Setliff Law would like to congratulate the following attorneys for being selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. C. Stephen Setliff: Transportation Law Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants Railroad Law Brickford Y. Brown: Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants Product Liability Litigation - Defendants Gregory F. Holland: Insurance Law Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs…
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As the name suggests, a gross receipts tax (“GRT”) is a tax on business receipts rather than business income. Typically, it is imposed on all business sales and allows few or no deductions—and may be used against out-of-state businesses with even a de minimis nexus to the state issuing GRT tax bills. A GRT by any other name is still a gross receipts tax (“GRT”)– and it goes by a number of different names in the various states that have…
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Recently, a jury in Gilmer, Texas awarded a plaintiff a $101 million verdict following a personal injury trial in what is being considered the largest verdict ever awarded for an accident involving a tractor-trailer. The massive verdict, of which roughly $75 million was for punitive damages, was assessed against FTS International (“FTS”), an oil services company that carries sand and other fracking materials. The primary causes of action in which the plaintiff was awarded the verdict was FTS’s negligent hiring…
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As he enters his third year as chief executive of the American Trucking Associations (“ATA”), Chris Spear is focused on the top issues facing the trucking industry. Spear pinpoints five main issues that face the trucking industry: driver shortage, productivity, infrastructure, safety technology, and tariffs. To address driver shortage, Spear proposes changing federal regulations to allow interstate truck driving by those aged 18 years or older. Spear says he was influenced by a trip to the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S.…
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Setliff Law is pleased to announce that Tom Moran has been appointed chair of the firm’s construction law group. Mr. Moran has 10 years’ experience in the construction law field, and since joining Setliff Law in 2015, his leadership qualities and client focused approach have created a foundation upon which others at the firm can build. With Mr. Moran heading up this practice group, clients are assured he and the other members of the group will continue to provide exceptional…
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In this case the plaintiff filed a complaint against a trucking company and its driver for recovery for alleged personal injuries and loss of consortium (damages suffered by the spouse or family member of a person who has been injured or killed as a result of the defendant's negligent or intentional, or otherwise wrongful acts) arising from an accident in Allegany County, Maryland on April 3, 2015. In addition to a claim for respondeat superior (when a party is responsible…
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We are frequently asked whether or not an individual is considered an “employee” for workers’ compensation purposes, and, in fact, were specifically asked to address this in an article. Unfortunately, the answer is generally neither simple nor short, and almost always fact specific. Though Workers’ Compensation statutes vary slightly from state to state, Virginia’s body of law is indicative. Va. Code § 65.2-101 defines “employee” expansively, including more than 20 subparts, ranging from Americorps members and certain food stamp recipients…
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Setliff Law is pleased to announce that Mike Donner has been appointed chair of the firm’s labor and employment law group. Mr. Donner has 15 years’ experience in the labor and employment law field, and since joining Setliff Law in 2016, his leadership qualities and client focused approach have created a foundation upon which others at the firm can build. With Mr. Donner heading up this practice group, clients are assured he and the other members of the group will…
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Make no mistake, when gas prices are modest, or more accurately, appear modest to the American consumer, market research shows that we favor, big, fast, luxurious cars, trucks and SUVs. Neighborly banter in Anywhere, USA, proceeds as follows: “Sweet ride. That thing have the V-8 in it?” “Heck, yeah it does. 0-60 in 4 seconds while my seat gives me a massage and the kids watch movies in the back. It has a third-row seat that we don’t even use!”…
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Despite the overtime exemption provided by the Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”), interstate trucking employers who operate “mixed fleets” – those with vehicles both over and under 10,000 pounds – may owe overtime pay to drivers of the smaller vehicles, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Schilling v. Schmidt Baking Co., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 23257 (4th Cir. Nov. 17, 2017). The Fourth Circuit has jurisdiction over Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Generally, the MCA…
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