Construction Contracts and Acting in Good Faith

The Fifth Appellate District Affirms the Implied Duty to Act in Good Faith in Contract Matters It is well established in Ohio that “public policy dictates that every contract contains an implied duty for the parties to act in good faith and to deal fairly with each other.”  Gator Dev. Corp. v. VHH, Ltd., 2009-Ohio-1802…

Construction Contracts between Subcontractors

Subcontractor Dispute Highlights the Significance of Accurate Verbiage in a Construction Contract Between Two Subcontractors. For clients engaged in the construction field, the use of “pay-when-paid” and “pay-if-paid” provisions in construction contract documents is likely a common occurrence.  However, a recent decision from the Summit County Court of Appeals illustrates the care that must be…

IRA Distribution after Divorce: Is it Subject to Income Tax and 10% Excise Tax?

The US Tax Court in Rosenberg v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2019-124 has ruled that an IRA distribution, made after a couple divorced, was taxable and subject to the 10% excise tax because: (1) no exception to the 10% excise tax applied and (2) the Court did not find any equitable exception to taxing the distribution.…

Federal District Court Holds that IRS Lien on Jointly-Owned Property Only Encumbers the Tax Debtor’s Interest in the Property

A federal district court has held in Dase v. IRS, 124 AFTR 2019-5281 that jointly-owned property subject to an IRS lien against one of the joint owners only encumbered the tax debtor’s interest in the property. Legal Background:  A person’s failure to pay any tax after the IRS makes demand for payment automatically creates a…

DOL Finalizes $35K Overtime Threshold

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay.  The new rule will take effect on January 1, 2020. The final rule updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s…

Ohio Small Business Deduction Still Available – TAKE IT!

Since 2016, each individual small business owner filing single or married filing jointly is eligible for a “small business” income tax deduction (SBD) against their state income tax liability equal to 100% of the first $250,000 of business income the owner receives or is allocated from a sole proprietorship or pass-through entity (“PTE”). In addition,…

Payment for Necessaries

In Embassy Healthcare, D.B.A. Carlisle Manor Healthcare (Embassy) vs. Cora Sue Bell (Cora), decided in late 2018, an important decision was reached by the Supreme Court of Ohio regarding the issue of necessaries and how they are treated if the spouse who received the necessaries passes away before the necessaries are paid back. “Necessaries” can…

Employee Misconduct – Sometimes Bad People Work at Good Companies

Employee fraud and misconduct are risks to all businesses.  It is often difficult for companies to acknowledge the reality of these risks, but, according to the most recent Report to the Nations published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, it is estimated that companies lose 5% of their annual revenues to fraud.  When fraud…

Medicaid and Ohio Work Requirements

Several months ago, the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services granted approval for Ohio to impose work requirements for those covered by the Medicaid expansion program / the Affordable Care Act (approximately 540,000 people).  Gov. DeWine believes the work requirement is intended to put able-bodied adults served by the Medicaid expansion on a pathway…

Hemp and CBD oil; One step closer to legalization

On July 17, 2019, Senate Bill 57, a bill decriminalizing industrial hemp cultivation and permitting possession of CBD oil derived from hemp was passed by the legislature and will be sent to the Governor for signature. Assuming it is signed (which is expected) it will take immediate effect. Currently, the State Board of Pharmacy has…