Podcasts

Using Social Media to Grow Your Brand

Posted on March 31, 2011
Adam J. Siegleheim, member of Stark & Stark's Franchise Group, attended the 2011 International Franchise Expo's Annual Convention February 13-16, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this podcast, Mr. Siegelheim meets with Thomas Scott of Brand Journalists...

Is a Commercial Landlord Who Secured a Personal Guaranty to Ensure Performance Under a Lease Protected in a Holdover Situation?

Posted on March 30, 2011
The Appellate Division has recently upheld summary judgment in favor of a guarantor who had executed a personal guaranty for rent due under a lease, finding that the specific language of the guaranty, read in conjunction with the language of the lease, rendered the guaranty inapplicable in a holdover situation...

Insurance Subrogation - Why You Must Know Its Meaning and If It Exists in the Policy

Posted on March 29, 2011
A waiver of subrogation in insurance policies for associations is always a thing of mystery.  However, a recent case occurred that I believe requires community association managers and boards to pay more attention to this issue.   Most association by-laws require that the association's insurance policy include  a waiver of subrogation...

Association Lien Foreclosures and the Eviction Process

Posted on March 29, 2011
In these tough economic times, assessment delinquencies have become more and more of an impediment to an Association's ability to remain self-sustaining and pay its every day expenses. Assessment lien foreclosure is a collection route prevalently used by many Associations...

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Builders Expect to Build Shoddy Condo Buildings

Posted on March 29, 2011
Most people who have purchased a new home, condo or townhouse in New Jersey at some point have suspected that the builder of that home knew that the construction was not done properly and that the home would have significant problems. Defects ranging from improperly installed roofs, faulty plumbing and electrical and leaky stucco are far too common, and give owners of those homes the sense that the builder had to know, on some level, that the work wasn't being done correctly...

Cooperative Housing: Defining the Shareholder-Cooperative Corporation Relationship

Posted on March 29, 2011
There is no confusion regarding the distinction between the cooperative form of ownership and alternative forms of real property ownership. The cooperative form of ownership requires an owner (hereinafter, the 'shareholder') to purchase shares of stock in the cooperative corporation which then permits the shareholder to occupy a dwelling pursuant to a long-term proprietary lease with the cooperative corporation...

Possible State Attorneys General Plan to Make it Harder for Banks to Foreclose to Further Damage Community Associations

Posted on March 29, 2011
Five of the country's largest banks recently received a list of demands from state attorneys general with respect to their defaulted mortgages and resulting foreclosures. Unfortunately for community associations, if the banks give in to the government's demands, these community associations will only be further burdened by homes and units that are typically behind or not paying assessments and/or maintenance fees at all...

The U.S. Fair Housing Act, Community Associations and 'Companion Animals'

Posted on March 28, 2011
David J. Byrne, Co-Chair of Stark & Stark's Community Association Group, authored an article for the March 21, 2011 New Jersey Law Journal's Real Estate, Title Insurance & Construction Law supplement, entitled, The U.S. Fair Housing Act, Community Associations and ‘Companion Animals...

Employers Increasingly Faced with Need to Navigate the Perils of Social Media and Networking

Posted on March 09, 2011
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, personal blog sites and other social media and networking sites have become a part of everyday life.  Not surprisingly, social networking and social media sites have found their way into the workplace.  While such sites can be an extremely valuable resource for both employers and employees, their use also gives rise to a variety of new legal issues, concerns and claims for employers to navigate...

Possible New Defendant in NuvaRing® Mass Tort Litigation

Posted on March 04, 2011
The Hon. Rodney W. Sippel, U.S.D.J., presides over the federal multi-district litigation in the Eastern District of Missouri addressing claims against NuvaRing®.  Judge Sippel held a case management conference on February 14, 2011 at 3:30 p.m...

Minority Oppression: Transfer or Sale of Corporate Assets

Posted on February 24, 2011
Sometimes, controlling shareholders use the sale of corporate assets as a means to squeeze-out minority shareholders.  This is often performed by the majority transferring those assets to a new entity which is not owned by the minority shareholder...

Community Associations & the United States Red Flag Rule

Posted on February 24, 2011
In 2003, President Bush signed the "Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act" into law.   The law was enacted to stem the tide of what was deemed "rampant identity theft".  Congress empowered the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") to promulgate rules to effectuate the law...

When do Child Support Obligations End in Divorce Cases?

Posted on February 23, 2011
A child is not automatically emancipated at age 18 or upon graduation from high school. A child is emancipated when he or she has moved 'beyond the sphere of influence and responsibility exercised by a parent and obtains an independent status of his or her own...

The Downturn in the Construction Industry Impacts Everyone

Posted on February 14, 2011
Gary S. Forshner, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use Group, co-authored an article with William C. McNamara, Shareholder of Cowan, Gunteski & Co., P.A. for the February 2011 issue of New Jersey Business Magazine entitled, The Downturn in the Construction Industry Impacts Everyone...

Stark & Stark Attorney Appointed Treasurer of The Lester A. Drenk Behavioral Health Center

Posted on February 03, 2011
Mark M. Wiechnik, member of Stark & Stark's Community Associations Group, was recently elected as the Treasurer of The Lester A. Drenk Behavioral Health Center (The Drenk Center). As Treasurer, Mr. Wiechnik will have a new role in helping to maintain the financial health of the organization and assisting with the strategic planning for the Center's future financial needs...

Amendments to Certificate Of Incorporation May Constitute Minority Oppression

Posted on February 01, 2011
Amendments to a corporation's Certificate of Incorporation may be used either alone or with other 'squeeze out' techniques to oppress, eliminate or alter the minority shareholder's rights.  For example, the New Jersey Business Corporation Act provides that a corporation may amend its Certificate of Incorporation to:    'exchange, classify, reclassify or cancel all or any party of its shares, whether issued or unissued,' N...

Multi-District Litigation granted in DePuy Hip Recall

Posted on January 25, 2011
In December 2010, the United States Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (MDL) ruled to consolidate all federal district cases in the Northern District Court of Ohio.  The MDL 2197, In re DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products, will be handled by Judge David A...

Stark & Stark Shareholder Presents Seminar on "Noise" Issues With Respect to New York City's Co-ops and Condominums

Posted on November 24, 2010
Shareholder Chairperson of Stark & Stark's Co-op & Condominium Law Group, David J. Byrne, presented materials to New York City Co-op and condominium board members in a seminar entitled "Solving Noise Issues". Mr. Byrne discussed New York's Real Property, along with New York City's Noise Control Code and Building Code, in relation to noise in and/or around the city's co-ops and condominiums...

Copyright and the Internet: Protecting The Content of Your Website

Posted on November 17, 2010
In this day, virtually every successful business has a presence on the internet.  The importance of a website to a company's marketing strategies, its product sales and its overall image cannot be understated.  Yet, many businesses often neglect to take steps to protect the content on their website...

Federal Trade Commission Approves New Regulations for Labels on Light Bulb Packaging

Posted on November 11, 2010
On Monday, July 19, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission published in the Federal Register final amendments to its Appliance Labeling Rule (codified at 16 C.F.R. Part 305) pursuant to Section 321 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (codified at 42 U...

Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on EMI Fraud Case

Posted on November 05, 2010
Scott I. Unger, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Litigation Group, was quoted in the November 5, 2010 New York Post article, Hands down loser: Jurors rule in favor of Citi in sloppy EMI case. The article discusses the three-week-long trial in lower Manhattan federal court in which Guy Hand charged Citigroup with fraud in regards to his 2007 purchase of record label EMI...

Stark & Stark Shareholder to Present COAH Update in Conjunction with New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education

Posted on November 05, 2010
Gary S. Forshner, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use Group, will present a webinar in conjunction with the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education entitled, COAH UPDATE: In the Matter of the Adoption of N...

Failure to Meet Green Building Protocol Adopted by Statute Could be Evidence of Negligence

Posted on September 28, 2010
When a construction agreement requires that a building satisfy a particular green standard or protocol that has been adopted by a municipal governing body as a precondition to a density enhancement, for example, or that forms the basis for a State requirement, such as the high performance green building standards, N...

Deadline for Submitting Applications under the Clean Energy Solutions ARRA CHP Program Is October 4, 2010

Posted on September 24, 2010
On September 7, 2010, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced in the New Jersey Register that it is seeking approval from the US Department of Energy for $18,000,000 in grant money, which is to be funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through the State Energy Program (SEP), to administer to private, public and non-profit entities on a competitive basis for the development, design and construction of high efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) projects...

Stark & Stark Shareholder Obtains $3,000,000 Settlement in Shareholder Oppression Case

Posted on August 20, 2010
On Tuesday August 17, 2010, Scott I. Unger, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Litigation Group, successfully negotiated a multi-million dollar settlement in a complex shareholder oppression case in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The $3,000,000 settlement (including counsel fees) was approved by the Honorable Thomas W...

California Legislature Seeks to Restrict Claims relating to the Degradability or Compostability of All Plastic Products in Advertising

Posted on August 19, 2010
On June 2, 2010, the California State Senate passed a bill known as SB 1454 that makes it illegal to use the terms 'biodegradable,' 'degradable' or 'decomposable' or any similar term in advertising plastic products.  The reasoning behind this prohibition, according to the legislative findings, is the promotion of a public policy that requires environmental marketing claims 'be substantiated by competent and reliable evidence to prevent deceiving or misleading consumers about the environmental impact of plastic products...

Attention Architects! Don't Forget to Do Your Energy Calculations When Designing for Green

Posted on August 12, 2010
A recent case filed with the New Jersey Superior Court in Burlington County on July 19, 2010, captioned Auburn Road Associates v. Alberto & Associates, shows just how important it is to maintain careful attention to detail when designing or planning for a high performance building...

Financial Incentives for Commercialization of Clean Energy Technologies

Posted on August 04, 2010
On July 15, 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it was making available $30,000,000 in federal funds for qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of 'near-term clean energy technologies,' such as innovations that utilize solar, wind, biomass or fuel cell technologies and nuclear or fossil energy through the Small Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer program...

Appellate Division Affirms Order Relating to Doctrine of Res Judicata

Posted on August 03, 2010
Northgate Tenants Corporation v. Tsai, App. Div. (per curiam) On June 22, 2010, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's order, finding that the trial judge properly applied the doctrine of res judicata to bar relitigation of the validity of a sublease fee imposed by a co-operative, which was determined valid and enforceable in a prior litigation...

YAZ® Mass Tort Litigation Update: Plaintiff Fact Sheet Wording Finalized

Posted on August 02, 2010
As we have discussed in previous posts, studies have shown that the ingredients contained in YAZ®, Yasmin® and Ocella® have been linked to various forms of severe side-effects. Reportedly, these side-effects include: heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (also known as DVT or blood clots), internal organ damage (including gallbladder damage), myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism...

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