Law Office of Camron Hoorfar, PC

Sheriff’s return of service constituted prima facie evidence of service on the person named on the form, but the form did not correctly describe that person, so the prima facie evidence did not show service. Affidavits contesting whether the person named was in charge of a corporation’s business office did not result in an amendment to the return of service. The return remained deficient, so no service occurred and no personal jurisdiction attached, and the ensuing million-dollar default judgment was void.

Samuel Marti, Appellant, v. Concrete Coring Company of North America, Respondent. Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District – ED109282

The Boy Scouts of America, which filed bankruptcy last year over a growing wave of lawsuits from abuse survivors, has apologized. The Boy Scouts reached an $800 million settlement with Chubb Ltd.’s Century Indemnity Co. over childhood sexual abuse within the youth group. This settlement will potentially boost the funds available for abuse victims under its chapter 11 plan and preserve the organization’s mission. The proposed deal caps Chubb’s exposure under the insurance policies it sold the Boy Scouts and is supported by a coalition of law firms representing the bulk of the roughly 82,200 men who filed claims in the organization’s bankruptcy over past abuse.

If approved in bankruptcy court, the settlement would add to the nearly $1.9 billion in compensation already put together from the Boy Scouts’ own assets, affiliated local councils, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, another insurer. The youth group is under intense pressure to win the backing of abuse survivors for its bankruptcy plan, which would lift the Boy Scouts out of court protection and resolve its financial liability related to decades of failures to protect children from predators.

Considering bankruptcy? Call us at 816-524-4949 or visit our website to schedule a consultation.

Consumer prices surged 6.8% in the year leading into November and 0.8% last month alone as a roaring economy overwhelmed struggling supply chains fueling inflation. The consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, rose sharply in November. Economists expected the CPI to rise 0.7% in November and 6.7% annually as inflation rose to the highest rate in 30 years in October. Prices for gasoline, shelter, food and vehicles have driven much of the current inflation rate. Whereas, earlier this year, inflation was driven almost entirely by vehicles, electronics, and other goods affected by a global computer chip shortage but has now spread through many sectors.

Struggling financially? Call us at 816-524-4949 or visit our website to schedule a consultation.

Ángel Pérez Otero, the mayor of Guaynabo, one of the wealthiest cities in Puerto Rico, was arrested on corruption charges. He faces three counts, including bribery and extortion, and is accused of regularly accepting payments of $5,000 in exchange for awarding contracts to the owner of a construction company. The indictment alleges that the scheme ran from 2019 t0 2021. He was sworn in as mayor in 2017 following a special election after the former mayor, Héctor O’Neill, pleaded guilty to sexual harassment, gender violence and violating an ethics law. . Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement that he was disappointed and extremely upset about the arrest. He demanded that Pérez resign immediately as mayor and as president of Puerto Rico’s Federation of Mayors.

Battered mall owners need to fill more than 90 million square feet, about the size of 16 Mall of Americas, heading into 2022. With dozens of retail chains already cutting back or shutting down, it won’t get any better if the newest pandemic wave scares off shoppers. So landlords are wooing businesses that have little or nothing to do with shopping. Casinos, amusement parks, medical facilities, storage units, hotels, schools, offices and residences are fair game, as even healthy shopping centers are forced to rethink their game plans for next year and beyond. “In 2030, you’re going to see most malls are going to be not considered a mall anymore,” said Greg Maloney, chief executive for Americas retail at real estate services firm JLL. “They’re going to be considered a mixed-use asset.”

They might wind up looking like Mall of America, the biggest one in the U.S. whose layout includes Nickelodeon Universe and an aquarium, or like Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL Properties. Last August, this owner of about 100 less-prestigious malls and shopping centers added the 80,000-square-foot Hollywood Casino on an old Sears site at its York Galleria in Pennsylvania. It brought in industry giant Penn National Gaming Inc. with 500 high-tech slots, two dozen table games and a Barstool Sportsbook.

Businesses that make structural adaptations or other accommodations for employees or customers with disabilities may be eligible for tax credits and deductions.

Here’s an overview of the tax incentives designed to encourage employers to hire qualified people with disabilities and to off-set some of the costs of providing accommodations.

Disabled access credit 
The disabled access credit is a non-refundable credit for small businesses that have expenses for providing access to persons with disabilities. An eligible small business is one that earned $1 million or less or had no more than 30 full-time employees in the previous year. The business can claim the credit each year they incur access expenditures.

Barrier removal tax deduction 
The architectural barrier removal tax deduction encourages businesses of any size to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the mobility of people with disabilities and the elderly. Businesses may claim a deduction of up to $15,000 a year for qualified expenses on items that normally must be capitalized.

Businesses claim this deduction by listing it as a separate expense on their income tax return. Also, businesses may use the disabled tax credit and the architectural/transportation tax deduction together in the same tax year if the expenses meet the requirements of both sections. To use both, the deduction is equal to the difference between the total expenses and the amount of the credit claimed.

Work opportunity tax credit
The work opportunity tax credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. This includes people with disabilities and veterans.  The maximum amount of  tax credit for employees who worked 400 or more hours of service is:

• $2,400 or 40% of up to $6,000 of first year wages, for qualifying individuals.
• $9,600 or 40% of up to $24,000 of first year wages for certain qualified veterans.

A 25% rate applies to wages for individuals who work at least 120 hours but less than 400 hours for the employer.


More information:
Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit
Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit
Form 3800, General Business Credit
Instructions for Form 3800, General Business Credit

Need tax assistance? Call us at 816-524-4949 or visit our website to schedule a consultation.

The Australian computer scientist who claims he invented Bitcoin was told by a U.S. jury to pay $100 million in damages over claims that he cheated a deceased friend over intellectual property for the cryptocurrency, Bloomberg News reported. Jurors in Miami federal court took about a week to reach a verdict, following about three weeks of trial. The jury rejected most claims against Craig Wright and the outcome probably won’t resolve the debate over whether Wright is the mythical creator of the peer-to-peer currency, Satoshi Nakamoto. The brother of Dave Kleiman, a computer security expert who died in 2013, alleged that the late Florida man worked with Wright to create and mine Bitcoin in its early years. As a result, the plaintiffs claimed the estate was entitled to half of a cache of as many as 1.1 million Bitcoins worth some $70 billion, which are thought to be held by Satoshi. Some cryptocurrency investors see Wright as a fake, and yearslong litigation in Florida has done little to quiet the skeptics. Wright has declared many times in court that he invented Bitcoin, as he has previously in news interviews. Had the jury’s verdict gone against Wright, that would have forced to him to produce the Satoshi fortune. To some observers, that would have been the true test. Wright said after the verdict, “I have never been so relieved in my life.” He said he won’t appeal. 

Want to speak with an attorney? Call us at 816-524-4949 or visit our website to schedule a consultation.