Authored Articles

Employers are vulnerable to being the targets of negative online and social media postings, and sometimes these statements can give rise to defamation claims. However, an employer considering suing a current or former employee for internet defamation must be careful if the (ex-)employee recently engaged in protected activity.

It is important to regularly review asset titling and ensure such titling is consistent with one’s estate plan.

Mr. Smith, a widower, died survived by his three children. At the time of his death, Mr. Smith had the following assets: Residence (valued at $250,000), Checking/Savings Accounts (valued at $50,000) and Investment Account (valued at $600,000).

Unauthorized online sales have become very problematic for many businesses, including those offering high-end luxury products, companies selling beauty and skin care products and also multi-level marketing (or MLM) companies.

Companies from many industries have long been contracting with distributors to sell products on an exclusive basis. As technology has evolved, however, it has become easier for anyone to sell products on the internet, and the diversion of products to unauthorized online sellers poses a serious threat to companies.

Vorys Partners Pete Lusenhop and John Keller authored an article titled “Deduction of Post-Production Costs – An Analysis of Royalty Calculation Issues Across the Appalachian Basin” for the for the 36th Annual Energy & Mineral Law Institute Publication.

Monica Oathout, a partner in the Vorys Houston office and a member of the labor and employment group, authored an article for Texas Lawyer titled “Open Carry Law Presents Unsightly Small Business Problems.”

In recent years, there has been backlash against non-disparagement clauses pertaining to online reviews, specifically those attempting to restrict honest—albeit negative—feedback about companies. In fact, California passed a law in August 2014 prohibiting anti-negative review policies, while the Federal Trade Commission filed its first ever lawsuit over similar non-disparagement clauses last September.

Aaron Williams, an attorney in the Vorys Cleveland office and member of the litigation group, authored an article titled “Oil and Gas Drilling and Operations in Ohio: The Evolution of the State’s Sole and Exclusive Regulatory Authority” for LexisNexis/Matthew Bender’s Proceedings of the Institute on Oil and Gas Law.

Grey market goods generally refer to items manufactured in one country and imported into another (e.g. products created abroad that are imported into the United States) without consent from the trademark owners.

Allegations of “greenwashing”—generally defined as “the practice of making an unsubstantiated or misleading claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology or company practice”—are on the rise.

Jolie Havens, the chair of the firm’s health care group, and Stephanie Angeloni, an associate in the health care group, co-authored an article for Crain’s Cleveland Business titled “Legislative Action Impacting Medicare Provider-Based Payment Means Big Change for Hospitals.”

When it comes to handling internet defamation issues and other online reputation attacks—specifically in terms of removing the content from the internet— the solutions are, in one word: fact-dependent. There is no other way to describe it; there is no perfect solution that can be applied to every instance of online defamation.

Ordinary consumers are often unable to distinguish counterfeit products from legitimate products. In fact, according to a recent study, nearly one in four consumers has unknowingly purchased a counterfeit product on the internet.

During 2015, the number of appeals to the Ohio Supreme Court from decisions of the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) declined from historical highs in 2014, but are still significantly above appeals from prior years.

The court reversed a Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) decision that denied a property tax exemption to a board of education that leased a 34-acre parcel of property to a farmer. The local board of education (BOE) acquired 154 acres to build a new high school.

The State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise properties for tax purposes every six years and update those values in the middle of that cycle. This cycle is not evenly distributed between Ohio’s 88 counties.

There are several ways in which a disgruntled beneficiary or disinherited heir can challenge a last will and testament or a trust.

It’s all over the news and it’s top of mind with bank regulators: “Cybersecurity.” What happened with Target, Home Depot and Wyndham hasn’t helped. The last several years have been fraught with news story after news story about those crafty hackers who find vulnerabilities in a company’s system and steal private information or even redirect funds. And despite all of our technological advancements, the escalation in successful hacking attempts has no end in sight. Call them hackers, fraudsters or good old-fashioned crooks, from computer-savvy teenagers to state-sponsored groups, they are not going away. And, unfortunately, they seem at times to be two steps ahead of the latest security software and security vendors that are offering you and your financial institution protection.

With an industry-wide focus on enterprise risk management, and with the particular vulnerability of banks to the adverse impact of “reputation risk,” it is important that banks understand and take appropriate steps to mitigate risks associated with internet defamation. Online reputation attacks, including internet defamation, are affecting all industries and professionals. Banks, –including community banks,– are not immune from being attacked and disparaged online.