DETROIT ?The recent enactment of the Class Action Fairness Act has substantially changed the law governing class action lawsuits involving parties from more than one state. Under the Act, most large national class action lawsuits now must be filed in federal court instead of state court. In addition, the Act imposes new requirements for settling
TROY - Vacation - A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee. Far too often, employees are so wrapped up in their work that they pass up on vacations, only to lose the vacation days at the turn of the year, or roll them over
TROY - A new MTV reality show, PoweR Girls, shows a side of public relations that is glamorous, glitzy and filled with A-list celebrities. The show focuses on four young interns jockeying for a full-time position at New York-based Lizzie Grubman Public Relations agency. Throughout the show, they throw CD release parties, club openings, and
GRAND RAPIDS ? The vigorous debate over incentives has been raging since the first tax exempt bonds were issued by the State of Mississippi in the late 1930?s to attract business to the state. The debate has not stopped and in fact, is heating up again ? in Michigan. Michigan was late in instituting economic
SOUTHFIELD - According to a survey conducted for the Federal Trade Commission last year, an estimated 3.25 million Americans discovered that their personal information had been misused to open new credit accounts, take out new loans, or engage in other types of fraud ? the definition of Identity Theft. The Identity Theft Center IDTheftCenter.Org has
LANSING - In recent months, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai Motor announced plans to build or expand R&D facilities in Michigan. Michigan automakers are investing new capital in existing plants in the state. In the formerly quiet village of Dundee, the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance is building not one but two engine plants. Kalamazoo has come
DETROIT - Michigan Treasurer Jay Rising blew a perfectly good opportunity to place a new venture capital program within the control of Michigan's fine and talented private equity leaders recently. Instead, Rising gave the new, state-sponsored $150 Million "fund of funds" management to CSFB in New York. One can imagine the heavies at CSFB yelling
NEW YORK - You might have the best team with the best of innovation, but there are these overly diluted markets out there, glutted with look-alike brands and identical services. The challenge is to fine-tune a marketing process that will not only re-energize the production but produce a shaper edge in design, quality and value,
DETROIT ? Non-compete agreements are becoming more commonplace in Michigan as small start up technology companies grow, and partners go their own way. James Boutrous II, an employment litigation specialist with Butzel Long, discusses the essentials of non-competes in this column. Boutrous's practice includes traditional labor work, including considerable trial experience in employment discrimination matters,
DETROIT - Highway fatalities remain the leading cause of death for young Americans ages 3 to 33, despite ongoing re-engineering to make cars safer. Just recently my daughter was severely injured when another car traveled into her lane, forcing her off the road. She had the protections of a seat belt and airbags, but what