By Susan G. Schellinger The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently issued a decision that drives home the importance for businesses and individuals, as policyholders, to immediately report claims to their insurance company. Even a small delay may result in a loss of coverage thereby increasing the risk that, if a claim against you is successful, you...
By Mark G. Kmiecik Private sector employers are now further incentivized for their efforts in hiring otherwise disadvantaged workers. The IRS recently issued guidance extending the time employers may claim a Work Opportunity Tax Credit (“WOTC”) of $2,400 or more for each qualified employee hired in 2014. Because the Tax Increase Prevention Act of...
By Mark G. Kmiecik On December 19, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (HR 5771). Otherwise known as the “Tax Extenders” Act, this law retroactively extended through the end of 2014, over 50 tax breaks that expired on December 31, 2013. While there were discussions of making permanent a number of these...
By Mark G. Kmiecik The final months of 2014 are a great time to finalize your tax planning opportunities and set the stage for minimizing your tax outlay in 2015. As a business owner, please be aware that in the wake of the election, sources indicate tax extenders are likely to pass, with some differences between the two houses in Congress being...
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in VIRNETX, Inc. v. Cisco Sys. Inc, recently reversed a $368 million dollar patent infringement verdict because the plaintiff calculated its damages as a portion of the entire market value of the product as opposed to apportioning its damages to the infringing software component of the product. In its...
By Elizabeth K. Miles When making a pitch to perform work on a construction project, architects, engineers, and contractors often tout their experience and their ability to bring a project within budget. When a project goes bad, it may be tempting for an owner to characterize the contractor’s, architect’s, or engineer’s statements about...
By D&K's Labor & Employment Team On July 31, 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided Julaine K. Appling, et al. v. Scott Walker, which addressed the limited issue of whether Chapter 770 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Domestic Partnership Law, violated Art. XIII, Sec. 13 of the Wisconsin Constitution, known as the (“Marriage Amendment”)....
On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial decision affecting certain closely-held corporations. The Court’s 5-4 decision in Burwell et al. v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. et al. resolved a split among the federal appellate courts to hold that the federal government may not tax closely-held corporate employers who, for religious...
By Aaron E. Hall The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently clarified in Brandenburg v. Luethi the law in Wisconsin concerning owner liability for damages caused by an independent contractor. The Brandenburg case involved a homeowner who contracted with a company to spray herbicide on trees on his property. In the course of spraying the homeowner’s...
By James E. Braza Arbitration was once the industry’s preferred mechanism for resolving construction disputes. This has changed significantly in recent years as construction disputes addressed via arbitration have become no less costly, timely, or efficient than traditional litigation. Often a party’s (or its attorney’s) zeal to engage in broad...
