Do You Need a Buy-Sell Agreement in California? When you establish or run a business in California with multiple owners, navigating the complexities of succession planning is a significant consideration. Among the essential tools for this process is a Buy-Sell Agreement. But do you really need one? This article [...]

Privacy Act Deadline Nears: Record Keeping Required The effective date of the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") is nearing. See Cal. Civ. Code, §1798.100 et seq. Among the many legal requirements imposed by the CCPA, such as a toll-free telephone number for customers to use, the CCPA requires record [...]

Will California Start Requiring That Employers Police Worker Meal Breaks? An Oregon Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that held that Oregon employers were required to police worker meal breaks. Under the applicable Oregon law and Wage Orders, workers are entitled to an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break for [...]

Can Fox Media Trademark the Phrase "Ok, Boomer"? Fox Media has made a splash in the news by filing an intent-to-use application for a trademark for the phrase "OK, Boomer." For those who have not heard, the "Ok, Boomer" is a retort used by teens and young adults to [...]

In Unusual Case, Ninth Circuit Orders Vacatur of Arbitration Award on Grounds of Partiality In general, arbitration verdicts and awards are final. This is one of the main advantages of submitting disputes to arbitration. In traditional court proceedings, there can be at least two layers of appeal that drag [...]

FTC Begins Requiring "Data Minimization": Is Your San Diego Business Complying? Data security and consumer privacy have been "hot" legal topics for several years. A newly emerging trend in both areas is the idea of "data minimization." As currently defined, data minimization is the idea that a business should [...]

New Guidelines for Social Media "Influencers" Many San Diego businesses are using social media "influencers." This has been an emerging trend in personalized marketing for several years now. Social media influencers use and wear various products from various manufacturers -- usually of luxury goods. Social media influencers are often [...]

Recovering Attorney Fees in San Diego Contract Disputes: Even a Dollar is Enough Says Court If there is litigation over a breach of contract, many well-crafted San Diego business contracts have fee shifting provisions whereby one party or the other can ask the court to award attorneys' fees. These [...]

Proving Copyright Infringement: Facts are Not Copyrightable, Says Federal Judge The producers of the popular Netflix show “Narcos” were vindicated in a recent trial over alleged copyright infringement. U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith ruled that Netflix and the producers did not use copyrighted material from a book written by [...]

Will California Follow New Jersey and Fine Uber For Misclassifying Workers? It has been recently reported that the State of New Jersey is fining Uber for unpaid employment taxes and for misclassifying its workers. New Jersey was the first state to adopt the so-called ABC test for whether a [...]

Eight Days Late May be "Okay" Despite "Time is of the Essence" Clause in Contract In general, California courts will enforce business contracts as written. Indeed, generally, the courts will enforce all provisions even if the provisions work some sort of disadvantage or hardship on one party or another. [...]

California Consumer Privacy Act: Can We Share Data with an Affiliated Business Without Disclosure The California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") is going into effect on January 1, 2020. Among the many open legal questions is whether data can be shared with an affiliated business without the need for disclosure/consent [...]

Uber, Lyft, and Other Companies Back Ballot Initiative to Exempt Gig Drivers From ABC Test California recently amended its Labor Code to protect so-called gig economy workers and mandated that those workers be classified as "employees" as opposed to "independent contractors." See Cal. Lab. Code, §2750.3. This new law [...]

San Diego Business Contract Drafting: Even Apostrophes Matter An interesting decision involving a construction contract was recently issued by the Second District California Court of Appeals. See Regency Midland Construction, Inc. v. Legendary Structures, Inc., Case No. B292602 (Cal. App. 2nd Dist. November 7, 2019). The result of the [...]

What Professions are Exempt Under the Newly Codified “ABC Test” for Independent Contractors? As has been widely reported and discussed, the California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 5, and Governor Newsom signed, which codified the California Supreme Court's ABC Test for when a worker is to be considered an [...]

Reasons to Form a California Social Benefit Corporation If you are starting a San Diego-based business, you have many options for what type of corporate entity that you can form. The most common choices are a standard corporation and a limited liability company. These are generally used when the [...]

Tips for Drafting an Excellent Company Data Breach Protection Policy With the recent passage and signing by Governor Newsom of Assembly Bill 1130 ("AB 1130") which expands the definition of "personal information" to encompass all types of data that might be used to personally identify customers, patients or clients, [...]