Greetings from USLegal, and welcome to our July Newsletter.
In this edition of our Newsletter, we’ll remind you about our outstanding Group Discount plan, touch on our continuous updating operations, and report on the BP Oil Spill and my observations during a trip to the Florida panhandle.
At USLegal, customer satisfaction is our greatest asset and goal. If we’ve made your legal life easier, please tell your friends and family about us. If you have a routine legal need, make us your first stop. And now, our news:
Group Discounts for Your Organization
Group Registration for U.S. Legal Forms’ Group Discounts have been brisk. An association, company, government agency, church group, or other organization can sign up for a group discount for all group members. Would your group benefit from access to our low cost, high quality, state-specific legal forms? For additional information, or to apply for your organization or company, contact us toll-free at 1-877-389-0141 ext 107 and ask for Group Discount services.
Deed Forms: One of Many Continuous Updates
Deed forms present a special challenge regarding margin size and blank spaces required by the various recording offices. State law often contains detailed specifications, which sometimes change with the adoption of new recording machinery, scanners, etc. We tirelessly update our deeds to reflect these changes, so that you can be confident of compliance when you need a quitclaim or warranty deed.
Without constant review, on line forms quickly lapse into inaccuracy. Our success is built on our commitment to providing our customers the most current, state-specific forms available - a key distinction between U.S. Legal Forms and many other on line forms providers. Our proprietary sources and methods, developed and refined for over a decade, enable us to review and update a vast amount of material in a manageable amount of time. Quality, updated, lawyer-reviewed forms complying with your state’s unique laws: our formula for success.
The BP Oil Spill: An Unexpected Development
After abandoning “top kill” attempts weeks ago, out of the blue comes a cap that actually appears to have worked. Slate has a good article. Pressure levels are being monitored closely, the fear being that potentially damaged casing may rupture further down-hole allowing oil to carve its way through the seafloor creating a new exit. Some evidence of this seep phenomenon may have been detected, though there is argument over whether the submersibles are just kicking up silt. Check the video in the previous link at about 4:40 and beyond for what looks like gushing oil (the vid seems to be temporarily down).
Now the question becomes: what next? Will they proceed with the bottom kill via the relief wells, or try for another top kill, or both? The latest technique under consideration is what I take to be a flavor of top kill known as a “static kill.”
I was in Mexico Beach on the Florida panhandle last week, about 30 miles east of Panama City. The oil hasn’t yet appeared that far east (hence the relocation of my family vacation to there), and we had a fantastic time on the beach and in the warm, emerald green Gulf water - I hope not for the last time. We saw no sign of oil, but plenty of preparation for it. I intend to make a blog post - with pictures - about my trip later this week. On the last day, I had a hands-on encounter with a runaway boom, so I can now say I helped in the cleanup effort. Check the USLegal Blog later on for details.
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Legal News In Brief
Our staff attorney Dana Altman logs breaking legal news at the USLegal Reporter. Check in regularly to stay updated on top national legal stories. The following are snippets from some of the items of interest Dana has spotted in the last month. Check the above link for full reports:
Man Who Claims 84% Stake in Facebook Gets TRO
Paul Ceglia claims he had a website development contract with Facebook in 2003, giving him a 84% stake in the company. He filed a breach of contract lawsuit in New York and has been granted a temporary restraining order preventing the company from transferring assets. Facebook is seeking to move the case to federal court, and calls the claim frivolous.
Mark Zuckerberg did not procure the domain name for Facebook’s first site, thefacebook.com, until January 2004. Ceglia claims he and Mark Zuckerberg entered into a contract on April 28, 2003 in which Ceglia agreed to provide some website work in exchange for 50% of the resulting entity, plus an additional 1% every day until the work was completed. According to Ceglia, this amounts to 84%. Ceglia was accused by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last year of defrauding customers in an unrelated wood-pellet fuel business. … (continue reading at the Reporter)
Justice Dept. Files Lawsuit to Block Arizona Immigration Law
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit in a federal court in Phoenix, claiming the state’s immigration law impedes law enforcement efforts against terrorists, gang members and other criminal immigrants. In a decision based on much legal strategizing, the DOJ’s arguments focus on how Arizona’s law pre-empts federal authority, rather than on civil rights grounds like racial profiling.
The Justice Department has requested an injunction to prevent the Arizona law from taking effect as scheduled on July 29. Hearings in the other cases, such as the main case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other civil rights group, are scheduled for July 15 and 22. … (continue reading at the Reporter)
Supreme Court Extends Gun Rights to States and Cities
The U.S. Supreme Court extended the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment to states and cities. The ruling came in a case involving Chicago’s 28-year-old handgun ban. The decision was the result of a 5-4 vote, which was split along conservative/liberal lines. A previous gun ruling had applied to federal laws and federal enclaves, like Washington D.C., where a similar handgun ban was struck down in 2008.
According to U.S. government statistics, there are 80 deaths per day as a result of gunshots, with 34 of those being homicides. The ruling found that handgun ownership is a fundamental right that state and local governments cannot ban guns from the home. Most parts of the Bill of Rights, such as freedom of speech or the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, have been extended to states in the past century. This ruling similarly extends the Second Amendment to states. … (continue reading at the Reporter)
Check out controversial legal issues of all stripes with us at the USLegal Blog. As noted above, we have been following the BP Oil Spill, a disaster hitting close to home for us here at USLegal. A post about my vacation to Mexico Beach, Florida, will be up later in the week. Feel free to comment on any of our posts in the comment section (your comment will be posted the following morning if made at night, or later in the day if posted during the day.)
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