Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.2024-01-24T11:36:39Zhttps://www.lindhorstlaw.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1501495/2020/09/cropped-site-identity-32x32.jpgby Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=482692022-10-06T02:52:17Z2022-01-18T20:42:52ZMichael Lyon, Jim Brockman and Paul Vollman for being named to the Ohio Super Lawyers list for 2022. In addition, Lyon and Brockman were named as top 50 lawyers in Cincinnati.
Super Lawyers is a rating service of leading lawyers from multiple practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
Started in 1943, Lindhorst & Dreidame has been continuously based in downtown Cincinnati. The firm’s practice areas include commercial litigation, business disputes, insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, personal injury, real estate, corporate law, tax, estate planning and family law.]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=477812020-12-15T19:28:59Z2020-11-02T02:43:01Zdissolve a marriage is through a dissolution. A dissolution takes place when both parties agree to resolve every issue in the case regarding things like custody and child support. A separation agreement will be signed that will reflect the arrangements made.
There are many different ways to suspend or dissolve a marriage, but individuals may have many questions and concerns. People looking for help with these matters may benefit by working with family law attorneys.]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468542020-10-16T09:51:34Z2020-09-08T04:00:00Z
When an employee claims they were hurt on the job, employers need to handle these situations properly. It's important to protect the rights of the employee, but you also have to protect the interests of the business. This isn't always easy.
You can't go into every claim thinking that an employee is trying to get something over on you, but you shouldn't assume that you don't need to be cautious. False injury claims do happen.
To minimize problems, your team should understand what workers' compensation benefits are for and when they apply. They should also know how to report accidents to you. Once the accident is reported, an official report must be written out. An incident report must be filed with the workers' compensation carrier. This is done according to your insurance carrier's instructions.
The employee will have to obtain medical care. Once this is done, you may be able to put together a plan for the employee to return to work. Remember that there are several laws to consider during this process, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, so evaluate the options prior to doing the planning. You should follow the doctor's directions for the return, and this might include having to place the employee on a light-duty restriction.
All workers' compensation cases should be handled carefully. These are complex matters because of the number of compliance issues involved, but you shouldn't ever allow an employee to benefit from a fraudulent claim. Your attorney can help you to ensure that you're defending your company as necessary in these cases.
]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468562020-10-16T09:51:36Z2020-09-04T04:00:00ZIndividuals who work for companies in a non-employee capacity often refer to their roles as consultants or contractors. The interchanging of these words can make it challenging to understand precisely what their role entails. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) career data shows that these two titles describe two distinct roles. BLS data shows that contractors most commonly have bachelor's degrees. They are outsiders who are often hired by a company to complete project work in a specified field. Two sectors that hire contractors that BLS projects to experience high growth include the interior design and computer support specialist industries. DOL data shows a projected growth of 4% within the former and a 10% increase in demand within the latter sector. BLS data shows that individuals who work as interior design contractors had a median salary of $56,040 in 2019. Computer support specialists made, on average, $54,760. Individuals who work as consultants often have bachelor's degrees coupled with years of work experience in a specific area or a post-graduate diploma. Many companies who hire on consultants do so to conduct research, study a business problem, and make recommendations about how to address an issue on budget. One of the most quickly growing consultant roles includes operations research analyst, a sector that BLS officials expect to grow by 26% between now and 2028. Another title that is experiencing high growth is that of a management analyst. DOL statisticians anticipate this role growing by 14% by 2028. The median income for individuals in the former sector is $84,810. It's $85,260 for the latter. It's quite common for Cincinnati companies to have relatively standard contacts that they modify a bit to reflect a shift in tasks, yet otherwise keep relatively the same. There are other situations in which a contractor or consultant may come armed with their unique demands to negotiate before agreeing to work for another entity. It can be beneficial for you to bring an attorney with you who is familiar with business contracts and leases. They can help you negotiate your Ohio work agreement to ensure that it adequately protects your interests no matter what role you assume.]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468572020-10-16T09:51:38Z2020-08-27T04:00:00Z
We live in a very competitive world where someone is always interested in getting an upper edge on another at all costs. Many Ohio employers ask their employees to sign noncompete agreements (NCAs) to protect themselves from workers from taking off their operational details and customers and starting their own thing right in their figurative backyard. Any employer looking to protect their interests by having an employee sign an NCA must make sure that they include certain information in it for it to hold up in a court of law.
Employers generally aren't able to ask an employee to sign an NCA on a whim. They must instead offer some consideration in exchange for them doing so. You can satisfy your obligation by merely extending a job offer to a prospective employee pre-hire. You may have to give an existing worker a raise or bonus as consideration to sign an NCA, though.
Any NCA that your worker signs must be limited in scope. While you can use this type of agreement to restrict a former employee from working in your industry or a geographic vicinity for a certain period, you have to be careful that this legally-binding document isn't too overreaching in its scope. You can't restrict a former employee from working in virtually any field or an entirely different market from the one you operate within. An Ohio judge may invalidate your agreement if its scope is too overreaching.
The reason you require your employee to sign an NCA should be apparent. You should have something to protect, whether it's proprietary information or customers that a former employee could use to gain a competitive advantage over you. An Ohio judge may invalidate your NCA if you don't clearly articulate the valuable asset that you're hoping to protect.
NCAs exist to protect your investment of time and resources that you've spent growing your business. A judge may invalidate an agreement that is too prohibitive or otherwise poorly written, though.
Save yourself the time and expense that comes with an employee dragging you in and out of a courtroom fighting a less-than-airtight NCA by having an attorney review your agreement long before you have your worker sign on the dotted line. Your Cincinnati attorney will make sure that your NCA protects your interests while not being too prohibitive at the same time.
]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468592020-10-16T09:51:40Z2020-08-21T04:00:00Z
The executor of an estate has specific fiduciary responsibilities. It's an Ohio personal representative's legal obligation to act in the best interest of the deceased and carry out their instructions and wishes to the best of their abilities.
A fiduciary has two primary responsibilities. They are paying off any debts that the testator left behind and distributing any of their remaining assets to the heirs.
It's also the fiduciary's responsibility to open a checking account to manage the estate's affairs. They're also obligated to file the testator's final tax return.
Executors must keep beneficiaries updated as to what's happening with the estate.
There are instances in which personal representatives fail to pay off debts, engage in self-dealing or sell off assets for less than their fair market value. It's in cases like these that the court may discharge the executor of the estate. A court may also order any personal representative that engages in impropriety to pay fees associated with their mismanagement of funds.
Fiduciaries who are attorneys are subject to a higher level of scrutiny when handling estates. Attorneys must follow codes of ethics and professional responsibility. They can face disciplinary action and possibly even disbarment if they violate their fiduciary duty to a client.
It's a serious allegation for you to accuse an Ohio personal representative of violating their fiduciary duty. You can't consider every executor's misstep as a breach of their legal responsibilities, though.
You should present your concerns to an attorney if you suspect that the executor of your Cincinnati loved one's estate hasn't upheld their fiduciary duty in administering it. Your lawyer will analyze what has happened in your case thus far and advise you on what steps you should take moving forward.
]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468772020-10-16T09:51:42Z2020-08-16T04:00:00Z
When you entered into a business arrangement, you likely anticipated the deal benefiting your company in various ways. You may have needed to expand and made a deal with another company to sell your product. You may have needed materials to manufacture your product and reached out to a vendor for supplies. Whatever the case, you ensured that all parties involved signed a contract associated with the arrangement.
While you may have felt secure in moving forward with the deal because of your contractual agreement, you recently hit a major snag. In fact, you believe that the other party has breached the terms of the contract. Now, your company is at risk of suffering significant losses or has already incurred losses, and you need to handle the problem directly and efficiently.
Being as direct as possible
The most direct way to address a problem with a contractual agreement is to reach out to the other party. You may have the ability to bring up the problem with that party and come to an arrangement to rectify the issues that have come about. Of course, the other party may not believe that it has breached the contract terms, and you may not find a simple solution.
Going over the terms
If the other party disputes your claims that it breached the contract, you may want to go over the terms of the contract carefully and determine where you believe the issue has occurred. Important details to consider include the following:
The dates involved: If the other party failed to fulfill its part of the arrangement by the agreed-upon date included in the contract, that party may have breached the contract.
Payment: If the contract included terms regarding how much you would pay the other party for materials or services, and the other party now demands a higher payment, that party may have violated the terms.
Duties: If the contract included information about what actions you expected from the other party or even listed prohibited actions, and the other party did not abide by those terms, you may have reason to make a breach of contract claim.
Confidentiality: You may have needed to reveal proprietary information to the other party in order to complete the arrangement, and if that party agreed to keep that information confidential but disclosed it to an outside party, you have reason to believe a breach of contract occurred.
Though a best-case scenario in such situations is to resolve the problem amicably, that is not always an option. You may need to consider your viable legal routes to address the problem, including moving forward with litigation. It may be in the interests of your company to discuss the issue with an Ohio business law attorney to determine how to move forward.
]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468782020-10-16T09:51:44Z2020-08-14T04:00:00Z
It's against the law for Ohio employers to harass their employees. It's illegal for customers and colleagues to do the same.
Employees should feel safe to report harassment when it occurs, and employers should take these complaints seriously and act upon them immediately.
There should be an internal system in place to appropriately handle complaints when they arise. It's the employer's responsibility to inform both the accuser and the accused of how they plan to go about investigating the allegations. It's also an employer's job to keep both parties in the loop about any actions they take regarding the harassment complaint.
All employers should aim to document all details surrounding the harassment complaints. Your company's leadership should use neutral and nonaccusatory language and little to no legal jargon. Employers should abstain from labeling behaviors and offering opinions or making inferences as well. If you're going to document a reported harassment claim, then it's best to stick to just the facts.
Your company's written harassment policy should encourage employees to report any complaints to your human resources office. They should do so verbally rather than through email. One of the downsides to relaying such information via electronic correspondence is that it's not privileged. Either party can use emails as evidence should a lawsuit arise.
Employers must remain neutral throughout the investigation process and thoroughly document each step they take during it. It's best if employers take exhaustive efforts to corroborate or disprove the allegation that the accusing employee brings forth and handle it with as much confidentiality as possible.
It's sadly not that uncommon for employees to voice harassment concerns in this era. Not listening to an accuser or giving the benefit of the doubt to the alleged perpetrator can have profound effects on both parties. Not following through in thoroughly investigating claims can affect your company's culture and make other victims afraid to step up and report what allegedly happened to them. It can also expose your Cincinnati company to legal liability.
You need to have a plan in place for handling employee harassment claims. It's also critical that you know what your Ohio company's rights and responsibilities are and what protections the complainant and accused have. An experienced attorney can help walk you through this process so that you don't end up with any legal problems.
]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468802020-10-16T09:51:46Z2020-08-07T04:00:00Z Debt is a typical cost associated with doing business. It's not uncommon for governments and companies to accumulate debt by borrowing funds from bondholders. They often pay the debt back at a specified period at an agreed interest rate. Generally, payments are made monthly or quarterly. The borrower must then pay back the lenders in full once the borrowing period is complete. The most common way that companies administer an issuance of debt is through corporate bonds. This situation involves a lender issuing a loan to fund an acquisition, capital project or other company expenditures. Companies buy and sell bonds in the bond market. Each company has a credit rating assigned by firms like Moody's or Standard & Poor's. Creditors use that credit rating to decide how much interest the company will have to pay once a debt is issued. They also take into account the demand for that particular bond. Like consumers, companies with lower credit ratings will have to pay higher interest rates. Businesses with more stable finances and balance sheets will lock in lower indexes. Companies that issue debts often do so for a specified period, such as 30 years. Lenders receive interest payments or coupons throughout the payment period. The borrowed amount must be paid in full when the period ends. If the interest rate falls during the period, the borrower can buy back the loans through a process referred to as "calling them in." The borrower can then reissue them on more favorable terms. If you are considering having debt issued for your Cincinnati company, it's essential to understand how the terms and conditions of this type of financial instrument work. An experienced attorney can go over how Ohio law treats issuances of debt and help you decide whether taking such financial obligations is right for you and your business. ]]>On Behalf of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A.https://www.lindhorstlaw.com/?p=468812020-10-16T09:51:48Z2020-07-28T04:00:00Z Businesses in this state are expected to comply with the terms of the Ohio Sales Practices Act, but some business owners aren't quite certain how this applies to their company. When a business isn't in compliance, they can face legal action. This act is meant to help protect consumers from issues that stem from unfair, deceptive or unconscionable practices. The act doesn't only protect consumers when a good is being sold. It also protects them from being misled into a transaction involving services. Because of this, you should always ensure that you and everyone representing your company acts in an ethical manner. A claim under this act can be costly. Your company could be forced to pay up to $5,000 in non-economic damages. You could also be on the hook for attorney fees and treble damages. Unfortunately, fighting these claims is often a big challenge because of the specifics of the act. It is much easier for consumers to prove that they have a claim than what they'd have to prove if this wasn't in effect. The claims that a company may face range from not providing a customer with a written estimate to making false statements like claiming that a product has a warranty or certification when it doesn't. Even incorrectly saying that a repair or replacement is needed on a product can lead to a claim. Any business owner who's facing litigation due to an alleged violation of this act should work quickly to determine what recourse they have. Working with someone who is familiar with this act may help you focus on running your company instead of constantly trying to strategize what to do. Just remember, the future of your business should be the basis for all decisions you make. ]]>