By: Roy Kozupsky & Amelia (“Amy”) Renkert-Thomas Estate planning for family business owners is big business for many wealth advisors. Fueling this area of work is a combination of factors including the historically large (and at least for now increasing) federal estate tax exemptions. Congressional leaders, in their redundant debate, perennially raise the possibility of changing the estate tax regime. Both sides seem politically persuasive. The left argues that tax revenues are needed and warns that large amounts of wealth being transferred to future generations will create a dynastic social atmosphere that will weaken the entrepreneurial fabric of America’s culture…. Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have issued a joint  fraud alert highlighting their awareness of multiple investment scams targeting foreign nationals who seek to become lawful permanent residents through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. To help avoid scams, the SEC and USCIS recommend person interested in the EB-5 program take the following steps: Confirm that the regional center has been designated by USCIS. Obtain copies of documents provided to USCIS. Request investment information in writing. Ask if promoters are being paid. Seek independent verification. Examine structural risk. Consider the developer’s incentives. Look for… Read more

The March 2015 Visa Bulletin very unexpectedly provides a huge jump forward for EB-2 India to 01JAN2007 – a leap of 16 months!  Last month the Department of State predicted a movement of between 4 – 6 months.  There is no word from them this month as to why the big jump this month or what we can expect in the coming months.  One theory would be that they are opening up the gates to see what volume of cases come in, and then over the next few months they’ll slow or stop the forward movement, or even retrogress them…. Read more

Valuable information sometimes comes in small packages.  And so it is with a recent study that caught my attention about a small section of American business families.  While not geographically diverse, the study offers yet another glimpse into the many contradictions and complexities of family owned businesses.  This study was conducted by the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University, both in Michigan.  What makes the survey so interesting is its very regional nature of focusing on counties in West Michigan.  690 family businesses were sent surveys and 156 responded.  Just some facts: The… Read more

Does New York recognize an independent cause of action seeking medical monitoring by cigarette manufacturers to assist in the early detection of lung cancer? Answer: No. In Caronia v. Philip Morris USA, 2013 NY Slip Op 08372 (decided December 17, 2013), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asked the Court “to determine whether [New York] recognizes an independent equitable cause of action for medical monitoring and, if so, what the elements, appropriate statute of limitations and accrual date are for that particular cause of action.” Id. at 1-2. The Court of Appeals summarized the claims and relief sought: Plaintiffs, who… Read more

Was an employee of a commercial cleaning company engaged, at the time of his fall, in a type of cleaning covered by Labor Law § 240(1)? Answer: No. At the outset of the opinion in Soto v. J. Crew Inc., 2013 NY Slip Op 06603, the Court stated: Plaintiff, an employee of a commercial cleaning company hired to provide janitorial services for a retail store, [who] was injured when he fell from a four-foot-tall ladder while dusting a six-foot-high display shelf. He brought a Labor Law § 240(1) action against J. Crew, the retail store, and The Mercer I LLC, the building owner.

During the last several months the New York Court of Appeals addressed a wide variety of  unique  and interesting  legal issues, including the claim of a German museum to recover a 3,000 year old tablet that disappeared at the end of War II ; the right of a judgment debtor to sue a bank that allegedly failed to follow correct procedures in serving restraining notices; the right of a non-resident to obtain a hand gun license; the legal distinction between different types of commercial cleaning services; and the constitutionality of  charging a hotel room occupancy tax for online booking services.

In K2 Investment Group, LLC v. American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Company, 2013 NY Slip Op. 04270 (June 11, 2013), the Court of Appeals held that “when a liability insurer has breached its duty to defend its insured, the insurer may not later rely on policy exclusions to escape its duty to indemnify the insured for a judgment against him.”