According to the Birmingham Business Journal, state business leaders are optimistic about Alabama’s economic future. “Alabama business leaders’ confidence in the state of the economy is slowly moving in a positive direction,” says the Journal. Using the Alabama Business Confidence Index as a guide, the Journal notes improved expectations for the national and state economy.
The Alabama Business Confidence Index uses a number of factors to measure anticipated economic performance. A score below 50 shows a struggling economy, while a score above 50 indicates a growing one. The fourth quarter of 2009 had a score of 47.3, and the first quarter of 2010 earned a 48.8. While still ranking just below the midpoint, this is a marked rise according to the Journal. “This is an improvement in business leaders’ confidence, especially compared to dismal results of 32 points during extreme low points of the recession in early 2009.”
Hopefully, a higher score in the second quarter of 2010 will indicate a further end to the Great Recession.
iPhone J.D. has a great review of Fastcase, a free legal research application for the iPhone that puts a law library in the palm of your hand. Fastcase contains cases and statutes from all 50 states and from the federal government. You can search by citation, keyword (in Boolean or natural language), or browse statute collections. Check out the review here.
Click here to get the iPhone Fastcase app (free): 
DeWayne Pope, DeWayne Pope LLC
Internet users beware when blindly agreeing to Terms of Use on an Internet website. You may be assenting to terms that affect your legal rights without ever reading them.
In the case of Major v. McAllister, 2009 WL 4959941 (Mo. App. December 23, 2009), the Missouri Court of Appeals issued an opinion that addresses website terms and conditions presented to Internet users in “browsewrap” format.
Ms. Major used a website called Service Magic to locate contractors to remodel her home in Springfield, Missouri. Each website page had a link to the website terms and conditions. Prior to submitting her contact information during the sign-up process, she was presented with a link to the website’s terms and conditions. The link read, “By submitting you agree to the Terms of Use.” Ms. Major admitted she never clicked on the link and therefore never read the terms and conditions. But, had she clicked through, she would have read a forum selection clause providing that all suits against Service Magic would have to be brought in Denver, Colorado. When Major sued Service Magic in Missouri state court, Service Magic moved to dismiss, citing the forum selection clause. The trial court granted the motion and Major sought review. On appeal, the court affirmed the dismissal.
The Missouri Court of Appeals held that the terms and conditions of the agreement are enforceable because the Service Magic site gave immediately visible notice of the existence of the terms of the agreement. Even though one would have to click through to read the terms, the presence of the link was sufficient to place the website user on reasonable notice of the terms, and subsequent use by the end user manifested assent to those terms.
It is possible that other jurisdictions may come to the same conclusion regarding these Terms of Use on Internet websites. As such, we recommend that Internet users read all terms and conditions prior to submitting a form on the Internet in order to ascertain the consequences of assenting to the terms for the particular user.
Elizabeth Ritter
Goodrich Law Firm, LLC
On Sunday, November 1, commercial and consumer lender CIT Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to The Washington Post, “CIT is the first firm to fail after being bailed out by the government.” In December 2008, CIT received 2.3 billion dollars from the government – money that will not be repaid.
Also wiped out in CIT’s bankruptcy filing are its shareholders. Bondholders voted for a prepackaged restructuring that should allow them to recoup about 70 cents on each dollar invested with the company.
A 101-year old financial institution, CIT funds nearly one million businesses as well as “about 2,000 vendors that supply merchandise to more than 300,000 stores” according to the Associated Press. The AP also notes that CIT’s filing “is one of the biggest in U.S. corporate history, following Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, WorldCom and General Motors.”
As a source of capital for many small and medium-sized businesses, struggles at CIT exacerbate an already difficult time for small business owners as cash and credit wells run dry. What this filing means for Main Street remains to be seen.
For more information:
CIT Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
On Tuesday, November 17, Wall Street juggernaut Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. announced its new “10,000 Small Businesses” plan. The initiative, meant to provide education and mentoring for small businesses while also offering support to underserved markets, earmarks 500 million dollars to be spent over the next five years.
Since the announcement, the offices of Goldman Sachs have been flooded with calls and e-mails from small business owners looking for advice and infusions of capital to stay afloat. Unfortunately, what most small businesses will get from Wall Street is access to certain educational programs but little cash. According to Mike Spector of The Wall Street Journal, “Goldman plans to seed only those companies employing at least four full-time employees and with revenue from $150,000 and $4 million in the most recent fiscal year. Eligible companies have been operating for at least two years and work ‘predominantly in underserved markets.’”
While Goldman has generated much press and interest in its “10,000 Small Businesses” plan, not all of the attention has been positive. Many experts feel the measure is too little too late for a firm that partly generated and profited from the credit crisis currently putting a crunch on so many small business owners. Spector also acknowledges that “Goldman’s five-year gift will be a drop in the bucket compared to a nationwide decline in small-business lending since last year.”
An October 20 article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the crucial role advisors and mentors can play in small businesses. According to Sarah Needleman of the Journal, “Some small business owners say their firms are surviving tough economic times thanks in part to advisory boards they regularly turn to for fresh perspectives and support.”
For many retirees and established business people, an advisory position is the perfect role to take in a new or emerging company. “An advisory board allows a company to get advice from a group of mentors/friends/professional advisors without having the advisors incur the liability of being on a board of managers/ directors,” Mike Goodrich of Red Mountain Law says. “Managers and directors have fiduciary obligations to shareholders/owners. Advisors are not held to the same standard.”
Yesterday, Google announced that is has expanded its Google Scholar service to include FREE, full-text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state courts, including appellate and supreme court cases. According to Tim Stanley of the Law, Technology & Legal Marketing Blog, Google Search includes U.S. Supreme Court opinions since 1 US 1 (pre – 1776), federal circuit opinions since 1 F 2d 1 (1924+), and many federal district court opinions. Opinions from all 50 state supreme courts are included since 1950. For an explanation of how the service works, see Finding the Laws that Govern Us.
DeWayne Pope, DeWayne Pope LLC
IRS Releases Helpful Publication Regarding Tax Issues Associated With Job Loss and Seeking New Employment
In light of this year’s economic crises and rising unemployment rates, the IRS has released Publication 4128 to assist the recently unemployed understand the many tax issues associated with being unemployed and seeking work. The publication covers myriad topics, including severance pay, unemployment benefits, accumulated vacation or sick time, COBRA subsidies, qualified plan withdrawals, job hunting expenses, and moving costs. The following are just a few examples of what a recently unemployed taxpayer might learn from Publication 4128: read more…
The Internal Revenue Service has fully embraced the 21st century. Now, all tax-paying citizens can learn about the stimulus package incentives contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) in a simple, yet very tech savvy manner. The IRS has released a series of YouTube videos and podcasts. YouTube topics include the First-Time Home Buyer Credit, Unemployment Compensation, Charitable Contributions, and Tax Scams. The videos are also offered in Spanish and American Sign Language. Podcasts focus on the tax credits available under the ARRA. Taxpayers may subscribe to these podcasts through i-Tunes or they may download them directly from the IRS’s website.
For more information, visit the IRS Web site, or you may go directly to the IRS’s podcast download page or its YouTube channel.
Russell M. Cunningham, IV, Cunningham Firm, LLC
The notoriously vigilant Apple Corporation – maker of the iPod and a few other products you might have heard of – has targeted yet another company in its ongoing pursuit of trademark protection. According to both Apple Insider and All Things Digital, Apple is challenging a supermarket chain out of Australia who has recently redesigned a logo bearing too much of resemblance to the company’s own iconic symbol.
According to Zach Spear of the Apple Insider, Woolworths, Down Under’s largest grocery seller, has avoided mentioning apples in relation to its new mark, instead claiming the stylized ‘W’ was “paired with ‘an abstract leaf symbol’ to represent fresh food.” Unfortunately for the retailer, Apple finds the design too close for comfort. Perhaps most unsettling to Apple is that Woolworths has applied for a blanket trademark that would also include consumer electronics and technology. While no one would expect Apple Corporation to be associated with a grocery store, could there be a likelihood of confusion to the consumer if Woolworths begins carrying electronic and technology products?
For now, this is a decision in the hands of IP Australia, but the case raises interesting questions about the importance of brand identity and trademark protection. In the case of Apple, the company takes its trademark protection very seriously – even going so far as to engage in a 30 year legal battle with the Beatles’ parent company over the name “Apple.” While that issue has been settled in the last two years, you can bet that Apple will continue to keep a close eye on the ever-changing business landscape for other possible intellectual property infringers.
Elizabeth Ritter, Goodrich Law Firm
