Category Archives: Litigation

What Are Punitive Damages

on 11/17/2015 by David Szostek

What Are Punitive Damages You have probably heard the term “punitive damages” in the news, especially in connection with large civil lawsuits. But what exactly are punitive damages? Basically, punitive damages are civil damages intended to punish a party for egregious behavior. This is a stark deviation from the principle behind most court damage awards, …Read More

Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals – Protected Trade Secret?

on 10/27/2015 by David Szostek

Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals – Protected Trade Secret? Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is the use of water, sand, and chemicals to fracture rocks deep in the ground in order to release and collect hydrocarbon products. Fracking is controversial due to its alleged negative environmental impact. One of the key battles between environmental and community groups and …Read More

Electronic Discovery Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

on 10/20/2015 by David Szostek

Electronic Discovery Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure One of the stages of civil litigation in the United States is discovery, which is the pre-trial exchange of information and evidence among the litigating parties. This requires the exchange of all discoverable information, whether in tangible or electronic form. Rules of civil procedure control how …Read More

Piercing the Corporate Veil Basics

on 09/08/2015 by Clayton Jipping

Piercing the Corporate Veil Basics As many of you probably already know, one of the advantages of running a business as a corporation is the ability to limit the liability of its shareholders (owners). Generally speaking, shareholders are only liable for the amount of money they put into the corporation (in other words, their investment). …Read More

Attorney Fees and the American Rule

on 08/25/2015 by Clayton Jipping

Attorneys Fees and the American Rule When litigating in the United States, the general rule is that each party pays for its own attorney’s fees. This is called the American Rule. This means that the losing party does not pay for the winning party’s attorney’s fees. The reasoning behind this rule is that individuals or …Read More

Battle of the Forms

on 08/18/2015 by Clayton Jipping

“Battle of the Forms” Under traditional contract common law, in order for a legal contract to exist, there must be an offer of terms and an acceptance of the exact same terms (referred to as the “mirror image rule”). However, in certain situations, a contract can exist even though the contractual terms made by the …Read More

Written Copyright Assignments Required From Independent Contractors

on 07/28/2015 by David Szostek

Written Copyright Assignments Required From Independent Contractors To obtain copyright assignments from independent contractors who perform work for you (including photographers, web or graphics designers, copyrighters, etc.) this copyright assignment must be in writing to comply with federal copyright law. If you do not obtain a writing from the copyright owner assigning you the copyright, …Read More