[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In a case of first impression, the California Supreme Court ruled that, despite the apparent unconscionability of a developer negotiating an agreement “with itself,” the arbitration provision was nevertheless enforceable in Pinnacle Museum Tower Ass’n v. Pinnacle Market Development, 55 Cal. 4th 223, 282 P.3d 1217, 1221 (2012).[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
R.E.A.C.H. May 2012: Perpetual Lease Options
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]When does a lease grant a tenant the perpetual right to renew? The California Court of Appeal recently dealt with that issue in Ginsberg v. Gamson. It is a cautionary tale for those drafting leases, where the misplacement of a few words can lead to unintended results.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
R.E.A.C.H. February 2012: Mechanic’s Lien Law Revisited
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The California Mechanic’s Lien Laws have changed yet again in material ways. One of those changes is the new requirement that mechanic’s liens must be served upon the owner, with a statutory notice regarding the impact of mechanic’s liens.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
Wage-and-Hour Challenges in Drug Sales
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In the recent movie, “Love and Other Drugs,” the lead character Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) gets a job as a pharmaceuti- cal sales representative (PSR). At a family dinner, Gyllenhaal’s messy, overweight, but very business-savvy brother, played by Josh Gad, explains the appeal of his brother’s job to their parents. As Gad ex- plains to them, PSR positions are the only entry-level jobs in America that can pay “a hundred grand a year.” (And there was no mention of overtime pay in the movie dialogue!)[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
R.E.A.C.H. June 2011: Real Estate Broker Discipline
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]What level of proof is required before a real estate broker can be disciplined for his fraudulent conduct in acting as a broker? And what is the process for agent and broker discipline?[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
“Love and Other Drugs” in Real Life
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In the recent movie “Love and Other Drugs,” the rakish, underachieving lead character Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal), gets a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative (PSR) on his way to a complicated romance with Maggie (Anne Hathaway). At a family dinner, Gyllenhaal’s messy, overweight but very business-savvy brother, played by Broadway’s current darling Josh Gad, explains the appeal of his brother’s job to their parents, played by George Segal and Jill Clayburgh. As Gad explains to them, PSR positions are the only entry-level jobs in America that can pay “a hundred grand a year.” (And there was no mention of overtime pay in the movie dialogue!)[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
Landslide Liability Issues
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]
With all of the recent rain in California, hillsides have been moving, houses slipping, and retaining walls failing. Who is liable for the damage?
[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
IP Update
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]This IP Update highlights a case now pending before the United States Supreme Court concerning patent ownership rights as between inventors, private industry and the government in inventions developed using governmental grants. The outcome of the Court’s ruling in this case may dramatically impact how companies handle, and contractually address, such development in the future.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
R.E.A.C.H. March 2011: Residential Sales – Debt Disclosure
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Can a real estate sales person be held liable for the failure to inform potential buyers that the debt on a property exceeds the proposed sales price?[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More
R.E.A.C.H. January 2011: Landslide Liability Issues
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]With all of the recent rain, hillsides have been moving, houses slipping, and retaining walls failing. Who is liable for the damage?[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”20″][vc_column_text] Read More