Carlson Dash Digest - December 2015

As we wave goodbye to 2015 we would like to take a moment to thank all of our clients for allowing us to assist them with their legal and business matters, from commercial litigation to advice in business transactions, employment law, real estate, bankruptcy matters and so much more.

Carlson Dash was created so that we could act as true teammates with our clients. We are proud of the client relationships we have, and the goals we have achieved with our clients, and we are proud of the diversity in our practice areas and our ability to represent our clients in Wisconsin and Illinois, and more nationally in many areas. Since many of our clients have multiple issues, arising in multiple jurisdictions, this month we take a look at what one needs to do to make sure your company remains in “good standing” with the states it does business in, specifically Illinois and Wisconsin.

Happy Holidays to all of our clients and colleagues.

CBA’s Mechanics Liens & Construction Claims CLE

Jim Dash presented at the Chicago Bar Association’s Mechanics Liens and Construction Claims CLE – AM Session on December 9th. Jim discussed the perfection of mechanics liens on private projects.

Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic

There is a lot of attention given to charitable causes and community service during the holidays and it is wonderful that so many choose to make the holiday season a brighter time for those in need. Like you, many of us at Carlson Dash volunteer our time to causes throughout the year to interests related to the law, as well as those outside the practice of law.

This month we are featuring the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic, where Carlson Dash attorney Bryce Cox volunteers his time. Bryce had this to say about his time at the clinic: “I like volunteering there because you get to help people who really need legal help, but can’t afford it and don’t know where to turn. Often you can see distress in their faces when talking to them and it feels good to help alleviate that stress. It reminds me that I’ve been fortunate and that I should give more of myself whenever I can in other areas as well.”

Corporate Status: Good Standing is Good Practice

It’s that time of year again, and we are not talking about the joyous arrival of gifts, cookies, presents, and family. Instead, it’s the mundane that drives this information sleigh: annual corporate reporting. Whether you like it or not, it needs to be done and it needs to be done timely. To make sure you remain in good standing read on.

Baby It’s Cold Outside

The end-of-year holidays are usually a mix of family, friends, cheer, and hurried shopping in variations of snow, rain, sleet, or the other delicacies Mother Nature gifts us with from November through January. Those delicacies often lead to wet store entrances as customers and patrons track in ice and snow. If you’re a store owner, you might find yourself on the other end of a complaint, or even a lawsuit, by a customer who has slipped and fallen on the snow or ice tracked in your store by other customers. If you are a storefront business owner in Illinois, what’s your responsibility to customers to keep your entryways dry?

In Illinois, property owners and business operators are not liable for injuries resulting from the natural accumulation of ice, snow or water that is tracked into the premises. Under the so-called “natural accumulation rule,” property owners and business operators do not have a duty to remove the tracks or residue left inside the building by customers who have walked through natural accumulations outside. However, if the property owner voluntarily implements safety measures, such as placing mats or mopping up wet areas, the property owner has a duty to exercise due care in implementing those measures. And if the customer can establish that the means of ingress and egress was unsafe for any other reason than a natural accumulation, including that the flooring was made of a particularly slippery material, or that the design of the building led to an unnatural accumulation of water or snow, then the property owner may be liable.

Of course, slippery floors will likely keep some customers at bay, so consider ultimate business goals when determining how to handle your storefront’s messy entryway. To the extent owners do decide to voluntarily implement safety measures, they should use due care and common sense to keep those entryways as safe as possible for customers.