In a major setback for privacy advocates who seek to preserve the confidentiality of consumer data, the New York Supreme Court recently ruled that Facebook lacks legal standing to challenge search warrants on behalf of its users. The case pits Facebook against the...
PLDO Law Blog
Social Media And The Law
The Internet of Things is Here and Now
Waking up for the workday, you walk into the kitchen to see a fresh cup of coffee that has been programmed to brew based on your phone's alarm clock. Your MP3 player automatically starts playing some smooth jazz, after having learned that when you wake up this early,...
Protect Your Personal and Business Digital Assets: New Law Aims to Help
When your life flashes before your eyes moments before you die, you likely won't be thinking about your tweet count, your Farmville assets, your Bitcoins, your iTunes play-lists, or how many "likes" your last status update received. However, a new law is aimed at...
What Rhode Island’s New Social Media Law Means to Your Business
Social media's surge in popularity has caused a sea change in how people act and behave, as well as the image they portray, whether intentionally or not. It didn't take long for employers to recognize social media as a useful tool to learn more about potential new...
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...
