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Guest post by Madison Tanner, Esq.

It is the most wonderful time of the year! Bonus season. Jokes aside, it is the season of giving. We have all been through so much this year: a pandemic, a contentious election, and virtual meetings replacing human interaction. The challenges we faced in 2020 resulted in the closure of local restaurants, reduced hours at small boutiques, and limitation of leisurely activities outside of the home. Many of us (particularly the last minute shoppers like me) are fleeing to our favorite small businesses to purchase a gift certificate for a loved one while simultaneously supporting the “shop small” movement. Small businesses graciously save the (holi)day with their festive gift certificates and I-O-U services. Thanks to these establishments, we can purchase an experience for our loved ones ranging from a facial or massage to a meal at their ideal lunch spot. The begging question is: how long does one have to use that gift certificate? The answer: in Florida, it should not expire.

Florida Law

Florida Statute § 501.95 governs on the issue. The statute, beloved by the consumer and despised by the small business owner, was first enacted in 2007 in an effort to regulate trade and protect consumers. Pursuant to § 501.95(2)(a):

“a gift certificate purchased or credit memo issued in this state may not have an expiration date, expiration period, or any type of postsale charge or fee imposed on the gift certificate or credit memo….”

Exceptions to the Rule

Continue Reading Small Businesses Beware and Consumers Rejoice: Gift Certificates Cannot Expire

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In a perfect world, as 2020 comes to a welcomed end by so many, all the vestiges of COVID-19 would also leave with this largely forgettable year. Not to be.

Though there is some good news with vaccinations already in use and perhaps optimism that this pandemic can be controlled; the damage that was caused in 2020 by government shutdowns, capacity limits in businesses, consumer uncertainty, and health risks has led to a large uptick in the court system dealing with business disruption claims due to this historic pandemic. Below, is some of the latest.

Sport’s bar business interruption lawsuit dismissed

Right here in Florida, a Federal Judge dismissed a sports bar’s lawsuit seeking coverage for lost business due to state-ordered restrictions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As we have seen in other similar decisions, the court found that the bar did not experience a “direct physical loss.”

Continue Reading As 2020 comes to a close, COVID-19 litigation is not slowing down

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As a maritime lawyer, I am frequently asked by private and commercial owners whether they need to register their vessels with the U.S. Coast Guard. In short, it depends.

Vessel documentation is a national form of registration that has existed for many years dating back to the 11th Act of the First Congress. Vessel documentation is a national form of registration available for vessels that measure at least five net tons and are wholly owned by a U.S. citizen or citizens. Vessel documentation provides evidence of nationality for your vessel and is used mainly for international purposes. When you document your boat with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), you receive a Certificate of Documentation (COD) which is issued by the Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC).

International waters

Continue Reading Should I document my vessel with the U.S. Coast Guard?

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The COVID-19 pandemic has driven even more commerce to online platforms and away from brick-and-mortar stores. This shift is likely to amplify litigation regarding website compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”).

Drive-By Litigation

The ADA was originally put in motion to provide equal access to physical locations and services. It generally requires establishments to provide people with disabilities easy access to a business. In recent years, the ADA has been interpreted to include websites. The ultimate goal of the ADA is to eliminate exclusivity and offer an equal experience to all people. Thus, the logic goes, businesses should be inviting to everybody via physical location and website.

Plaintiff attorneys have developed a cottage industry over the last several years by filing thousands of lawsuits alleging that company websites are not accessible to the blind or visually impaired. In 2016 there were 262 website accessibility cases; by 2019 that number had risen to 2235. Often the same disabled individual (with the same attorney) will file these claims. They seek an injunction to make the company’s website ADA accessible and attorneys’ fees. Florida is a breeding ground for this drive-by litigation, and while the original targets were often large corporations, plaintiffs have moved on to small, locally-owned businesses.

What constitutes an ADA-compliant website?

Continue Reading Your business website might get you sued

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Regardless of who you supported in the recent Presidential election, one thing both candidates agreed on was that the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is not going away. The FLSA is a Depression-era law that has seen relatively little change in nearly 90 years. It created a federal minimum wage and required that most employees be paid overtime of 1.5 times their regular hourly rate when an employee works more than 40 hours in a workweek. So why, after so many years, do employers regularly trip up on this law, sometimes costing them in the hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Common FLSA Misconceptions

Continue Reading When do employers need to pay overtime?

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In the ever-emerging business interruption coverage world, Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr., a North Carolina Judge, ruled that Cincinnati Insurance Company owes a group of restaurants coverage for losses which flowed from a North Carolina mandated COVID-19 shutdown, in the matter of North State Deli LLC et al. v. The Cincinnati Insurance Co., 20-CVS-02569, in the State of North Carolina General Court of Justice for the County of Durham. This ruling appears to be the first decision to hold that a government-ordered shutdown to contain the virus caused a “physical loss.”

In previous blog posts (Recent COVID-19 Business Interruption Decision is a Win for Insurers and What You Need to Know About COVID-19 and Business Interruption Insurance Coverage), we set forth that these cases are being fought on the issue of whether there is a “physical loss” which would trigger coverage under many business policies. Judge Hudson Jr. stated that the term direct physical loss includes an:

inability to utilize…something in the real, material or bodily world, resulting from a given cause.”

In sum, physical damage or alteration is not needed to trigger the coverage.

Continue Reading Trend or Outlier: North Carolina Restaurants, the First to Get Physical Loss COVID-19 Coverage

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On July 1, 2020, an Ingham Michigan Judge dismissed a claim of first impression, ruling in favor of an insurer’s decision to deny business interruption coverage due to the finding that the insured business owner did not suffer a direct physical loss under the policy.

Similar to many lawsuits on this uniquely 2020 issue, the case (Gavrilides Management Company v. Michigan Insurance Company) focused on whether there was a “direct physical loss of or damage to the insured’s property” which would trigger the coverage for business interruption. This particular claim centered on a business owners’ two restaurants in Lansing Michigan in the amount of $650,000.

The insurer argued that the business interruption coverage kicks in by an occurrence that actually alters or damages the property, which apparently did not occur. The claimant argued that non-destructive losses are also covered by the policy. Continue Reading Recent COVID-19 Business Interruption Decision is a Win for Insurers

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The coronavirus has impacted more than an individual’s health and well-being. In the wake of this global pandemic, many businesses have been impacted — whether it be from an order from local or state government or because it has been directly hit with employees or customers who were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Businesses have had to grapple with the distinction between “essential” and “non-essential” and alter their budget to purchase PPE and other sanitary items. Projections for revenue for 2020 were obliterated in the process leaving business owners with difficult decisions in terms of whether it is worthwhile to remain open in a limited capacity, temporary closure, furloughs, layoffs, bankruptcy, or in some cases going out of business. The Payroll Protection Program instituted by the Federal Government has provided a temporary salve, however, in many cases business losses continue in big and small ways.

Business Interruption Insurance

The natural offshoot of this business and economic disruption for businesses is whether their business insurance coverage, for which its owners paid premiums month in and month out, ‘owe’ for business income lost, and additional expenses, due to a viral pandemic such as to COVID-19.

Multiple insurers are facing federal class action lawsuits for denying business interruption claims. Further, claims by business owners for business disruption losses have increased exponentially. This post endeavors to examine some of the issues that will be at the forefront for business owners, and carriers, as it pertains to COVID-19.

Coverage

Continue Reading What You Need to Know About COVID-19 and Business Interruption Insurance Coverage

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An injured worker may seek to establish compensability of the contraction of COVID-19 under two legal theories:

  1. Exposure; and,
  2. Occupational disease.

Pursuant to Florida Statutes §440.02(1), an injury or disease:

caused by exposure to a toxic substance is generally not an injury or accident arising out of employment.”

Although this section has not been utilized in the context of a virus, it is assumed, for the purposes of this discussion, that the virus is considered a toxic substance.

Exposure

Continue Reading Is an employer liable for a workers’ compensation claim if an employee contracts COVID-19 at work?

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Taxpayers have until today (July 15) to request an extension to file their 2019 federal tax return. If an extension is approved, taxpayers could have until October 15 to file, but any taxes owed are due by July 15.

Common Tax Return Errors

The IRS has noted the following common tax return errors:

  • Missing or inaccurate Social Security numbers
  • Math errors
  • Inaccurate filing status
  • Incorrect calculation of credits or deductions
  • Unsigned returns
  • Filing with an expired individual taxpayer identification number

The IRS highly encourages taxpayers to use the e-file or IRS Free File system. The IRS software will formulate calculations, flag common errors, and prompt taxpayers for missing information, all of which ultimately reduces tax return errors. A tax return containing errors can delay refunds.

What if I can’t pay my tax bill?

Continue Reading IRS Provides Tips for Last-Minute Tax Filers