Blog, Business, Business Litigation
Commercial Courts, TROs, and Restrictive Covenants…Oh my!
The Court of Appeals recently addressed three issues important to Indiana businesses embroiled in legal disputes: 1) Validity of the Commercial Court, 2) ex parte (no notice) temporary restraining orders, and 3) enforceability of restrictive covenants (noncompete and nonsolicitation clauses) in employment agreements. We will address each in turn. Vickery’s and Ardagh Glass’s Dispute Ardagh Glass is a manufacturer of glass containers and bottles. Vickery worked for Ardagh Glass as a Senior Mold Engineer. As a condition of Vickery coming to work for Ardagh Glass, he signed a Noncompete Employee Agreement in 2004 that explicitly provided that Vickery could not work for a competitor for a one year period following his departure. Vickery was passed over for a promotion in 2016, and soon after applied for a similar position at Owens-Illinois, one of Ardagh Glass’s primary competitors. Vickery was offered and accepted the position at Owens-Illinois. Once Ardagh Glass determined that Vickery intended to go to work for a competitor, it informed him that it intended to enforce the Noncompete Agreement. On Vickery’s last day of work with Ardagh Glass, he was informed that Ardagh Glass was filing suit and seeking an injunction that day. Indiana’s Commercial Courts In 2016, Indiana became the 23rd state to establish commercial courts. The pilot program established commercial courts in six Indiana counties and provides litigants the opportunity to place their legal disputes in front of a judge regularly hearing business disputes. Concentrating business disputes with selected judges is intended to more efficiently resolve those disputes and free up the…
Read More
Blog, Construction Law
American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2017 update
“Like a returning comet, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has released its once-every-ten year update of its frequently used forms. This is the second release this year, following their April release. Such mainstays as the A201 design-bid-build documents, 34 forms in all, are now available for 2017. Other changes in the Scope documents include Site Evaluation and Project Feasibility Services (B203), On-Site Project Representation Services (B207), Certificate of Substantial Completion (G704) and a new Amendment of Professional Services Agreement (G802). A complete list is available from the AIA: https://www.aia.org/press-releases/157776-aia-releases-newly-revised-architect-scope- Future changes will likely include additional technology advancements. Drone mapping, BIM, and laser scanning can assist engineers and architects in developing value engineered designs. These new technologies will present new risks as well, and new liabilities arising from their use. Stay tuned.”
Read More
Blog, Business, News
Ted Nolting selected for Indiana Leadership Forum Class of 2018
KGR attorney Ted Nolting was recently selected for the Indiana Leadership Forum Class of 2018. The Indiana Leadership Forum is a seminar series focused largely on government and political leadership. Participants have the opportunity to meet and interact with elected officials, business and community leaders. The program was created in 1993 by businessman Al Hubbard, political activist Roger Schmelzer and community leader Joe Hale to prepare qualified individuals for civil service and to generate a greater understanding of the political process. Today, in its second decade of operation, the Indiana Leadership Forum is dedicated to preparing Indiana’s most talented free enterprise, limited government minded community and business leaders for greater civic involvement, public service, or leadership roles throughout the state. To date, nearly 500 Hoosiers have graduated from the ILF program and many are actively engaged in various leadership positions across the state. They are teachers, doctors, attorneys and business professionals: men and women with a desire to become more involved in improving their communities. Ted joined KGR in 2016 and practices primarily in the areas of Municipal Law, Corporate Law, Real Estate, and Intellectual Property. With an extensive background in both government and the private sector, Ted serves a number of public and private clients in a wide range of corporate and municipal transactions, including real estate and construction projects, business formations, and minority and women owned business certifications. Ted additionally advises clients on political issues, including campaign and lobbying laws, and currently serves as counsel to the Republican caucus of the Indianapolis City-County Council. Prior…
Read More
Appearances, Arbitration, Blog
College of Commercial Arbitrators Meeting
Bill Bock, KGR attorney and General Counsel for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), will be a panelist at the 17th annual meeting of the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA) on Friday, October 13th. Bill has extensive experience with athlete eligibility matters arising under specialized rules and statutes such as the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. He was involved in one of the early arbitrations under the Sports Act in 1994 and has handled numerous arbitrations under the Act since that time. He has appeared before panels of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and/or the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, in more than seventy-five (75+) sports eligibility disputes. The CAS is the specialized arbitral tribunal which handles international sport disputes. Bill has served as USADA’s General Counsel since 2007. USADA is the independent entity with the responsibility to investigate and prosecute instances of drug use in Olympic and Paralympic sports involving U.S. athletes, athlete support personnel and others, (www.usada.org). Bill has direct responsibility for the investigation of potential rule violations and handles the prosecution of cases, where those charged with a rule violation may have their case heard by a panel of neutral arbitrators. Bill was the lead attorney for USADA in the investigation of the use of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and other members of the U.S.Postal Service Cycling Team and was the principal author of USADA’s approximately 200 page Reasoned Decision setting forth the evidence against Mr. Armstrong. For his work on the Armstrong case…
Read More
Appearances, Business, Corporate Law, Events
Acquisitions of Privately Held Companies
KGR partner Brian Bosma authored Representing Buyers and Sellers in Acquisitions of Privately Held Companies for a Continuing Legal Education seminar, and is making the paper available for download here. The paper informs the reader of issues typical faced by attorneys in purchase and sale transactions. It is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on asset or stock purchase sales or procedures, but does provide a basis for discussion with a qualified professional and informs the reader of issues to be aware of and to discuss with a qualified professional to determine how they apply to the reader’s situation. The paper is not to be considered as legal advice or as a substitute for legal advice, and it is not intended to create, nor does it create, an attorney-client relationship. We encourage you to download the paper and learn about: The attorney’s role: The various roles an attorney plays in business and real estate transactions as well as the preparation necessary to fulfill the roles and be knowledgeable in diverse areas of the law and skilled at recognizing issues requiring special expertise and assistance. Setting client expectations: Understanding the client’s needs and identifying the nature of the engagement. Drafting transaction documents: A well drafted agreement ensures the parties deal with and resolve problems initially and prevents disagreements and closing delays. The drafting process requires identifying the details of the transaction, controlling the process, using forms when appropriate, drafting with clarity (identifying the seller and purchaser, defining terms, outlining the transaction, client review, and revisions and…
Read More