A Beverly Hills, California business promising “tax relief” was finally shut down by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week. Authorities say American Tax Relief LLC cheated consumers out of more than $60 million by promising clients that their tax bills could be settled for pennies on the dollar. Despite a criminal search warrant executed…
Six Silicon Valley corporate giants, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Pixar and Adobe Systems admit they had a secret agreement not to hire employees away from the other companies using “cold call” tactics. In violation of federal anti-trust law, the companies agreed to the “no cold call” pact in 1996. According to documents from the U.S.…
The state of California issued several formal accusations of fraud and a “desist and refrain” order in August against San Ramon-based IQ Smarter Investments Inc. The company is exploiting Short Sale Real Estate deals in California and ripping off people who are desperate to sell their houses. A short sale occurs when a mortgage holder…
A recent study published by the UC Davis Olive Center discovered that 69% of imported olive oils tested were not “extra virgin” as their labels claimed. Before this study, despite widespread rumors and media reports, there was no concrete evidence that extra virgin olive oil was being adulterated. The study offers the first accurate, scientific…
The sheer variety of olive oils on any given supermarket shelf can be overwhelming to the average shopper. Olive oils come in all shapes, sizes colors, and prices – and what do all those terms on the labels mean? Terms like “extra virgin,” “cold pressed,” and “unfiltered” are featured prominently on most olive oil labels…
California law requires sports agents to make certain mandatory disclosures to the Secretary of State prior to acting as an agent. According to a lawsuit filed by Callahan & Blaine’s client, International motocross racing team Pro Circuit Racing, Inc., its agent, Crown AMG, misrepresented its status as an authorized sports agent so that it could…
Daniel J. Callahan of Callahan & Blaine, recently represented Win Time, Ltd. against NCRS, Inc. of Anaheim, California in an extraordinary California real estate fraud case. The basis of the case is that NCRS, Inc. owned a Super 8 Motel which it sold to Callahan & Blaine’s client, Lake Forest, California-based Win Time. During the…
In another nationwide precedent-setting case tried by Callahan & Blaine, Fonovisa v. Cherry Auction, swap meet owners were found liable for vicarious and contributory copyright and trademark infringement when counterfeit merchandise is sold by independent vendors at swap meets. The Ninth Circuit determined that swap meet owners sufficiently control their premises enough to know if…
Often when a business dispute arises, the party being sued accepts their role as defendant and takes a defensive stance against the charges levied. At Callahan & Blaine, we discourage our commercial and corporate litigation clients from thinking in narrow terms of “plaintiff” or “defendant.” When your company is attacked, you need a law firm…
It seems that corporate greed has led to business fraud charges against an Orange County, California corporation with international business dealings. Control Components, Inc. (better known as CCI) is an Orange County, California based corporation that designs and manufactures service and control vales for the oil and gas industries as well as for nuclear power…
