Effective November 10, Governor Hogan, by Executive Order, has imposed or restored certain Covid restrictions against the ability of Maryland businesses to fully operate. The Governor’s Order also allows counties to impose more restrictive regulations: Montgomery County did just that by imposing a more restrictive regulation (also effective November 10).
As online shopping continues to grow, consumers are relying more than ever on issuing payment for those transactions remotely. Despite the appeal and convenience, especially during a global pandemic, many transactions continue to be paid for with traditional checks, including cashier checks. The appeal of checks is due to the sense of security that the financial institution has cleared the funds for disbursement. However, with advanced technology in digital copying and document manipulation, checks are particularly prone to counterfeits and scams. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Consumer Sentinel Network database alone reported more than 27,000 counterfeit check scams with losses topping $28 million dollars in 2019. The FTC also provides that the median loss reported on a counterfeit check scam is about $1,988.
In a recent case, the Court of Appeals of Maryland dismissed the appeal of a Maryland limited liability company (“Company”) in a breach of contract action because the Company failed to file a personal property tax return.
By now, most business owners have read the emerging scientific news that the COVID-19 pandemic may linger for one to three years. Alongside this “lengthening” of the curve, the media is filled with coverage of the political, social and economic pressure to re-open and significant concerns from employees that their workplaces will not be safe enough. In any event, businesses should prepare for re-closing and for one or more partial contractions before complete stabilization.
Re-opening your business is the hot topic as local and state governments relax COVID-19 shelter in place orders. Regardless of industry, most small businesses need to address core labor issues and evaluate what additional industry-specific concerns should be addressed. Both valid and specious employment claims are already on the rise due to a combination of new laws, economic pressures, and a tight job market.
Now that Maryland is beginning to relax its shelter in place order and other local jurisdictions will likely follow suit, business owners need to begin planning for re-opening so that it can be done in a safe and effective way. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing a series of articles that are designed to help you target the relevant issues as you contemplate re-opening, managing labor risks, and possibly shutting down again.
Effective as of May 15, 2020, at 5 p.m., Governor Hogan has amended Maryland’s COVID-19 “Stay at Home Order” to ease certain restrictions on businesses and gatherings and to allow for the re-opening of certain businesses. This article discusses Order No. 20-05-13-01. A link to the complete Order appears at the end of this article.
Of all the questions which we are receiving from clients these days, “force majeure” is the one that can be hardest for clients to grasp and lawyers to give definitive answers on. Although little known and seldom used, this legal concept can be tremendously helpful to prevent a costly contract dispute when a party cannot perform as expected. It’s the equivalent of a “get out of jail free” card in a Monopoly game.