The Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) has authority to investigate violations of federal securities laws and commence enforcement actions if its investigations uncover evidence of wrongdoing. Initially, the S.E.C.'s statutory authority was limited to seeking...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: July 2017
PROTECT YOUR WORKPLACE AGAINST SPOOFING
We read about companies and individuals being scammed by hacking or spoofing routinely. No business or individual is immune. Spoofing is a technique in which the spoofer goes to great lengths to secure access to user systems and the information behind protective fire...
FIRED EMPLOYEE WHO DISPARAGED BOSS ON FACEBOOK CAN COLLECT UNEMPLOYMENT
The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently awarded unemployment benefits to an employee who was fired for posting disparaging comments about his boss on Facebook. Although the worker was already on thin ice due to a host of issues, the employer ultimately fired him after...
REAL ESTATE TITLE DISPUTES: THE PROCESS OF RECORDING “LIS PENDENS” IN RHODE ISLAND AND MASSACHUSETTS
If you or your business ends up in a dispute over real estate, it is likely that you will encounter a lis pendens. Lis pendens is Latin for “suit pending,” and it means just that, it is a statutorily governed legal tool that is often used to give notice on a...
HIGH STAKES: DRAFTING AND INTERPRETING PAYMENT REJECTIONS UNDER MASSACHUSETTS’ PROMPT PAY ACT
Under the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, which governs construction contracts, unless an owner meets the Act's "time and substance" requirements for rejecting a payment application from a contractor (ditto for subcontractors' applications to contractors), that...
RHODE ISLAND SUPREME COURT RULES THAT A PROPERTY’S FORECLOSURE WAS VALID DESPITE PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS THAT MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS WERE “AMBIGUOUS”
BackgroundA recent case arose out of foreclosure proceedings that were instituted by Wells Fargo Bank (“Wells Fargo” or “defendant”) with respect to property located at 18 High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. The property’s owner (“plaintiff”) secured the mortgage by...
FDA CONSIDERS RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA: A MILESTONE IN DRUG POLICY REFORM
The landscape of drug policy in the United States is poised for a significant shift as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertakes a reassessment of marijuana’s drug scheduling classification. The FDA is conducting a comprehensive review of marijuana’s current...
ARE NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENTS ENFORCEABLE IN RHODE ISLAND?
COURTS RULE IN FAVOR OF THE EMPLOYER’S AGREEMENT IN RECENT CASE The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently addressed the enforceability of a non-competition provision. In Walls v. Griggs & Browne Pest Control, Inc., the Court reviewed an agreement between Brian Walls...
