The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) Corporation, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau (CSCL) recently announced that 2018 annual reports for nonprofit corporations have been mailed to resident agents on record with the CSCL Corporations Division. Nonprofit corporations are required to file their annual report by October 1, 2018. Nonprofit corporations are those formed in which members may not receive any profits of the corporation. A nonprofit corporation […]

Beginning in 2018 in Michigan, all companies with no unclaimed property will be required to file a zero or negative report. Under Michigan’s Unclaimed Property Act, anyone holding unclaimed property of another must report such property as abandoned to the State of Michigan under a process known as escheats. Therefore, a bank holding money for a depositor over a number of years, which determines the property is abandoned, must turn […]

At the recent Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Justice Enforcement and Litigation Update Conference, speakers included the Director of the SEC Regional Office, Chicago, The Chief of the White Collar Unit of the US Attorney’s Office, Detroit, the Detroit Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI, as well as in-house counsel for local businesses. Much of the discussion was about the rise of cyber crime. The FBI agent said “There […]

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows an eligible employee to take an unpaid, job-protected leave for a specified family and medical reason with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.  A few of the common points of FMLA that may be forgotten by the employer are outlined below. Can the employer have communications with the employee […]

After a prolonged dispute, Matt Cross obtained an arbitration award for a valued client, a Detroit-based concert promoter.  The promoter paid the producer of the show a $40,000 deposit in five installments to perform its show in Detroit last year.  The producer pulled out last minute and refused to return the promoter’s deposit, citing the promoter’s failure to timely pay two of the five scheduled payments.  Mr. Cross convinced the […]

Individuals in Michigan seeking to protect assets from creditors no longer have to transfer their assets to Delaware, Nevada or Alaska.  Effective February 5, 2017, the Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act, Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, Public Act 330 of 2016, will allow the owner of trust assets to retain and protect his or her assets from creditors, while still retaining the power to direct investment decisions, the power to veto […]

Matt Cross, an attorney in our Traverse City office, recently drafted an endorsement agreement on behalf of his client, Lawrence Hunt Fashion, Inc.  Lawrence Hunt named New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard as an official brand ambassador of the Detroit-based company that is known for building dress shirts with performance fabric technology making the dress shirts breathable and sweat-wicking. Shepard joins Detroit Tigers catcher James McCann as a Lawrence […]

In the case of Richardson v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which includes the state of Michigan, interpreted, clarified and enlarged the defendant employer’s defense to a claim of age discrimination under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The Court of Appeals confirmed that the 62-year old plaintiff, Richardson, failed to offer either direct or indirect evidence that her job was terminated based […]

Businesses and public entities who routinely utilize their website to conduct business should be aware that there has been a steady increase in the number of lawsuits filed by disabled customers who cannot access websites.  The complaints have ranged from websites that could not be navigated without a mouse, websites disabling or otherwise making it difficult for accessibility software on the site visitor’s own computer to make full use of […]

The workplace environment is governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).  The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued a final order that will require employers and many high-hazard industries to electronically submit injury and illness data to OSHA.  Such reporting is already required to be tracked, but the reporting aspect of such injury or illness is what is new. The new rule […]