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In this issue With this issue of Business
Law Alert we review the effect of reinstatement on
involuntarily dissolved corporations, the Class Action
Fairness Act of 2005, the requirement of all businesses to
display a new mandatory labor law poster, health care
directives, and recent court victories achieved by our
attorneys.
About the Business Litigation &
Practice Group Shareholders within Johnson & Bell’s
each have more than 10 years of litigation experience (and our
senior members have more than 20 years of
experience). Attorneys engage in both litigation
and transactional work and their practice areas include
general and complex commercial disputes, professional
liability, employment litigation, intellectual property
disputes, consumer fraud actions, and corporate and real
estate law.
Newsletters We also publish
periodic newsletters on employment law, healthcare law, and
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find Business Law Alertboth useful and informative. Please e-mail us
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with any comments you might have.
Johnson
& Bell successfully defends real estate
appraisers in $2.3 million professional liability lawsuit
Johnson
& Bell Attorneys
and successfully defended
three CookCountyreal estate appraisers in a professional liability suit
brought by a prominent federal savings bank.The suit alleged that the three appraisers had falsely
and negligently appraised the value of a commercial office
building located in Matteson,
Illinois.
On
March 1 the First District Appellate Court of Illinois
inLiebert
Corporation, and Zonatherm Products, Inc. v. John Mazur, Gregory N.
Schwabe, Jerome Mazur, Mario Belluomini, Laurence Bergfalk,
Aerico, Inc., and American
Power Conversion Corporation, reversed, in part, the
trial court’s denial of Liebert Corporation and Zonatherm
Products, Inc.’s motion for preliminary injunction seeking
relief from their former employee’s misappropriation of
trade secrets, and conspiracy to develop competing business in
order to join forces witha competitor. The appeal followed a lengthy trial on
the preliminary injunction motion.
Johnson
& Bell obtains dismissal of securities claim in
Federal Court on behalf of director of defendant corporation
On
April 14 the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Missouri granted the defendants’ motion to
dismiss and dismissed the plaintiff’s Second Amended
Complaint with prejudice. Plaintiffs had alleged that the
defendants, a corporation and its directors, had violated
Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934, as well the securities laws of the states of Missouri,Florida,
Illinois,New
Jersey,
andMaine.These violations allegedly occurred as the result of
the defendants’ offer to sell convertible debentures and
warrants to the plaintiffs.
Marconi
speaks to Chicago area Daimler Chrysler dealers
on the manufacturer's efforts to combine franchises
On
May 5 Attorney and Professor John Matthews gave presentation to
Chicago area Daimler Chrysler dealers at the Chicago
Automobile Trade Association headquarters in Oakbrook
Terrace. The presentation focused on Daimler Chrysler's
desire to reduce its number of U.S. metro dealers, preferring
fewer, more profitable dealers and how this stated wish
effects Chicago area Daimler Chrysler dealers.
Effective March 10 all employers, regardless of the number of employees, must
display a new mandatory labor law poster under the federal
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.The employment rights mandated by the Act extends
coverage to up to 24 months for employees called to active
military duty.Coverage
was formerly only 18 months.During this coverage period, the job security and
benefits for the employee on active duty are guaranteed under
the law.
To read the complete article,
click .
Effect
of reinstatement on
involuntarily dissolved corporations
One of the primary reasons people incorporate their businesses
is to enjoy limited personal liability relative to operating
that business.What does that mean?Absent fraud, a person’s liability, in the event of
judgment entered against the corporation, is limited to his or
her investment in the corporation.
To read the complete article,
click .
Schiavo?Not me!
Unless you are as unfortunate as Terri Schiavo, you have read,
or heard, the name Schiavo. In
Italian, the word S-C-H-I-A-V-O is pronounced
“skee-ah-voe” and means "slave." Ironically,
and tragically, Terri Schiavo became a slave to the wishes of
others, with some of whom she certainly did not agree.
However, nobody will ever know what she would have wanted
concerning her final treatment.
To read the complete article,
click .
Class Action Fairness Act of
2005
On February 18 the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 came into
effect.The preamble to the Act states that it is “AN ACT to
amend the procedures that apply to consideration of interstate
class actions to assure fairer outcomes for class members and
defendants, and for other purposes.”