Red Mountain Law's Birmingham Business Law Blog

Cost-Sharing Programs for Landowners: What are you Missing?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a variety of direct subsidies and tax incentives to landowners that are aimed at preserving natural resources. In many cases, and irrespective of the size of your parcel, these programs are worth taking the time to investigate. You may find a win-win scenario in which you benefit the environment as well as your bottom line. Some of these programs include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) and the Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission Program (AACDCP).

While these programs are no doubt geared to benefit anyone who qualifies, the right program is often overlooked or misunderstood without a careful study. For example, consider a scenario in which you own property that abuts a waterway or wetland area and your family has no intention of selling it in the foreseeable future. You may have a financial incentive to participate in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). The Alabama Forestry Commission summarized the WRP program as follows:

Employers: Get Ready for Another Minimum Wage Increase

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 included phased increases to the federal minimum wage.  Beginning July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour.

DeWayne Pope, DeWayne Pope LLC

 

Filing a Lawsuit? Being Sued? Your Company Is Not Alone.

Over the past couple of months, some of my business clients have gotten their first taste of legal disputes and the legal process—either through threatening to sue another business or individual, being threatened with a lawsuit, filing a lawsuit, or getting sued.  These legal imbroglios are never pleasant experiences for a business.  My clients often joke that I must love it when they get into these situations, because it often results in an increase in their monthly legal bills.  I can assure you, however, that I do not enjoy these situations any more than they do.  In my opinion, it is almost always the case that parties to a dispute can, if acting reasonably, negotiate a better, more mutually satisfactory, and less costly (i.e., legal fees, court costs, lost time, etc.) outcome than a court.  Good lawyering should help in this settlement process.

Good Luck to Red Mountain Market

Just a quick note- good luck to Red Mountain Market the new online grocery store.  Since webcupboard, the online grocery business has always fascinated me.   The dot com era entry into this market with its extravagance did a lot of harm to the industry, but it may be time for a new foray.  They have had some good publicity lately (click here for link to article), and hopefully they can translate that to financial success.  My brother and I have no connection to them, but hope that they will succeed where we failed.

Mike Goodrich, Goodrich Law Firm, LLC

Regions Financial Hit with Subprime Lawsuit

It is one of those necessary but scary things that I believe I need to do as a corporate lawyer- read securities lawsuits and cases.  When it comes to securities litigation, the fight can sometimes be as terrible as the result.  As was widely reported in the press, Regions has recently been hit with a securities lawsuit.  Reading these lawsuits is always frightening for lawyers because it is the hindsight that comes into play.  Regardless of whether these lawsuits are with or without merit, the plaintiff’s and the plaintiff’s attorney have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.  So, with trepidation, I wallowed through the complaint.

Goodrich Law Firm to Host Annual Meeting Seminar

On March 31, the Goodrich Law Firm is hosting an annual meeting seminar.  This seminar is designed to help corporations meet the corporate formality of having an annual meeting.  The seminar will be structured around lunch and will begin at 11:30.

The seminar is unique in that we will plan on holding an annual meeting for the attendees and will provide minutes to document such a meeting.  Additionally, we will provide timely updates on legal issues pertaining to small businesses and have an informal question and answer session. This seminar is designed for small corporations with a limited number of shareholders.  The price is $65. If your business meets these criteria, we hope that you will attend.

Mike Goodrich, Goodrich Law Firm, LLC

Crossing Your T’s and Dotting Your I’s

I would like to thank the Birmingham Venture Club for posting a recent article that was written by Russell and myself.  The focus of the article is on the importance of contracts in your day to day process.  The article can be found here.  I have also included the article in full below:

Jefferson County Occupational Tax Case Goes to Mediation

The ongoing lawsuit over the validity of Jefferson County’s occupational license tax is headed to mediation.  Circuit Judge David Rains ordered the mediation and has appointed John Carroll, dean of the Cumberland School of Law, as the mediator.  The attorney for the plaintiffs in this case, Sam Hill, told the Birmingham News earlier this month that “[w]e’ve said all along that this need to go to mediation.” (See  "Jefferson County Occupational Tax Case Heads to Mediation").  To my knowledge, Jefferson County’s attorneys have not spoken publicly about the mediation.  I have to believe that Jefferson County’s attorneys have positive feelings as well about mediation. 

“Borat” Survives Alabama Supreme Court

We are pleased at Red Mountain Law to have the opportunity to blog about Borat. It came as no surprise to me that on January 19 the Alabama Supreme Court sided with Borat star Sasha Cohen and said etiquette teacher Kathie Martin could not sue Cohen or the companies that produced the movie in Alabama because she signed an agreement stating only courts in New York could hear disputes that arose from her appearance. In recent history our supreme court has become known for its strict interpretation of contracts.

United States Supreme Court Benefits Me

I guess every demographic gets its day before the U.S. Supreme Court, and dadgummit, on January 15, 2007, I got mine. Granted, third party securities advisors is a narrow class, and the ACLU does not get too passionate in defending my rights, but as a lawyer who advises companies on securities matters, the Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientifc Atlanta case was a welcome headline: “US Supreme Court refuses to extend liability to third party advisers.”