This article offers several useful points to consider when drafting a contract to build a LEED project. So far there have been 13 lawsuits in the U.S. about LEED buildings. The developer, in a recent one, is seeking $1.3 million in damages from the architect because the building failed LEED certification. Read the article here:
“For The Small Business Owner“ on Monday, December 12, 2011 from 11: 00 am to 1:30 pm.
Small business owners, beside spending enormous time on your business life, here is an opportunity for you to step back and take time for you an your personal financial life -to make sure you know how to properly assess it. Presented by SCORE Philadelphia. Click here for more information.
Opportunity to win 10K for Sustainability efforts! Good Magazine and UPS recognize the importance of sustainability practices in the business sector and are even willing to pay for it. Seriously. With the launch of the Green Side of Business program, they are looking for help one company take the first steps towards becoming a more sustainable, environmentally-sound business. Click here to learn more about official rules of entry. Deadline Tuesday, December 6, 2011.
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations to sue for breach of contract is 4 years. But a new case was decided by the Superior Court that may extend your time to sue by 20 years.1.
How? Merely add the word “seal” next to the signature, and your contract becomes a Sealed Instrument. Under Pennslvania statute, a party must bring a lawsuit for breach of a sealed contact within 20 years.2.
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1. Osprey Portfolio v. Izett No. 513 EDA 2011 (November 2011).
2. 42 Pa. C.S. 5529(b)(1).
Starbucks is teaming up with a Philly needed nonprofit to raise funding for a small business lending program http://ow.ly/1yixVh
This website compiles a brief lists of contests for small businesses. Some of the prizes include free marketing and $15,000 in cash. Have fun and good luck. http://t.co/E9vMIzI9
McKee Law Office is hiring! We are a business law firm servicing small and mid-sized companies in Philadelphia. We help clients resolve contract disputes through settlement, litigation, and bankruptcy. Now, I am looking for a marketing intern to expand our brand-recognition throughout Philadelphia.
About the Position
The position is part-time; I estimate you will work about 10-15 hours a week.
1. You will draft at least 3 blog entries every week covering business and legal news in Pennsylvania. The entries will also cover celebrities involved in legal challenges throughout the country. We use WordPress and host it privately.
2. You will post on Facebook and Twitter about anything that I am doing in my practice (putting on seminar, attending seminar, etc).
3. You will coordinate a monthly seminar in my office; you will invite potential referral sources to a business law topic of interest.
4. You will record the seminar, edit the audio, and then post as podcast or burn to CD and have her distribute to referral sources.
5. You will contact area organizations and arrange for me to speak at their next meeting.
6. You will set up lunch appointments with current referral sources and potential referral sources.
7. Video any speaking that I do and post on YouTube and as video blog entries.
8. You will periodically drop boxes of pastries off in mornings to local businesses and other referral sources, along with info packets of what I do and how I can help them. You will get the name of the contact person to add to the invite list for the monthly seminars and to schedule lunch with me.
9. Put a business resources group together and coordinate the dates and location of the meetings of members.
About You
You are articulate and intelligent. You are detailed- and task-oriented. You are organized and can follow-up with contacts and manage deadlines. You are engaging and charismatic. You know how to draw people to you and how to establish connections with people. You enjoy your work and strive to perfect your craft. You are courageous; you are willing to contact strangers and introduce yourself. You do not need experience in the legal field. While you do not need marketing experience, you have experience with Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
About Us
I started McKee Law Office almost 7 years ago with one client. Now, we have over 200 clients. The team is made up of two attorneys and one paralegal. The office is located in the heart of Mount Airy, Philadelphia, though every one works from the comfort of their home through our virtual office.
How to Apply
If you are interested, please draft a sample one-day, 4-hour, schedule of the tasks you would complete if you worked for us. Email the schedule, your resume and cover letter with contact information to Sharmil McKee at sm@mckeeoffice.com.
Good luck.
The player lockout is not the only issue that the NFL must deal with this week. Last week, 75 former NFL players sued the organization claiming that the NFL intentionally concealed and failed to warn the players about potential brain injuries resulting from game-related concussions. The players are suing for fraud, negligence, and failure to warn. The players claim that the NFL knew about the link between game-playing and brain injuries since 1920′s but concealed this knowledge until June 2010.
This story leads me to ask, if a football field poses such a dangerous workplace, as suggested by this lawsuit, then why hasn’t OSHA issued a citation? In 2006, OSHA
answered that question by stating that injuries to professional players are not disproportionately high.
While an OSHA violation is not essential to proving the players’ proposition, it would help establish that the league breached its duty to warn about the dangerous work environment.
Of course, reader, you are asking does OSHA protect professional football players? Yes, assuming that the agency views the player as an employee as opposed to an independent contractor.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created by congress in 1979 to help employers reduce workplace injuries, illness, and death. The
OSH Act covers private employers and their employees either directly through federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state program. State programs must meet or exceed federal OSHA standards for workplace safety and health. OSHA does not regulate the self-employed.
Employers who do not comply with the OSH Act are subject to civil and criminal penalties until they cure the dangerous condition. OSHA may impose civil penalties of up to $70,000.00. An employer who is convicted in a criminal proceedings of a willful violation may face up to six months imprisonment and fines up to $250,000.00 (or $500,000.00 if the employer is a corporation). (See 29 U.S.C. § 666.) An OSHA citation does not create a private right to sue or bring a cause of action against the employer. (See Elliott v. S.D. Warren Co., 134 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir. 1998)).
Even though OSHA does not authorize an employee to sue an employer for violations, an employee can sue an employer for failure to warn about occupational hazards. In Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court in 1998, ruled that an employer has a duty to communicate the dangers of the job duties to its employees, if such dangers had been known by employer and generally within the industry. (See Phillips v. A-Best Products, Co., 542 Pa. 124 (1998)). And generally Pennsylvania does not recognize the defense of a sophisticated user. Under this defense, an employer could claim that the employee is a sophisticated user and thus is aware of the dangers involved in the assignment. However, Pennsylvania courts have prohibited the application of that defense.
What can you, as a business owner, learn from this case? If you have employees, then you have a duty to warn your employees about potentially dangerous jobs or work conditions. Under OSHA, you also have a duty to mitigate such dangers. The good news is that OSHA helps employers identify these risks and develop methods to mitigate these risks. For help, visit OSHA’s website for more information. OSHA offers free on-site consultations to small businesses.
Do you have a question about your legal obligations as an employer? Then ask a lawyer. Call McKee Law Office for a free consultation at 215-242-5260.
Sharmil McKee
Business Attorney
Philadelphia, Pa
A French court awarded Spike Lee $46 million for a breach of contract. In 2007, Lee and TF1 Droits Audiovisuels executed a contract where TF1 agreed to distribute Lee’s film “Miracle at St. Anna” worldwide, except in the U.S., Canada, and Italy. When TF1 failed to honor it’s promises, Lee sued. Even though TF1 claimed that they could not distribute the film because Lee failed to deliver the film, the court did not agree. In the end, the court ruled that TF1 was at fault for breaching the agreement,
and ordered TF1 to pay $46 million in Euros to the film’s producers.
Lee will collect $1.5 million of the judgment.
The film is about the story of four black American soldiers who get trapped in an Italian village during WWII. The movie is based on a book written by James McBride, which tells the untold story of African American’s contributions in WWII. In the U.S., the film grossed $7 million but cost $45 million to make.
This award is a relief for Lee because reportedly, he is having trouble
finding financing to produce Inside Man 2.
What can you, as a business owner, learn from Lee’s lawsuit? When deciding to execute an agreement, examine contract laws from other countries. In the U.S., no state allows recovery for moral prejudice.* However, in France, this is a valid cause of action.
*I am only licensed in Pennsylvania, so I can only attest to Pennsylvania’s contract law. Nevertheless, I have colleagues in other jurisdictions; I have never heard of a claim for moral violations. If I am wrong, please post a comment.
Has someone breached or violated your agreement? Call us for a free
consultation. Sharmil McKee @ 215-242-5260.
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Sharmil McKee
Business Attorney
Philadelphia, PA
What happens if you demand that a website take down some copyright material, but it turns out that you don’t actually own the material? Well, Summit Entertainment may soon find out. Summit distributes the Twilight series. They successful got songwriter Matt Heart’s song “Eternal Knight” kicked off YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon, claiming the song improperly copied the Twilight intellectual property. This story is interesting because Heart produced the song before the Twilight movie came out. The story is also interesting because Summit is only claiming that Heart violated Twilight’s trademark; however, You Tube, Amazon, and iTunes’ ‘take down’ procedure only refers to copyright infringement. In this case, Heart’s CD cover states “inspired by Twilight”. This only appears to violate Summit’s trademark, not their copyright. (What is the difference between trademarks and copyrights)
So, Heart believes that Summit misled YouTube, Amazon, and iTunes about the extent of their intellectual property rights; thus he is suing Summit for $75,000. Summit is very aggressive about protecting its property; some retailers have filed lawsuits to protect themselves from Summit.
Summit should be concerned. If someone demands that a website takes down infringing material, but misrepresents the extent of their ownership or rights, under the Copyright Law, the innocent party is entitled to cost and attorney fees.
Sharmil McKee
Business Lawyer
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
blog@mckeeoffice.com
