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:
Business Owners, learn to use the most popular bookkeeping software ever!
When:
Philadelphia, PA 19139
“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.
The FCC is launching the Small Biz Cyber Planner, an online resource to help small businesses create customized cybersecurity plans. The tool willhelp small businesses become cyber secure. The free online tool is available at FCC.gov/cyberplanner.
An artist’s promises on Twitter to pay $1mm for returning his missing laptop. A stranger returns the laptop. Does the artist have to pay the stranger $1mm? In Pennsylvania, probably yes.
Artist Ryan Leslie lost his laptop while on tour in Germany. This is the tweet : “I’m absolutely continuing my Euro tour plus raised the reward for my intellectual property to $1mm. Click to watch: http://on.fb.me/bCBnrM””. Does this 160-character statement make a contract? Would a reasonable person read this tweet, and believe all she has to do is find the laptop and she will become a millionaire? Well, Armin Augstein has filed a lawsuit in New York claiming that Leslie’s tweet is a binding contract.
While New York law will determine the lawsuit’s outcome, let’s imagine what would happen if Augstein sued Leslie in Pennsylvania. The contract in dispute is called a unilateral contract; it means that Leslie made a promise and all that is requried to convert this promise into a contract is that the other party must merely act—or in this case—find the laptop. Ordinarily, a contract requries two parties to commuincate with each other. (this is called a bilateral contract). If this situation were a bilateral contract, Leslie would make an offer by tweet; someone would accept his offer by tweet, and a contract is born.
However, a unilateral contract is different. The person accepting the offer does not have to communicate his/her acceptance. The person accepts the contract by acting.1 The law will examine the tweet for “some language of commitment or some invitation to take further action without further communication.”2 The threshold question is: would a reasonable person read the tweet and understand that she would receive one million dollars if, without further communication with Leslie, she found the laptop. Without this language, the law may find this tweet was merely an advertisement or invitation to begin negotiations. So, in short, if Leslie were sued in Pennsylvania, he may lose a million dollars. My best advice to Leslie: settle early before your legal bill also reaches a million dollars.
There, of course, is a separate issue of whether Leslie is morally or ethically responsible for paying the promised million. I believe the answer is yes. I think Leslie is a sophisticated public figure, and New York Law School agrees with me. He understands the power of Twitter and the media. He is a Harvard-graduate at the age of 19 and a Grammy-award nominee. He should have known better. Thus, the court should hold him accountable for the promises he makes in public.
Sharmil McKee
sm@mckeeoffice.com
Business Attorney
Philadelphia, PA
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1. Bauer v. Pottsville Area Emergency Med. Serv., Inc., 758 A. 2d 1265 (Pa. Super. 2000).
2. Bourke v. Kazaras, 746 A.2d 642, 644 (Pa. Super. 2000).
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
Hurricane Irene has passed through the U.S. Eastern coast yesterdat. In her wake, she leaves behind thousands with flooded homes and businesses. So, how can you, as a business owner, get back on your feet after a disaster? The federal government offers the following resources:
McKee Law Office | Business Lawyers | Philadelphia, Pa | http://blog.mckeeoffice.com
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
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
