Real Estate Transfers
Whether directly or indirectly, almost everyone has experience with the transfer of rights in real property. There are some important things to know about conveying (transferring) rights in real property. Using the term “rights in real property” is intentional and an important distinction to make at the beginning. One does not own real property; one owns rights in real property. For example, one may own the present possessory interest in a house for his or her lifetime while another owns the future possessory interest, which is called a life estate. One may have a right to cross another’s property to
Tennessee Billboard Act Declared Unconstitutional
Tennessee has long made a distinction between on-premises and off-premises commercial signs in sign regulations. In general, on-premise signs (those that advertise or point to a good or service provided on the same site as the sign) are less regulated than off-premises advertising signs. This may come to an end. The Western District of Tennessee declared the state law unconstitutional in March 2017, applying strict scrutiny to the law, because it is a content-based regulation, and the speech at issue is not necessarily commercial. Commercial speech (primarily advertising) has less protection than non-commercial speech (which could include public service announcements,
Workers Compensation Physician Panel Provisions: Ignore At Your Own Risk!
Russell Adkins Tennessee’s workers compensation laws require an employer to offer injured employees with a panel of three or more physicians. An injured employee has the option to select one of those physicians to provide treatment. If the selected physician orders referral to a specialist, the employer is deemed to have accepted the referral unless the employer provides the employee with a panel of three specialists within three business days. In the recent case of Ducros v. Metro Roofing and Metal Supply Co., Inc., et al, an employer’s failure to follow proper procedure brought about unintended consequences. Ducros was working as a
The Continuing Struggle over Class Action Waivers in Employment Arbitration
Robert Arrington[1] Many employers now have company sponsored employee dispute resolution plans, in which all employees are required to agree to submit employment disputes to binding arbitration. Most such agreements prohibit employees from filing class actions. For the past several years, these provisions have been under attack from the National Labor Relations Board. It appears this controversy may soon be resolved. The manner in which it will be resolved is important because many employers who now maintain such plans will not continue to do so if class claims cannot be waived. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“the NLRA”), 29