Discovery of Hidden Defects in Your Newly Purchased Home
November 9, 2021 | Joan M. Quade
The last few years have seen unbelievable residential home sales. There have been a large number of buyer/bidders for every home that hit the market. Homes were selling for tens of thousands over asking and bidders waived contingencies and inspections just to “win” the right to buy. Many buyers bid on multiple houses before they actually were the high bidder and each frustrating loss made them more eager to add to the bid price and to waive inspections. Some were so desperate they bought houses sight unseen willing to take some risk to get a house! For many it all worked out and whatever minor issues they discovered after closing, they were willing to correct on their own or just live with it. For some the hidden home defects, issues and costs have been overwhelming. Their initial excitement to be in their new home has turned into a financial disaster. Some have discovered foundation cracks, water intrusion, poor homeowner work on the property without the proper permits or inspections, insurance money pocketed by the prior owners for hail or flood damage claims that were never fixed, major issues with the mechanical parts of the home like the furnace, water heater, electrical issues or the air conditioning and the list goes on and on. …
Read MoreIs Your Employment Lawyer Readily Accessible?
October 6, 2021 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
Employment law has never been more complicated than it is right now. Every termination, request for leave, on-the-job injury, interview, offer of employment, and complaint has its own set of landmines for employers. Regardless of company size and number of employees, being an employer and navigating the complex world of employment law has become a real challenge. Employers, and even their skilled human resources teams, sometimes need legal advice and opinions to avoid potential costly mistakes in handling employee issues. Continue reading to learn more about my experience with employment lawyer accessibility. I represent a wide variety of employers, ranging in size from thousands to only a handful, and everything in between. The one thing they have in common is that if they employ people, they will need sound, practical legal advice at some point. Many employers need advice regularly because of the complexity of the issues while making employment decisions. Employment advice and consultations are all about controlling the risk while making the best decision for the company. For example, most employees in the State of Minnesota are “employees at will.” This means they can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. But that is not where the analysis ends, because even employees who are “at will” cannot be fired for a discriminatory…
Read MoreBusiness Owners: Think Twice Before Gifting Stock to Employees
September 24, 2021 | Carole Clark Isakson
I receive regular calls from small business owners that want to show appreciation to their hardworking employees by gifting shares in the company. Sometimes, the goal is to incentivize an employee to work harder and in other cases, the employer hopes to keep the employee long-term and feels the gift will help with this. I generally dissuade these owners from share transfers and suggest other ways to bonus employees based on profits. Why? Because an owner of shares, no matter how small, has rights in the company that can cause issues for the well-meaning employer. Minority shareholders in Minnesota have a variety of rights. For instance, minority shareholders in privately held corporations have the right to request and examine the share register, the records of all shareholders, and board proceedings over the past three years. This includes all articles, amendments, bylaws currently in effect, certain financial statements, reports made to shareholders within the last three years, names and business addresses of all directors and principal officers, voting trust agreements, shareholder control agreements, and other types of agreements. While providing these documents may not be difficult, many employers would rather not share this information. When an employee comes to their employer, and owns a share in the company, this information must be provided. In…
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