Founders of privately owned companies somehow always find creative ways to create conflicts among the owners – or would-be owners – of their business ventures. Our attorneys have seen our fair share of disputes among the owners of private partnerships, corporations or limited liability companies. Some disputes arise from a misunderstanding over a particular person …Read more
The value of trade secrets never escapes a well-run company. To that end, Apple Inc. has sued a former product designer claiming that he stole the company’s trade secrets to help his new employer, Arris Composites, and then leaked those secrets to the media to advance his own financial interests. The designer, Simon Lancaster, worked …Read more
In another high profile trade secret case, water treatment giant Ecolab, Inc. sued one of its former marketing managers, Preston Alexander, and his new company, One Degree Medical, alleging they stole trade secrets to set up a competing business in violation of both the employees’ employment agreement, and state and federal trade secrets laws. EcoLab’s …Read more
Courts are increasingly being asked to decide when website operators are subject to personal jurisdiction in a particular state, a potentially vexing problem because websites generally lack a specific location and can be accessed from almost anywhere on the globe. In June 2020, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in UMG Recordings, Inc. v. …Read more
A corporation ordinarily is not liable for the debts of other entities or its owners in the absence of an express agreement, such as a guarantee. However, a creditor of one company may try to impose liability on one or more non-debtor entities under “alter ego” or “successor liability” theories in certain circumstances. In these …Read more
Working with a reputable law firm to assist you in drafting and negotiating agreements for sales, real estate transactions, employment agreements, and intellectual property licenses, has never been more essential to the success of your business. The attorney you choose should be focused on preventing problems and helping you navigate your company through a challenging …Read more
It’s now possible to copyright HTML (hypertext markup language) code and text. More specifically, in a decision issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in January 2016, the court ruled that the developer can copyright HTML code and text associated with a custom search results page of an online advertising …Read more
Finkel Law Group is pleased to report that it has scored another victory for one of the firm’s clients in Santa Clara County Superior Court. In August 2014, a client from Washington, D.C. contacted our office in San Francisco seeking our assistance to defend against a frivolous lawsuit filed against him in California seeking $3,833,440 …Read more
Sometimes when a small company conducts business with a larger company, the respective bargaining power of each party is not equal. The larger company almost always has the small company over a barrel. That’s never the case when Finkel Law Group represents your company in litigation with a larger, well-funded adversary. Our firm recently helped …Read more
The residential mortgage foreclosure crisis continues to grind onward across California resulting in the eviction of thousands of Californians from their homes. Even as numerous banks, including the largest in the United States, have paid billions of dollars in fines and penalties for their unlawful actions, they relentlessly pursue unlawful foreclosures and evictions from the …Read more