Law Office of Nicklaus Suino: Legalities of accessing websites

Accessing informational websites on the internet is unlikely to run you afoul of any laws...or is it? Take a look at the opening paragraph on the USA Judo website:

"This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of use for the web sites operated by USA Judo ("we," "us," or "our" herein) at www.usajudo.org (referred to as the "Site"). You should be aware that USA Judo owns several other domain names that direct traffic to the Site, and that this Agreement also covers use of the Site via such domain names. USA Judo reserves the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of this Agreement at any time. Such changes, revisions or modifications will be effective immediately upon notice to you, which may be given by any means including, without limitation, via posting on the Site. Your continued use of the Site after such notice will be deemed to constitute acceptance of such changes, revisions or modifications. Please check this Agreement periodically for changes." - www.usajudo.org

The Art of Judo website, on the other hand, contains no such disclaimers, suggesting that you are free to access the site and to use the materials contained therein for any manner you choose. Similarly, www.usjf.com and http://www.usja-judo.org/ do not restrict your use of their contents. USJA's website, in fact, has a very friendly, helpful, tone.

Deciding whether a user agreement is necessary for your website is an important decision for your business with potential legal ramifications. We recommend that you consult with an attorney, who can review your site content to determine whether there is any information that could be used in such a way as to make your company liable for mis-statements, false statements, or unfulfilled promises. Every Ann Arbor business should have a comprehensive document review program in which an attorney examines all advertising, contracts, and other printed matter to minimize the risk of lawsuits.

Contact us for a free initial consultation!

An Ounce of Prevention...

Our attorneys' experience with collecting debts has shown us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are a variety of tactics that Ann Arbor businesses can use early in a relationship to help ease the process of collecting payments later, including: personal guarantees, researching financial histories, good contract language detailing defaults and remedies, and quick legal action when late payments start.

Our lawyers encourage Ann Arbor business clients to adopt a strategic collection procedure that starts from the inception of the buyer-seller or landlord-tenant relationship. We help advise service-oriented businesses, retail businesses, and commercial landlords on how to structure their client relationships to ensure an efficient collection process. We create or revise contracts and other documents to maximize the benefit to our clients, often later resulting in significant savings in litigation costs.

Independent Contractor Agreement

Our attorneys recently drafted an Independent Contractor Agreement for one of our Ann Arbor business clients. By paying careful attention to the details of the relationship between the business and the contractor, we were able to improve our client's position in several ways.

Our business lawyers included language that helped to limit our client's liability in case of a financial disagreement between the parties. We were also able to address our client's concerns about trade secrets and competition from the contractor. We were also able to increase our client's protection against assertions by the taxing authority that the contractor was an employee - an often overlooked area in legal agreements with independent contractors.

Evictions

In the current business climate, many good tenants become late payers or non-payers. Our attorneys remind our real estate clients to keep a careful eye on their tenant accounts to spot signs of trouble early.

We've had a string of successful evictions recently, encouraging difficult tenants to move out so that our clients can move better paying tenants into their commercial properties. Our three-pronged approach of notification, litigation, and follow up usually results in the premises being quickly vacated. Our lawyers then doggedly pursue any unpaid balances the tenants may still have on their accounts.

Personal Guarantees

Our attorneys advise business clients in Ann Arbor to try to obtain a personal guaranty for virtually every business agreement. Besides providing a legal backup in the event the business client fails to pay, the guaranty usually helps to focus the guarantor's attention on payment, making default less likely.

There are many subtle but important aspects of a personal guaranty that are best learned through the experience of litigation. In the heat of a legal battle, issues that seem small or unimportant can become significant. Because of our experience in collecting debts for our business clients, we know what information should be requested for a personal guaranty, and what contract language should always be written in.

Law Office of Nicklaus Suino

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Legalities of accessing websites

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The Law Office of Nicklaus Suino

Law Office of Nicklaus Suino, PLLC

An Ounce of Prevention...

Businesses of Note

Independent Contractor Agreement

Michigan locations where our clients live and work:

Evictions

Personal Guarantees