: Are the earnings a closely held company retains during the marriage includable in the marital estate, such that  Continue Reading »

Judicial Appraisal Lacks Valuation Evidence and Gets Dinged on Appeal

August 10, 2018 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Lally Orange Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc. v. Sandhu Although both sides in a Florida judicial appraisal action offered expert opinions on the value of a car dealership, the trial court used a valuation whose author and methodology were unknown. In rejecting the lower court’s finding, the appeals court provides a review of the principles applicable  Continue Reading »

Be Careful When Setting Up an ‘English-Only’ Policy

August 6, 2018 | Court Rulings, Uncategorized

When your company’s staff is culturally diverse, it can be tempting to require all employees to only speak English during the workday. You may be thinking it’s easier to promote unity and teamwork when everyone speaks the same language. It may not be legal though. This is a confusing area, and it is one that  Continue Reading »

Move to Exclude Damages Expert at Class Certification Stage Fails

August 3, 2018 | Court Rulings

In re Stericycle Financial expert testimony is critical to class actions, which are their own breed of lawsuits. What is still an unresolved issue is whether courts must perform a full Daubert inquiry at the class certification stage. A contract case illustrates the strategies the parties pursue to achieve or thwart class certification. A number  Continue Reading »

Misunderstanding of Facts Results in Overvaluation of Fuel Supply Rights

July 27, 2018 | Court Rulings, Valuations

r2 Advisors, LLC v. Equitable Oil Purchasing Co. (In re Red Eagle Oil, Inc.) When the distributor of Exxon-branded fuel ran into financial trouble, it agreed to transfer its rights to supply several retail stores to the defendant in exchange for the latter’s assumption of the debtor’s liability to Exxon. After the debtor filed for  Continue Reading »

New ACA Legal Battle Could Affect Individual and Employer Health Coverage

July 20, 2018 | Court Rulings, IRS Regulation

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacting in 2010, has been controversial since the start. The latest legal attack raises the question as to whether insurance carriers will continue to be required to issue coverage with individuals no matter their pre-existing medical conditions, and how much pricing flexibility carriers may have based on a covered groups  Continue Reading »

Sales Tax: Supreme Court Ruling Affects Retailers and Consumers

July 16, 2018 | Court Rulings, Financial Planning, Tax Planning

  A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling paves the way for states such as Maine to require Internet sellers to collect sales tax from consumers — even when they don’t have a physical presence in the state. (South Dakota v. Wayfair, No. 17-494, June 21, 2018) With this ruling, the Court has reversed the long-standing, albeit controversial,  Continue Reading »

Florida Court Rejects Active-Passive Framework in Appreciation Analysis

July 13, 2018 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Bair v. Bair When appraisers deal with the issue of appreciation of nonmarital property, they often think in terms of “active versus passive.” A Florida divorce case shows that the rigid adoption of this framework may result in an erroneous valuation. Cannot pick and choose: The parties fought over the valuation of the marital portion  Continue Reading »

What’s the Status of Gender-Based Pay Discrimination?

July 6, 2018 | Court Rulings, Uncategorized

The widespread belief that pay discrimination is rampant in Maine and across the country, regardless of the underlying facts, is what puts many employers at risk for litigation based on charged of unequal compensation. A recent Pew Research poll found 77% of women agreeing with this statement: “This country needs to continue making changes to give  Continue Reading »

Supreme Court Sides with Employers on Arbitration Agreements

July 5, 2018 | Court Rulings, Uncategorized

The Supreme Court often agrees to rule on issues where individual appeals courts have come to different conclusions, in order to create a uniform national legal standard. This was the situation when the court passed down a 5-4 decision for Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. The question being decided was whether the Federal Arbitration Act  Continue Reading »