News & Insights
Insights
Seller Beware - If You Sell Goods to a Debtor in Bankruptcy, You May Lose Both the Goods and Your Payment for the Sale
May 8, 2013
In a recent bankruptcy case, the debtor bought goods from the vendor and paid the vendor $1.9 million for the goods. A court held that the vendor had to return those payments because the payments were not properly authorized by the bankruptcy court. The payments - for the purchase of inv... Read more >
Insights
Maryland's Court of Appeals upholds damage cap despite claims of unconstitutionality.
May 8, 2013
In a recent controversial opinion that allowed insurers and business owners to breath a huge sigh of relief, Maryland’s highest court upheld the constitutionality of Maryland’s cap on non-economic damages, meaning that a plaintiff’s claim for pain and suffering damages is limited regardless of... Read more >
News
Are You a Secured Lender?
May 8, 2013
If so, there may be changes in the way your loans are handled in bankruptcy court. Although lenders never want to be creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, in the past they thought that if their collateral was sold, they could bid up to the full amount of their claim, without putting out any cas... Read more >
News
Businesses Can No Longer Force Customers to Use Their Power of Attorney Forms
May 8, 2013
Effective October 1, 2010, the Maryland Legislature enacted the Maryland General and Limited Power of Attorney Act (Act). The Act creates a statutory form power of attorney and provides that no one can require an additional or different form of power of attorney for any authority granted in th... Read more >
News
Another Thorn in Creditors' Sides: New Case Makes Preference Payments Easier to Claw Back
May 8, 2013
A recent case made it harder for an unsecured creditor to defend a preference avoidance action in a bankruptcy. This ruling may be particularly troubling to unsecured creditors in the construction industry, because it involved the potential for payment from bond proceeds.
The case addresses... Read more >
Insights
Maryland Businesses Take Note: The "Limited Liability" in a Limited Liability Company Is Not Absolute, and Is Getting Less Limited
May 8, 2013
Contrary to popular belief, a limited liability company (LLC) does not offer absolute protection. As with corporate officers and agents, members and managers of LLCs can be personally liable for wrongful acts they commit, even when acting on behalf of the LLC. The protection a LLC does o... Read more >
News
Do You Use Subcontractors? Then Read On As Maryland's Highest Court Clarifies Your Role in the Case of Worker's Injury
May 8, 2013
Principal contractors in Maryland can breathe a sigh of relief – the Maryland Workers’ Compensation law does not make them responsible for the injuries that a subcontractor’s employees suffer on an out-of-state jobsite. Nor do they have to ensure the subcontractor maintains workers’ co... Read more >
News
Maryland Business Owner Beware: Greater Exposure to Damages Might Be on the Horizon
May 8, 2013
Imagine one of your employees, driving a company vehicle, rolls through a stop sign and smashes into another driver. The other driver was speeding and was dialing a number on her cell phone. So who is at fault? And most importantly, who has to pay?
Under current Maryland law, if... Read more >
Insights
SBA Throws a Lifeline to Small Business Owners Who Want to Refinance Underwater Mortgages
May 8, 2013
Your small business wants to refinance a mortgage that is about to mature, but can’t refinance in the private market because the economic meltdown has left your business with real estate worth near the amount of your existing loan, or less. If this sounds like you, the SBA’s new progr... Read more >