Northwest Business Litigation

A non-resident seller of a single item in an eBay auction can't be sued for breach of contract in the buyer's home state, according to a case decided this week by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Boschetto v. Hansing, plaintiff, a resident of California, purchased a vintage Ford Galaxie from defendant, a resident of Wisconsin, through the eBay internet auction site. Plaintiff arranged for...

The Oregon Court of Appeals held yesterday in Snider v. Production Chemical Manufacturing, Inc., that an order denying a petition to compel arbitration must be appealed within 30 days of the order. In that case, the party seeking to arbitrate proceeded to a jury trial and appealed the arbitration issue after judgment was entered. Judge Robert Wollheim, writing for the court, held that the appeal...

Last week, in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, a unanimous California Supreme Court held that the state legislature has restricted the ability of employers to prevent employees from working for a competitor. As a result of the ruling, noncompetition agreements that do not fit into one of the California's statutory exemptions are void. Edwards rejects a recent 9th Circuit finding that California's...

On August 8, 2008, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries will issue a draft policy addressing the uncertainy created by the 2007 Washington State Supreme Court decision in Stevens v. Brink's Home Security regarding travel time in company vehicles. The draft policy is intended as a guide "in the interpretation and application of the relevant statutes, regulations, and policies and...

Almost exactly a year after we reported the Court of Appeals’ decision that payments to corporate directors are "wages" for the purpose of unemployment taxation, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed that decision. The Supreme Court held "that the legislature did not intend to include corporate directors, serving solely as directors, within the statutory definition of an ’employee’ of a...

August 1, 2008 - Ernie Bootsma, chair of Ater Wynne's Emerging Business Group, will be the featured guest today on the innaugural show of StartUp Portland, a new business radio program for entrepreneurs, private investors and "those interested in getting into the game," according the show's website. The show is hosted by Ben Edtl, a local software entrepreneur and Ater Wynne client, who discusses...

Last year we reported on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the proposed pro-union legislation that would abolish secret ballot elections in favor of union card checks by employees. Although the bill failed in the Senate, it remains a priority agenda item for Senator Obama and the Democrats who overwhelmingly supported it. How the NLRA Works Now Currently, an employer may voluntarily...