- Blog PostA controversial issue that arises in Ohio commercial activity tax audits is whether taxpayers qualify for the agency exclusion for gross receipts received on behalf of others. The CAT is Ohio’s entity-level tax for the privilege of doing business in the state, as measured by the taxpayer’s taxable gross receipts in Ohio. Some other states impose a net income tax at the entity-level, which removes expenses from the base of the tax, or have no entity-level business tax at all.
- Blog PostInvestors are now moving forward with investments in underserved “Opportunity Zone” areas that could generate tax-free returns under proposed tax regulations issued Oct. 19, 2018. Congress created the Opportunity Zone program last year through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to encourage investment in low-income areas. The proposed regulations provide investors with flexibility to attain federal tax benefits including the deferral and reduction or elimination of capital gains tax.
- AlertThe breach notification provisions of Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) went into effect Nov. 1, 2018. PIPEDA places requirements and restrictions on an entity’s collection and use of “personal information,” defined as information about an identifiable individual, in the course of a commercial activity. All organizations that collect and use personal information belonging to Canadians must comply with PIPEDA’s requirements.
- Blog PostOn November 6, Michigan voters had their say. One thing that they said loud and clear was “YES” to legalizing recreational marijuana. As the saying goes, “elections have consequences.” For Michigan employers, a consequence of the new law will be how recreational marijuana affects the workplace. This means Michigan employers must understand the provisions of the law and must make decisions about workplace policies.
- PodcastDuring the episode titled "Securities Implications of Blockchain Technology," host Mike Witzke is joined by McDonald Hopkins member Ilirjan Pipa.
- Blog PostIn Owens v. Corrigan, the Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a legal malpractice claim arising out of an underlying child custody case. The trial court dismissed the legal malpractice action due to the existence of a mandatory arbitration clause in the retainer agreement executed by the plaintiff.
- Alert
The IRS announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for the 2019 tax year. Changes to the limits are based upon the Social Security cost-of-living increases. Unlike in some recent tax years, most of the applicable pension and retirement limitations will increase for the 2019 tax year.
- NewsMcDonald Hopkins LLC has been recognized among the nation’s “Best Law Firms” in U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers’ 2019 rankings. The firm is highlighted in 40 categories, including 16 rated as Metropolitan Tier 1 practice areas. McDonald Hopkins is also nationally ranked in six categories.
- Blog Post
Update on the latest gas drilling rigs & permitting activity in the Appalachian Basin - which continue to be positive. The Appalachian Basin continues to drive the U.S. towards world leadership in oil and natural gas.
- Blog PostTitle washing, which reunited severed minerals with the surface owner, can have dramatic consequences for oil and gas drillers currently seeking to lease mineral rights. However, while the concept is fairly straightforward, if not necessarily intuitive, it can be difficult to recognize circumstances where title washing may have occurred.
- Podcast
On Episode 20 of MH Business Exchange, host Mike Witzke is joined by McDonald Hopkins attorney Michael Riley for a quick tour of all you need to know about the business income deduction.
- Blog PostEnergy poverty is a growing challenge, with 18 percent of the world’s population without access to even marginal electricity. Natural gas is a modern miracle fuel source that burns cleanly and can provide economic baseload electricity for the world – and here in the Appalachian Basin we have more of it than anywhere else.
- Blog PostLast month, the Cybersecurity Unit of the Department of Justice released its updated Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber Incidents, which outlines recommended steps to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents.
- Blog PostLast summer the Supreme Court of North Carolina handed a victory to a taxpayer challenging the state’s ability to impose its income tax on an “out-of-state” trust. In Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust v. North Carolina Dept. of Revenue, the court ruled that the state could not impose its income tax on trust income merely because it had a resident beneficiary. On Oct. 9, 2018, the North Carolina Department of Revenue petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review its case.
- Blog PostOn Oct. 17, 2018, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Curt Hartman granted a preliminary injunction to advertisers challenging new charges on billboard advertising in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cincinnati City Council adopted the measure, which is expected to raise $700,000 in revenue, in June as part of its 2019 balanced budget.
- Blog PostWhile the power struggle over Congress has grabbed headlines heading into this fall’s midterm elections, voters in several states will also see state tax issues on their ballots. Let’s take a look at some of the issues that voters will decide on Election Day.
- Blog PostLast week, the Florida Supreme Court rejected a 2013 amendment to Florida Statutes § 90.702 and held that the Frye standard, not the Daubert standard was the appropriate method to evaluate expert testimony.
- NewsMarc J. Carmel has joined the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins LLC as a member in the Business Restructuring Services Department.
- Blog PostOn Oct. 12, 2018, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) proposed regulations that would allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who satisfy training and education requirements to practice independently of physicians.
- News
John Heer discusses the uptick of chemical regulations - state and federal, as well as international - applicable to products in the United States, in an article for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Jounal Environmental Law issue.
- Blog Post
- Blog PostWe were privileged last week to be at the Utica Summit VI in Canton, Ohio. This was another great job by Joe Baron at Shale Directories along with the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce. All the presentations were wonderful and we provide links to four of them because their economic forecasts were particularly update and they will provide a positive note for your day!
- Blog PostDespite provisionally agreeing to settle an ongoing dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) centering on a tweet speculating that Tesla may be taken private, Elon Musk has continued to jeopardize settlement discussions by taunting the SEC on Twitter. Given that the terms of any settlement are subject to judicial review, Musk’s Twitter usage has risked exposing Tesla and Musk, personally, to additional monetary liability and further mandates to change Tesla’s corporate structure to limit Musk’s control over the company.
- Blog PostThe Supreme Court of Illinois recently upheld a law providing real property tax exemption to nonprofit hospitals that provide health care services to low-income and underinsured patients. On Sept. 20, 2018, the court in Oswald v. Hamer rejected a “facial” challenge to a statute setting forth the exemption, namely Law 15-86.
- Blog PostThe Ohio Supreme Court recently reaffirmed a new rule allowing property owners to rebut the presumption that a recent, arm’s length sale is the best evidence of value for real property tax purposes.
- Blog PostEffective Oct. 1, 2018, economic nexus rules take effect for remote sellers in 11 states, including Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. That means that remote sellers must begin collecting sales tax in these states if they meet the state’s economic nexus threshold, whether they have a physical presence in the state or not.
- AlertIn a highly-anticipated decision from the Ohio Supreme Court in Ohio N. Univ. v. Charles Constr. Servs., Inc., 2018-Ohio-4057, the state’s highest court unanimously ruled on Oct. 9, 2018, that a general contractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy does not cover damages caused by defective work performed by a subcontractor.
- Blog PostClarification of specific requirements for preserving causes of action in the Sixth Circuit: In re Mountain Glacier.
- AlertEffective Oct. 1, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) moved forward with an updated excavation and trenching national emphasis program. The safety enhancements represent a renewed effort on the part of the agency to prevent excavation and trenching collapses in the wake of a recent increase in trenching fatalities.
- News
Physician practices, like other HIPAA-covered entities, face a daunting array of threats to their patient protected health information (PHI) and must be diligent when protecting the privacy and security of their records. Reviewing reported breaches can offer healthcare providers, health plans and business associates guidance on how they can protect PHI.
- Blog Post
Update on the latest gas drilling rigs & permitting activity in the Appalachian Basin - which continue to be positive. The Appalachian Basin continues to drive the U.S. towards world leadership in oil and natural gas.
- News
- Blog PostOhio, Michigan and Indiana now rank as the top three states seeing the largest number of announced plastic projects, and while the increase in downstream developments brings an obvious economic benefit to the region, it also serves a national interest.
- Blog PostTrade is a key component to President Donald Trump’s national security strategy of “principled realism” — a doctrine invoked last week in the president’s speech to the UN General Assembly.
- News
McDonald Hopkins LLC has announced the selection of Labor and Employment Practice Group Chair Miriam Rosen and Chicago Managing Member David Agay to the firm’s Executive Committee beginning Oct. 1.
- News
McDonald Hopkins LLC today announced the election of five of its attorneys to the Firm’s membership: Isabelle Bibet-Kalinyak, Christine Czuprynski, Emily Johnson, Ryan Neumeyer and Katherine Esshaki Wensink.
- Blog Post
The latest in an ongoing dispute between RMH Franchise Holdings, the second-largest Applebee’s franchisee, and Applebee’s parent company, Dine Brands Global Inc.
- Blog PostOn August 13, Ohio’s 7th District Court of Appeals rendered a decision that provides some needed clarity to a narrow subset of oil and gas leases. In American Energy – Utica, LLC, et al v. Ronald L. Fuller (2018 WL 3868119), the court addressed whether, in the absence of the Lessor’s express consent, Ohio’s forced pooling statute (R.C. 1509.28) may be applied to leased acreage where the lease provides that the Lessor’s consent to such pooling is required and the lease predates R.C. 1509.28.
- Blog Post2018 has seen a whirlwind of states strengthening their data breach notification laws by expanding what qualifies as personal information and shortening time frames for reporting a breach.
- Blog PostThis post is the first in our new Title Toolkit series, where we hope to shed light on some of the murkier and less-well-understood areas of oil, gas and mineral title throughout the Appalachian Basin.
- Blog PostRep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) is telling Bloomberg Tax that he is “very confident” that his bill, the Online Sales Simplicity and Small Business Relief Act of 2018 (H.R. 6814) will be heard in the House of Representatives before the end of 2018
- Blog PostRecord production in recent years has allowed the United States to become the world’s leading producer of petroleum and natural gas. With the dramatic rise in production has come lowered commodity prices and an increased necessity for oil and gas exploration and production companies (E&Ps) to manage costs. As forward-looking E&Ps consider innovative means of reducing expenses, blockchain technology presents an exciting opportunity to improve margins.
- Blog PostThe state of Ohio recently designated 44 “Opportunity Zones” in underprivileged areas of Columbus, Ohio, where investors may obtain federal income tax benefits for deploying their investment resources. Overall, there are now 320 qualified Opportunity Zones in Ohio.
- Blog PostRelying on the same reasoning as the Seventh District Court of Appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court has affirmed the decision in Dundics.
- Blog PostThe Brooklyn solar farm rendered on a landfill in Cuyahoga County is one of 16 finalists for Solar Builder magazine’s 2018 Solar Builder Project of the Year. McDonald Hopkins attorneys Mike Wise and Chad Arfons represented developer Enerlogics Solar in the Brooklyn solar project and managed the development process.
- Blog PostRecently, the Consumer Energy Alliance (“CEA”) issued a report about the benefits of the shale revolution for the people of Ohio. The report "highlights how domestic shale development saved Ohio consumers more than $40 billion from 2006 to 2016 by driving down natural gas prices. Thanks to prolific natural gas production in the Appalachian Basin, the region now boasts the lowest natural gas prices in the world — and at the end of the day, that means billions in savings to natural gas consumers.”
- Blog PostWhat’s the difference between the Supplemental and Principal Registers? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers two separate trademark registers – the Principal Register and the Supplemental Register.
- Alert
- NewsJordan Koss has joined the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins LLC as a member and will be the head of the firm’s startup and venture capital group. He comes to McDonald Hopkins from goodcounsel LLC, a top boutique firm in Chicago focused on early stage startup representation, with prior experience at Fenwick & West in San Francisco and Kirkland & Ellis in New York.
- Blog PostPotential antitrust risks presented by blockchain technology and safeguards companies can take to try to ensure they aren’t unwittingly running afoul of antitrust laws.
