Deadlock. Impasse. Stalemate. There are few words more dreaded to a corporate director (except maybe "SEC investigation"). What to do when the power brokers in a company just can't agree is a problem that plagues business planning experts and litigators alike. Spoiler...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: November 2017
Password Sharing May Be A Crime
Amid the flurry of recent news about computer hacking and data breaches, a recent lawsuit quietly wound its way up to the steps of the United States Supreme Court. In that case, a former employee left his employer to open a competing business. After he left, he asked...
NOT-FOR-PROFIT TO “POT-FOR-PROFIT” – IMPORTANT CHANGES IN MASSACHUSETTS’ LEGAL CANNABIS INDUSTRY
When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts first established the framework for its legal marijuana industry, Massachusetts law required dispensaries to form and operate as nonprofit corporations. This mandate forced founders and angel investors alike to implement overly...
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...
