Contracts are part of doing business -- you won't be in business long if you don't get a clear idea of what it takes to make a contract valid and legally enforceable. In order to protect yourself and your business, keep the following facts in mind: The basic elements...
When most people heard about the hack into the Equifax database -- one of the top three credit reporting agencies used in the country -- the reaction was widespread shock. It's actually hard to comprehend how many people may be affected since the agency collects...
A little healthy competition never hurt anybody, right? Healthy competition between businesses can actually spur innovation, drive progress, open doors to choices for consumers and create all sorts of opportunities for positive growth. Unfair competition, on the other...
Most people expect their contractors to know what they're doing and to deliver on their promises. When that doesn't happen, it's easy to end up in a lawsuit over a construction defect. If that's a possibility for you right now, there are some basics that you should...
There's a rule in business that applies to almost any situation: When you're in a deep hole, stop digging. If the authorities in the Florida legislature had heeded that advice, they might be done with a problematic lawsuit and a long-overdue bill for a website that...
When investing in commercial property, you need to be particularly careful about zoning regulations -- they can sometimes catch even seasoned buyers off guard. Most towns and cities have their zoning organized into categories -- but never assume that a category that...
You and your best friends have a great idea for a new business and you believe that you have the perfect market -- you've even scraped together the funding to make your dream a reality. What's next? While there are a lot of small steps down the golden road of success,...
Malicious prosecution is something most people think about in terms of criminal charges and out-of-control prosecutors -- but it's also used to describe the actions of private individuals or companies as well. Sometimes, the term is used to describe opportunists who...
In every contract, there's the cold, hard words on the paper that fulfill the legal technicalities -- but there's also the spirit of the contract that's often between the lines. The parties involved generally have an obligation to meet both, especially when the...
There's an old adage that "an oral contract is worth the paper it's written on," but that isn't always true -- and people who underestimate the legalities of a handshake bargain sometimes find out, to their dismay, that they're going to be held to their word. This was...
