Small Business Law Blog

11th Circuit Says Car Rental Companies Cannot Be Held Liable for Negligent Acts of Renters

2008-08-20T10:02:00.000-04:00

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appellate court governing appeals in Florida) ruled yesterday that recently enacted federal legislation known as "the Graves Amendment" (49 U.S.C. § 30106) preempts state tort claims against car rental companies under a theory of vicarious liability. In English, what the Court said was that the statute passed by Congress, and

Overzealous Prosecutors Cited for "Sloppy" Investigation That Put Small Business Out of Business

2008-07-12T16:42:00.001-04:00

In a sad tale of yet another case of overzealous prosecutors, the USA Today reported on a story this week of a small business owner in Alabama that was driven to financial ruin by a former employee that embezzled funds from the company then allegedly told federal investigators that the business was selling military secrets to China in order to give herself a "get out of jail free card." Federal

Taxpayers Rejoice!: Florida Taxing Authorities Dealt Serious Blows in Tax Cases

2008-07-11T10:43:00.000-04:00

The Florida Department of Revenue and local taxing authorities suffered two significant losses within the past week. In one case, Crossings at Fleming Island Cmty. Dev. Dist. v. Echeverri, No. SC07-1556, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled that "a property appraiser does not have standing in his or her official capacity to raise the constitutionality of a statute as a defense in a tax suit filed

New Filing Fees: The Cost of Justice Just Went Up

2008-07-07T10:02:00.000-04:00

Effective July 1, 2008, new court filing fees went into effect in Florida state courts that make filing a claim, including a counterclaim or cross-claim, substantially more expensive in certain cases. Most notably, the filing fee for county court evictions increased from $80 to $270, a 238% increase. Additionally, there was previously no fee assessed for filing a counterclaim or cross-claim, but

Small Business Owners Unfairly Penalized by ADA Shakedown Suits

2008-07-04T10:27:00.000-04:00

An article published in the San Francisco Chronicle last month highlights the plight of small business owners and illustrates why the ADA should be changed. The story provides an account of the frustrations experienced by a small business, XOX Truffles, located in the North Beach area of San Francisco that allegedly failed to comply with the ADA by virtue of a step from the curb to the store

Big Brown Settles Class Action Involving Alleged Shipping Overcharges to Businesses

2008-06-26T09:10:00.000-04:00

According to the Class Action Reporter, United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS), has settled a class action lawsuit involving packages delivered to commercial locations within the United States from the period January 1, 1998, to May 6, 2008.The lawsuit claimed that UPS incorrectly charged residential rates, which are higher than commercial rates, for