Redhead by the Side of the Road – by Anne Tyler

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Brett Altier

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Redhead by the Side of the Road – by Anne Tyler

By Patty Shlonsky

September 15, 2020

Anne Tyler writes about the extraordinary in the ordinary. “Redhead by the Side of the Road” is a beautiful example of her prototypical story telling. Micah Mortimer is in his early forties and his life is just sort of slipping along. “You have to wonder what goes through the mind of a man like Micah Mortimer. He lives alone; he keeps to himself; his routine is etched in stone.” Micah’s routine includes an early morning…

Landlord Liability During COVID-19 – Part Four – Ohio COVID-19 Legislation

September 11, 2020

Thanks for joining us for the final part of our blog series on potential liability of landlords reopening shopping centers in Ohio. In this part four, we are going to take a look at proposed COVID-19 related legislation that is traveling through the Ohio general assembly. On September, 2, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly enacted HB Bill 606 and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine now has 10 days to respond. As this bill has yet to…

Landlord Liability During COVID-19 – Part Three – Recommendations

September 10, 2020

Thanks for joining us for part three of our blog on potential liability for landlords reopening shopping centers in Ohio. In this part three, we are going to make some recommendations to landlords on how to try to best protect themselves. At minimum, landlords should (a) closely follow CDC guidelines for commercial establishments, as well as (b) post warnings at all entrances to the shopping center detailing (1) the measures the business has taken to…

Landlord Liability During COVID-19 – Part Two – Landlord Negligence, Duties, and Defenses

September 9, 2020

Thanks for joining us for part two of our blog on potential liability of landlords who are reopening shopping centers to consumers in Ohio. In this part two, we will do a deeper dive into the negligence standard in Ohio. A plaintiff must establish three elements for a negligence claim: that (1) the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care; (2) the defendant breached that duty of care; and (3) as a direct and…

Landlord Liability During COVID-19 – Part One – Introduction and Overview

September 8, 2020

Commercial landlords all over the country are currently attempting to navigate the complicated waters of reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a difficult process, as there often seem to be different requirements for each state, county, and even city. In particular, the question of potential liability to customers seems to be of utmost importance. I recently reviewed this question from the perspective of an Ohio landlord and that lens should be kept in mind…

COVID-19 Related Cases to Watch in the Commercial Real Estate Industry

September 3, 2020

There’s no question that these past five to six months have been a troubling time for both landlords and tenants. Each group is struggling to figure out how to work with the other to move forward, hopefully amicably, and to come through this pandemic in a position to regain lost ground. Of course, payment of rent and related charges are at the forefront of this issue. This particular topic has been fodder for a large…

Broker- Dealer Law Corner

Writers & Lovers – by Lily King

By Patty Shlonsky

August 31, 2020

Writers & Lovers is a life affirming novel about all that can go wrong and all that can go right in one person’s life. Casey (nee Camila) Peabody is a down on her luck writer, living in a potting shed and working as a waitress at a restaurant near Harvard University called Iris. “I have to eat at the restaurant. I can’t afford more than cereal and noodles.” She is deeply in debt and suffering…

Fourth Circuit Opinion Reveals A Fundamental Problem With The Arbitration Process (A Problem That PIABA Exploits): Arbitrators Need Not Do Their Job Well, Or Even Correctly

By Alan Wolper

August 26, 2020

As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals made clear a week or so ago, serving as a FINRA arbitrator seems rather apropos in a world where the score is not kept in kids’ baseball games (to avoid there being any “losers”), and where adults receive medallions celebrating the fact that they are “participants” in distance races, regardless of where they happen to finish, because merely trying is good enough. With that in mind, pity…

Broker- Dealer Law Corner

Federal Judge Rules That While Zoom Arbitrations Are “Clunkier,” They Are Not Unfair

By Alan Wolper

August 19, 2020

Carlos Legaspy is a respondent in a FINRA arbitration that was scheduled to go to hearing in August. As with all other FINRA cases, it was subject to a sweeping administrative decision by FINRA to postpone all in-person hearings through the summer, due to the pandemic. As I have noted before, that decision imbued hearing panels with the power to compel the parties to conduct the hearing by Zoom, even over the parties’ objections. …