With little fanfare, the Bankruptcy Code received its first major revision in 15 years in February 2020. This new revision – called “Subchapter V” – is primarily designed to make it easier for qualified small businesses with total secured and unsecured debt of up to...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: March 2020
“Inside Business – Powered Up For Success” Online Learning Center Offers Resources for Businesses
PLDO's recent launch of its online multimedia learning center, Inside Business - Powered Up For Success, is dedicated to assisting entrepreneurs, startups and business owners grow, thrive and succeed in today’s business environment. The platform is a resource library...
A “Reasonable Accommodation” Must Be Reasonable
For employers determining what constitutes a “reasonable accommodation” can often be a challenge. A very recent decision by a federal court in Connecticut highlights the fact that what constitutes “reasonable” is not without limits, and an employer is not obligated to...
PLDO Launches Original Multimedia Learning Center for Business Startups and Owners Featuring a Six-Part Podcast Series with Attorney Joshua J. Butera
Rhode Island – March 12, 2020 – Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC (PLDO) announced today the launch of an online multimedia learning center, Inside Business - Powered Up for Success, dedicated to assisting entrepreneurs, startups and business owners to grow,...
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...