Rewarding Whistleblowers with Secrecy
The Internal Revenue Code has long rewarded whistleblowers who report tax fraud by providing them a percentage of taxes collected as their reward. Such whistleblowers are frequently jilted lovers or disgruntled or fired bookkeepers, administrative assistants, or other insiders who get financial reward and revenge by reporting their employers’ indiscretions. Confidentiality of the whistleblower can […]
read moreFoul Language and Free Speech: Does Being Offended Justify an Arrest?
While most people treat law enforcement officers with respect, there are occasions when a citizen will voice his/her dissatisfaction with law enforcement officers. One such case occurred in Fort Smith, when a driver yelled “f*** you!” through his car window as he passed an Arkansas State Trooper who was performing a traffic stop related to […]
read moreDancing to the Beat of Your Own Drum: Refining the Definitions of Assault and Battery
What happens when a nightclub is sued by a patron who was accidentally injured while he was being forcibly removed from the nightclub? One would expect that an insurance company would enter the picture to pay for the legal defense of the nightclub and for any judgment, if one is issued against the insured nightclub. […]
read moreUp in Smoke: How an Individual’s Previously Destroyed Will Can Still “Exist” at the Time of His/Her Death.
Generally, the last will and testament of a testator (the individual who makes the will) needs to meet various legal formalities to be valid. However, a testator can revoke his/her will by simply intentionally destroying the will prior to his death. As a result, the validity of a will is questioned when the will is […]
read moreGoing Once, Going Twice, Sold: Can a Judge Make You Bid to Receive Your Interest in a Marital Business?
Attempts to divide the marital assets of a divorcing couple are often complicated. This is particularly true when a couple has been married for decades and owns a business. As a result, judges are often left in the unenviable position of attempting to ascertain the value of the marital businesses and then determine how to […]
read moreThe Patchwork Quilt of Liquor Laws in Arkansas is Indecipherable, But Is It Unconstitutional?
Anyone who has driven from town to town, county to county, through Arkansas discovers that they need to plan carefully where and how they might have a cocktail. Being six inches to one side or the other of a county or city line can make all the difference. This arbitrariness has not gone unchallenged. White […]
read moreNo Good Deed Goes Unpunished: When Trying to Help a Little Hurts a Lot
A landlord who had no legal obligation to do so, voluntarily fixed a trailer tenant’s refrigerator. Later that day, the tenant blew himself up lighting a cigarette because of a disconnected gas line in the trailer. Though the landlord in the first place had no obligation to repair the refrigerator, the possibility that he may […]
read moreDon’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch: When an Attorney Lacks Authority to Settle a Case
In Arkansas, litigation is more likely to be resolved by settlement than by trial. While settlement is generally the quickest route to resolution, settlement negotiations can sometimes be tumultuous and so it is particularly important that all of the attorneys and clients make sure that they are on the same page as they navigate through […]
read moreNot Red Handed: When A Gun is Found 20 Yards From a Suspect in an Unlocked Shed.
The phrase “caught red handed” is often used in police dramas to describe a suspect in possession of a key piece of evidence that leads to a conviction. However, in many real criminal investigations the evidence of a crime is more nuanced and may depend upon circumstantial evidence to support a claim of constructive possession. […]
read moreHow Hostile Must I Be To Acquire Ownership By Adverse Possession?
To prove ownership of land by adverse possession, one must show possession of the disputed property continuously for seven years and that the possession has been actual, open, notorious, continuous, hostile and exclusive, and accompanied with an intent to hold the property against the true owner. However, a recent decision by the Arkansas Court of […]
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