Lawrence B. Hunt

May 14, 2013

Web Site Accessibility – A New Basis For Claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, the “ADA”, applies to places of public accommodation.  Until recently courts had consistently dismissed claims that commercial websites were places of public accommodation subject to the Act and thus legally required to be “accessible” to the disabled.

Recently, that has begun to change.  Courts are no longer invariably dismissing such claims.  Large and established businesses such as Target and Netflix have settled ADA claims based on the inaccessibility of … Read more

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Lawrence B Hunt

Mar 20, 2013

A Second Look at the Reduction of Fiduciary Duties in Oregon LLCs

Limited liability companies were created as a new, more flexible form of business entity which would enable its members to exercise their freedom of contract to the fullest permissible limits.  Because they are contractually malleable, the language of the operating agreement organically defining an LLC must be precise and judicious.  In Synectic Ventures I, LLC v. EVI Corp., 353 Or. 62 (2012) the Oregon Supreme Court, reversing an earlier decision by the Court of Appeals, … Read more

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Kevin J. Tillson

Jan 18, 2013

Packing Up and Moving – Don’t Forget to Tell Your Ex

It’s moving day.  You’re moving from Portland to Eugene to start a new job and be closer to your boyfriend of 3 months.  The truck is packed, the kids are in their car seats, your moving checklist is complete, and it’s time to start a new life and a new job in Eugene.  One small problem, you forgot to notify your ex-husband, and father of the kids, that you were moving.  Surely it’s just a … Read more

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Kevin J. Tillson

Jan 4, 2013

Estate Planning and the Fiscal Cliff

Congress rang in the New Year by enacting legislation to save us all from the “fiscal cliff” the country was precariously dangling from – the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012”.    The most important impact the legislation has on estate and gift taxes is that it makes the system that was in place over the past couple of years permanent.

As far as estate and gift tax changes go, there weren’t many made in … Read more

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Kevin J. Tillson

Oct 24, 2012

Family Dynamics and Estate Planning

Understanding a family’s dynamics in estate planning is very important.  Frequently, I have clients that come to me requesting a “simple will”.  For example, a couple in their mid 60s comes to my office for estate planning.  They have three kids all over the age of 30.   They own a primary residence, a vacation property at the beach which has been in the family for two generations that they would like the kids to receive … Read more

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Lawrence B. Hunt

Oct 15, 2012

A Contract Should Say What is Meant

When a contract isn’t clearly written, bad things can happen to the party who wrote it.  At least that’s the cautionary lesson of a recent Oregon Court of Appeals decision: Dial Temporary Help Service, Inc. v. DLF International Seeds, Inc., 252 Or App 376 (2012).

In that case the plaintiff, Dial, wrote a contract for providing DLF with temporary workers.  The contract stated that the temporary workers Dial provided would not be authorized to … Read more

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Kevin J. Tillson

Aug 23, 2012

Liability Issues for LLC Members

When I meet with clients for the first time they usually tell me they want to set up an LLC so that they cannot be sued personally for the company’s business.  However, limited liability does not mean absolute liability.  Members of limited liability companies can be liable for company debts, obligations, and liabilities for a number of reasons.

As a general rule members of a limited liability company are not personally liable for the debts, … Read more

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Heather M. Carr

Jul 31, 2012

Bragging Rights

Our firm has been named the USA Leading Dealmaker for the McCoy Sales Corp./Fluid Connector Products, Inc. merger in Acquisition International’s 2012 M&A Awards.

You can read more about it in their press release here: AI MA Press Release

 … Read more

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Kevin J. Tillson

Jul 12, 2012

Tip Pooling in Oregon

Employers use tip pooling arrangements to distribute tips an employee receives among the employer’s various other employees.  Frequently, employers create tip pooling arrangements where the employer requires the tipped employee, such as a waiter or bartender, to place a portion of tips received into a pool which is then distributed to non-tipped employees, such as dishwashers and cooks.  Some employers even take a portion of these tips for management or to distribute to independent contractors, … Read more

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Lawrence B. Hunt

The Washington Supreme Court Stumbles Over Disclosure of B&O Tax Charges in Sales

A recent Washington Supreme Court case illustrates the extent to which the increasing convolutions of statutes and case law often lead to absurd results. In Peck v. AT&T Mobility, 174 Wn.2d 333 (2012) the Washington Supreme Court grappled with a question of statutory interpretation which only existed because of its own earlier misreading of a statue to mean more than the statute says.  Rather than resort to a straightforward and reasonable interpretation of the statute … Read more

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