Connecticut Business Litigation Blog : Connecticut Business Lawyer & Attorney : N. Kane Bennett : Raymond & Bennett Law Firm : Hartford, Middletown, Glastonbury

Some noteworthy Connecticut lawsuits, and of course, continuing coverage of Hulk Hogan....

• The Bysiewicz for Connecticut Attorney General saga continues.  Is she qualified or not?  Is the statute that seems to preclude her from running unconstitutional?  Will voters elect an Attorney General with essentially no significant experience representing regular clients?  Common sense says "no", but the polls suggest otherwise and she fights on.  Only time will tell as the legal community awaits the ruling of Judge Michael Sheldon.  Several bloggers and columnists have been regularly covering this issue, including the original story breaker,Ryan McKeen at A Connecticut Law Blog.   For the Republican take, check out Chris Healy on the Everyday Republican.  The Hartford Courant's coverage is here.  Christine Stuart at CT News Junkie regularly posts on the Bysiewicz case.
• Richard Blumenthal, although running for Senate, continues to make headlines as our current Attorney General.  His office is now suing Westport National Bank and an investment manager seeking to recover $16.2 million in losses for up to 240 investors.  As of Friday, the lawsuit was served but not yet returned to Court.  Blumenthal issued a statement saying the Bank collected $2.4 million in fees...but actually did little..."   The Bank President, Richard Cummings, fired back stating that Blumenthal's comments were "inflammatory" and contained "numerous inaccuracies."
• ctwatchdog reported on the CT Department of Consumer Protection charging Wal-Mart Stores in two locations with pricing violations.  A hearing will take place in May to determine fines against Wal-Mart for allegations of unit price violations with consumer products. 
• Doug Malan of the CT Law Tribune, who also has his own company on professional writing, covers the unfortunate story of a father and son lawsuit involving control and break up of the Simko law firm.  Although the lawsuit relates to a law firm dispute, the legal issues are the same for any family business where sometimes the formality of reducing agreements to writing are overlooked.  According to Malan's story, the case is headed for trial in May and Connecticut Statutes on limited liability companies may govern the outcome by default because there was no written operating agreement.  Family disputes over closely held businesses are always painful, but a clearly drafted operated agreement can mitigate the dispute especially if the agreement includes provisions for succession, disability, buy-outs and arbitration.
• A while back, I posted about Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against his attorney's for failing to advise him he had insurance coverage for an auto accident claim.  The Hulkster is back at it.  This time he is suing his insurance company for not giving him enough coverage.  You might see this kind of a lawsuit in Connecticut but typically only against an agent, not the insurance company itself.  In fact, many times lawsuits are filed in Connecticut against insurance agents for professional malpractice or breach of fiduciary duty for failing to obtain the proper coverages for clients. It seems the Hulk had 30 million in assets but only a $250,000 auto policy. 

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As we head to the new year, here is a round up from some fellow bloggers on contracts, cobra, wage disputes, patents, and oral agreements for limited liability companies. 

The California Business Lawyer Blog offers a very detailed post about contractual relationships  between manufacturers and suppliers.  The focus is on well drafted agreements eliminating the fears and concerns of both sides.

A lot of talk about the AT&T suits in different states for $1 billion dollars for unpaid overtime.  The suits picked up a lot of steam with a recent employee favorable ruling from the federal court in Connecticut allowing the claim to proceed as a class action. Rush on Business covers some tips for businesses to avoid these suits.

Just in time for Christmas, President Obama has extended the COBRA subsidy.  Dan Schwartz's Connecticut Employment Law Blog covers this topic in detail for employers.

Twin Cities Business Litigation Blog has an interesting post on concerns you might have as a shareholder of corporation that fails to follow corporate formalities.  Gavin Craig gives examples of how a shareholder could be exposed to liability.

Anyone who frequently litigates matters involving limited liability companies will tell you that there is not much case law out there in Connecticut.  It is still a developing area of the common law.  Delaware law is often a good option for law in this area because these issues are more frequently litigated by volume in Delaware.  A good resource is the Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog.   Two recent posts concerning oral partnerships and LLC agreements are just an example.

PatentlyO hits on some themes for 2010, including an expected increase in patent prosecution and litigation.    They also have a cool picture of heat miser, a childhood classic.

Jeff Mehalic, author of the West Virginia Business Litigation Blog, writes a detailed follow up post to his coverage of the Connecticut dispute between Charter Oak Lending and CTX Mortgage.  Jeff also comments about a post I wrote on the same case.  The case remains significant as it is an example of what can go wrong when a business grows too fast and no written agreements are in place with employees.

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