Business and Corporate Law

“Honeygate” Sting Fines Michigan Company for Anti-Dumping Violations

A joint operation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agencies resulted in a $2 million fine levied on Onsted, Michigan based Groeb Farms. Officials alleged that the ...

Is it Plausible? Take Care When Crafting Copyright Infringement Complaints

The purpose of the Copyright Act of 1976 is to recognize the value of the copyright to the copyright holder, to encourage creativity, and to promote socially desirable works that augment United States culture. But ...

Justice Delayed But Not Denied

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld Congress’ 2009 Amendment of the False Claims Act. Congress, enacting the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), lowered the standard of liability under the False Claims Act. ...

SEC Issues First Annual Report on Whistleblower Program

On November 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued its first ever Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program for the fiscal year 2012. The report summarizes steps taken by the Office of the ...

Thanks to Whistleblower, Experienced Construction Contractor Caught Defrauding the Government

On October 1, 2012, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an opinion which will no doubt serve as a warning to government contractors--that companies doing government work must play by the government’s rules and ...

“Who do you work for?”: When Independent Contractors become Employees

So many problems in the law arise out of the struggle to define words. Common words signifying simple ideas in the mind of a layperson often stir titanic semantic struggles in court. The meaning of ...

New Law Requires Establishment of Specialized “Business Dockets”

On October 16, 2012, Governor Snyder signed into law HB 5128, sponsored by Rep. John Walsh, as Public Act 333 of 2012. The Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, a group of ...

Bradley Birkenfeld Has Had His Ups and Downs: The Government Threw Him in Jail, and then Gave Him a Hundred Million Bucks

As April 15th approaches each year, most Americans turn to the serious work of preparing their tax returns. Some of us have at least briefly entertained the idea of fudging a number, hoping that the ...

“Qualified Mortgage” Regulation Debate Continues

In early July, Congress continued to scrutinize the ongoing struggle to reform lending practices in the wake of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. That legislation created the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was ...

Seventh Circuit Victory for Qui Tam Relators

Keen and watchful citizens who become aware of possible Medicare billing fraud face a difficult road if they wish to bring a qui tam action on behalf of the government.  A quick scan of many ...