Carl Kanowsky, Esq. Taking up from my last column, I’m talking with Jim, the owner of the traffic school, “Fun While Drinking and Driving,” about the lease he’s thinking of signing for his new location. We’ve already discussed 1) renewal periods – were there any, and at what rate; 2)...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. You might remember my last column: Jim, owner of the traffic school, Fun While Drinking and Driving, had come to see me about the lease for his new space. He was skeptical about the need to pay an attorney to review the document. So, I challenged him with eight issues he had not considered....

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. Jim came in to see me the other day. He was really excited. He was about to open his own comedy driving traffic school. He was going to name it “Fun While Drinking and Driving.” He even selected a location for the classes. He met with the landlord and agreed on a 5-year term at...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. As you’ll recall, Charles Lee, the guy who worked for Dynamex for fifteen days (yes, just 15 days), set the employment world on its head. Because of his lawsuit, it suddenly became much more difficult in California to justify classifying a worker as an independent contractor. Under...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. I’m reading “Button Man,” a novel by Andrew Gross. The protagonist, Morris Raab, a successful New York clothing manufacturer, battles organized crime in the 1930s. The bad guys want to infiltrate Morris’ business by way of unionizing his workers. On its face, given some of...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. If you’ve been to any nonprofit event in our valley, you know Greg Amsler either by sight or by reputation or both. Greg, proprietor of Salt Creek Grille, ranks at the top of the list of most giving restaurateurs in the Santa Clarita Valley. Beyond having a big heart, Greg owns...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. The decision of Shanahan vs. State Farm (March 8, 2011) presented another example of men – especially men who should know better – behaving badly. His excuses and rationalizations were sure to have the justices suppressing smiles in front of the public while busting a...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. Here’s a hypothetical situation: In 2007, John convinced his wealthy friends Paul, George and Ringo to invest with him in a surefire plan to develop some vacant Santa Clarita land into what we all know we need more of out here — a strip mall attached to more than 100 condominiums. Back...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. Sometimes, we forget the basics. For example: The time we got our youngest son all packed and ready to spend the next semester in Europe. We got in the car, all set to go to LAX, when we realized there was no gas. I had to make a quick stop, but fortunately we still made it to the...

Carl Kanowsky, Esq. You have to wonder: Do folks who own restaurants feel they have a target on their back? I’ll explain. Restaurants are big business. As reported in a University of Central Florida study, “sccording to the National Restaurant Association (2009), total revenues for the restaurant...