Business & Commercial Law
New Jersey Law Blog
Novartis Hit with $1.5M Whistleblower Suit, Avoids Punitive Damages
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
A New Jersey state jury hit Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp with nearly $1.5 million in net damages over a former company executive’s claims that she was fired in retaliation for whistleblowing. The jury in turn rejected the pharma company’s stance that the employee had been properly terminated for violating company policies…. Continue reading
Massachusetts Securities Division Changes the Law Applicable to Investment Advisers Overnight
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
On March 20, 2019, the Massachusetts Securities Division, Enforcement Section (the “Division”) filed a complaint against an investment adviser located in Massachusetts. The complaint alleged that the firm’s two owners and financial professionals “gambled away millions of dollars in client assets through high risk bets on the oil and gas… Continue reading
New Law Bans Non-Disclosure of Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Settlements
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
Confidential settlement agreements reached between employers and employees resolving claims of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment may not be so secret anymore. On March 18, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Senate Bill 121, which amends the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-12 (“NJLAD”), by declaring unlawful… Continue reading
Don’t Gamble with Love, or Confidential Information
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
Despite the fact that family courts are trending towards making divorce filings public records, there are certain documents that should not, and cannot be disclosed. The most important of these are evaluations that are conducted in custody disputes. A California appeals court recently ruled that the Los Angeles attorney representing… Continue reading
Registration Certificate Required for Copyright Infringement Suit
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
On March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court resolved a longstanding split among the circuit courts concerning what exactly the copyright registration prerequisite to filing a copyright lawsuit means – whether an application to register is sufficient or an actual issued registration is required. The Supreme Court chose the… Continue reading
Stock Awards in Divorce Revisited
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
To be or not to be vested—that is the question. Well, at least that was the question considered by a New Jersey appeals court in the recent decision of M.G. v. S.G. Otherwise stated, the question concerned whether a stock award which was issued to an employee prior to a divorce… Continue reading
Protecting Your Brewery, Brew Pub or Distillery’s Trade Secrets, Confidential Information and Customers From Former Employees
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
Your company’s recipes, methodologies and customer base are what distinguish it from the competition. If this information is disclosed to third parties, it could detrimentally hurt your business because a competitor could seemingly replicate the same or similar beverage. It is important that you protect your company’s trade secrets, customer relationship and other confidential information from employees, especially the brew master or distiller, in the event the employment relationship ends. Continue reading
Don’t Call it a Comeback: Toys “R” Us Returning After Bankruptcy?
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
About a year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Toys “R” Us appears to be making a return to the retail market as a national chain. After the former toy retail giant liquidated its business last year, its lenders took control of the company’s intellectual property, which includes the Toys… Continue reading
It’s Not Just About the Alimony – 2019 and the Current Tax Laws
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
Towards the end of 2018, all talk was about the 2018 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and its changes to the treatment of alimony. The deductibility of alimony for payors (and the inclusion of alimony in income for the recipients) ended in 2018. There were rushes to the courthouse in order… Continue reading
Alfonso Ribeiro Denied Copyright for the “Carlton Dance”
Posted in Business & Commercial Law
The United States Copyright Office has denied a copyright submission over the “Carlton dance,” which was a routine first popularized on the hit 90s show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Alfonso Ribeiro, the actor who played Carlton on the show, submitted three copyright applications over his dance routine to the… Continue reading
