Partners within a business have a fiduciary duty to act in the company’s best interest. So, too, do banks toward their customers, attorneys toward their clients, and so forth. When someone acts in their own best interest at the expense of those to whom they owe a fiduciary duty, this is referred to as self-dealing. [...]
Texas has laws about truthfully representing the facts about commercial real estate for sale. For example, sellers must supply any certificates of mold damage remediation gathered in the last five years, as well as written notice of storage tanks on the property and compliance with construction requirements. When sellers don’t truthfully represent the condition of [...]
When a manufacturer or seller makes a guarantee about its product, consumers buy with more confidence. Some products, however, do not perform as promised. When this occurs, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) is there to protect the consumer. The DTPA protects buyers against sellers who make “false, misleading, or deceptive acts [...]
You would think after Bernie Madoff, no one would ever fall for it again, but that is just not the case. There have been stories on at least a half-dozen different Ponzi schemes in the news in recent weeks. In a Ponzi Scheme investment fraud, the perpetrator of the fraud guarantees investors high returns on [...]
Have you entered into a partnership with others who are investing their time and money in your business, e.g. someone who sells your products or services in return for a fee or investment? If so, you may be operating a hidden or “accidental franchise,” which means you are guilty of operating a franchise without following [...]
When you hear the words “your fiduciary responsibility to a company,” you might be imagining the inner workings of the corner office or the board room. Did you know that, if you are employed, you have a fiduciary responsibility to your employer? There is much confusion about the true meaning of term “fiduciary.” Many believe [...]
In the practice of law, an attorney sees a wide range of ways that people cheat other people. Recognizing that statutes have been passed to provide remedies for certain types of activities, reviewing some Texas statutes gives an idea of the ingenuity of some people in finding ways to obtain money without working hard. false [...]
