We've all been there before. You are at a Badgers tailgate or youth baseball game when a cute kid asks you to buy a gas or grocery gift card for the benefit of his or her sports team, band, or youth group. It seems like a great deal for everyone involved - you get a...
It may seem odd to think that the winning party in court could be ordered to pay the losing side's attorney's fees, but it happened recently in a dispute involving Murphy Oil USA, Inc. ("Murphy Oil") and some of its employees. The result may seem even stranger in...
I aways slept better when the signed original was in my file. I liked it even more if the signatures were written in different colored ink. And I never lost a fondness for those old fashioned notary seals that put an impression right into the paper that you could...
Employers often require employees to enter into a restrictive covenant, commonly referred to as a "non-compete agreement," in an effort to protect key business relationships and confidential information. This may be done at the start of employment in exchange for...
From real estate lifers to deep-pocketed retirees, many people decide at one time or another to invest in rental properties to produce a revenue stream. These investors should be aware of the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) that may reduce the profit potential for...
The Best Lawyers in America© 2015 (Copyright 2014 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC) recently recognized eight attorneys from Stroud, Willink & Howard in its 2015 edition. These attorneys were selected for inclusion by their peers. We proudly recognize the...
A property's classification (e.g., as residential, commercial, agricultural, etc.) for property tax purposes can greatly affect how the property is assessed. This is particularly true for vacant land. Real estate that is classified for property tax purposes as...
The Court of Appeals case Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Inc. v. City of Mequon addressed a taxpayer's claim for exemption from property taxes under the "benevolent purpose" exemption contained in §70.11(4), Wis. Stat. The property at issue in...
Employers should take note that recent initiatives by two key federal agencies signal a joint effort to facilitate employment complaints, and they may even require an employer to defend simultaneous complaints. First, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the...
On July 10, 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the doctrine of equitable assignment is still the law in Wisconsin. Equitable assignment, first recognized in Wisconsin cases dating from the 1880s but rarely invoked since, is a doctrine pursuant to which the...
