California provides various exclusions from reassessment of property tax when a “change of ownership” occurs.  One of the most common exclusions is used to prevent reassessment for transfers from a parent to a child or from a grandparent to a grandchild (often referred to as the "parent-child exclusion").  However, it is important to understand when a “change in ownership” occurs and how long you have to apply for an exclusion from property tax reassessment. “Change...

As a business law firm, we often deal with partnership disputes.  We have shared information on our blog on how to protect against partnership disputes, as well as tips for solving them such disputes.  Unfortunately, not all disputes can be prevented or solved.  In these circumstances, partnerships often dissolve. When that is the case, , and a partition action may be necessary to distribute partnership assets. In a partition action, known as a partition of partnership property, a court...

Previously on the blog, we discussed ambiguous and conflicting terms in contracts. Most contracts include clauses which provide interpretation rules for ambiguous and conflicting terms. In the absence of such a clause (or if the provisions of the clause do not resolve the conflict), certain California statutes, and case law interpreting and applying those rules, will provide the method of determining  which, if any, ambiguous or conflicting terms can be enforced. Generally speaking, an ambiguous term can reasonably...

Conflicting terms in a contract exist when there are certain provisions that cannot each be complied with because performing one would violate another, or where the use and meaning of a particular term or terms varies throughout the contract. This situation can occur  when multiple parties are drafting and revising a contract without carefully reviewing the impact of each change on other portions of the contract, or when conflicting changes are made to a...

In order to build a development, home, or addition that does not comply with local zoning ordinances or restrictions, a property owner or developer must obtain a variance. The exact process of obtaining a variance will vary based on applicable city or county laws, and can vary depending on the scope of the project and the type of variance sought. For example, there could be different processes or requirements for “residential use” variances versus “residential...

Every contract in California (and across the country) must meet certain legal requirements to be considered “valid,” such as the manifestation of assent by both parties to be bound by the terms of the transaction.  For centuries parties have been “signing on the dotted line” to evidence their assent to the terms of the agreement. In an increasingly digital economy many contracts are being consummated electronically.  The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (the “UETA”) (found at Civil Code...

Even if your business is not based in California, you may be held to certain California filing obligations and tax liabilities if your business meets the legal definition of “doing business” in California. There are two definitions for doing business in California. One is from the Franchise Tax Board, and determines whether an individual or business will have tax liabilities in California. The other is established by the California Corporations Code, and it determines what corporate...

In the U.S. Congress, members of both parties are working together to reduce the corporate tax rate and simultaneously limit business tax breaks. The plan to cut business tax rates is getting strong opposition from U.S. businesses. Reducing corporate tax cuts and the corporate tax rate is a complicated issue because millions of U.S. businesses do not pay taxes through the corporate system. These businesses are often referred to as “pass-throughs” because the income they receive is...

Unlike patents and trademarks, trade secrets are protected without any procedural formalities associated with the benefits of registration with a government agency. The benefit to this is that a trade secret can be protected for an unlimited period of time and requires no public disclosure. The downside is that defining and protecting a trade secret can be trickier. There are different definitions of what constitutes a “trade secret.” California law has adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act definition,...

California prohibits unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices, as well as unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising. Recently, the district attorney offices for Los Angeles and San Francisco claimed that Uber, one of the the most popular ridesharing companies, violated these California business laws in recently filed actions against the company. Uber (recently valued at $41 Billion and has backers from Wall Street to Silicon Valley), is no stranger to lawsuits, which are coming from all...