Kari A. Martin, an associate with the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gourde, is focused on and actively involved in the practice of family law. While divorce, child custody and other family law matters can be painful and difficult to navigate, with the help of an experienced family law attorney, you can improve or modify your existing relationships in a way that works for you and your family. It is our goal to negotiate and settle cases on behalf of our clients for as amicable and just result as possible without the need for lengthy court involvement. However, if court involvement becomes necessary, we will handle your case efficiently and aggressively, if needed. Ourfamily law and business litigation expertise provides us with a unique level of skill in assisting our clients through the divorce process with a clear focus and strong representation.

If you have any questions about family law in Orange County, California please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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Business Interference California

Protection of these relationships from outside interference facilitates performance and helps stabilize commercial undertakings. Interference with contractual relations upsets expectations, destabilizes commercial affairs and increases the costs of doing business by involving competitors in disruptive squabbles or litigation.

It is not well known, however, the act of inducing a breach of contract (and causing interference) must be an intentional act. If the actor (defendant) had no knowledge of the existence of the contract, or his actions were not intended to induce a breach, he sometimes cannot be held liable even when an actual breach results from his acts. It is not enough that the actor intended to perform the acts that caused the result. He or she must have intended to cause the result itself.

Elements Of Business Interference California

Consequently, to prove tortious interference with business relationship, most jurisdictions require that the following elements be satisfied:

• A valid business relationship or business expectancy existed between the parties
• The defendant had knowledge of the relationship or expectancy
• The defendant intentionally coerced one of the parties to terminate the business relationship, breach a contract, or withhold a valid business expectancy
• The defendant was not authorized to interfere with the parties’ dealings
• The defendant’s interference resulted in damages to the plaintiff

 
Rather than wait until there is interference and then determine if these elements can be satisfied, businesses should be proactive and ensure that their contractual and commercial relationships are made in such a way that anyone interfering with them will be subject to liability. One important factor is that a claim for tortious interference with business expectancy does not require a contract to exist.

Nevertheless, virtually any contract, whether written or oral, qualifies for protection from unreasonable interference. If your company has experienced such interference, consult with a competent and experienced attorney. If you have any questions about possible business interference and your right to seek protection from it or damages in California, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

Here is an excellent article about Tortious Interference at Findlaw.com

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Antitrust laws and regulations have had a serious effect on business practices and the organization of U.S. industry. These fall into four main areas: Agreements between competitors, contractual arrangements between sellers and buyers, the pursuit or maintenance of monopoly power, and company mergers.

Why Antitrust Law Matters. Antitrust law is important to businesses and consumers that have been either injured by anti-competitive abuses or accused of employing them. The fundamental purpose of the antitrust laws is to promote strong competition in the markets while also attempting to prohibit anti-competitive monopolists, cartels, and conspiracies. If you operate a company and have to deal with antitrust issues, you need a competent and experienced attorney to assist you.

If you have any questions about antitrust law, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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As part of Mr. Gourde’s services, he will draft and execute formation documents, including:

Preparing and filing articles of incorporation and organization
Drafting partnership agreements, by laws and LLC operating agreements
Filing initial tax documents to obtain the client’s employer identification number
In addition to basic formation services, Mr. Gourde routinely advises his clients on the more nuanced aspects of entity formation including:

Preparing of shareholders’ agreements and documenting buy-sell arrangements, whether funded or unfunded
Drafting terms dealing with issues of management and control, capitalization and shareholder voting
Succession planning for both intra-family and inter-family owned entities
Of course, once a business is fully operating, the need for strong, cost-effective legal guidance does not cease. Mr. Gourde offers services in basic and advanced corporate governance as well as handling those exceptional situations that can have serious consequences for your business. The firm’s on-going entity support includes:

Structuring the division of a business or the departure of an owner or executive
Corporate mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, including recapitalization of subchapter S corporations
Negotiating, drafting and executing joint venture agreements
Analyzing and counseling on personnel issues, including negotiating and drafting employment and independent contractor agreements, consulting agreements, and separation agreements
Drafting non-competition agreements
Counseling on and negotiation of compensation arrangements, including deferred compensation planning for executives, stock options and phantom stock agreements
If you wish to form or currently operate a corporation, partnership or LLC, you should consult with a competent and experienced attorney who can assist you.

If you have any questions about corporations, partnerships and LLC formation services, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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• Written
• Oral
• Expressed or Implied

There are minimum requirements for a party to be contractually bound to a contract. The general requirements are that the agreement be between two or more parties, the parties must have the mental capacity to understand that they are entering into a binding contract, there is a mutual consideration by the parties and the contract is not made in violation of any law or regulation. For example, when an individual or company enters into an agreement for the purchase of goods or services, it is expected that both parties will abide by the terms of the agreement. Consequently, when one or more of the parties to the contract fails to perform as anticipated, it is a breach and it is important to obtain an experienced lawyer to protect the interests of the wronged.

Mr. Gourde, over the past several years, has represented businesses and individuals in a wide range of contract matters, including breach of contract and anticipatory repudiation claims. He recognizes that no two cases are identical and that every case requires meticulous preparation and a creative strategy to obtain the desired results. If you have entered into a binding contract and one of the other parties has failed to meet the terms of the agreement, he can assist you to recover damages for losses incurred.

If you have any questions about contract disputes and breach of contract claims, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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Mr. Gourde also has extensive experience in negotiating, preparing, reviewing and enforcing leases on behalf of landlords, tenants and lenders. He regularly assists clients in creating and implementing a wide variety of leases.

If you have any questions about real estate law orange county ca, including sales and leases, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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His experience encompasses a wide range of California real estate law issues at the local, state and federal levels in judicial and administrative trials and appellate tribunals and in other dispute resolution proceedings. The following are areas with which Mr. Gourde has California real estate law experience:

• Contract disputes involving the sale or leasing of real property
• Easement and right-of-way disputes
• Eminent domain and condemnation actions
• Property tax and tax exemption disputes
• Commercial landlord/tenant disputes
• Title insurance claims defense
• Quiet title and ejectment actions
• Land use and zoning disputes
• Dispute resolution with land contractors and consultants
• Lis pendens issues
• Mechanics liens disputes
• Resolution of disputes with homeowner’s associations
• Warranty and other homeowner disputes
• Defense of premises liability and toxic exposure claims
• Defense of claims related to alleged toxic mold exposure
• Advice and counseling of clients on risk management and insurance issue

If you have any questions about California Real Estate Law and any disputes, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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In many distressed property situations, it is preferable for a lender to agree to a short sale than to foreclose.  However, initiating a short sale will not automatically stop the lender from starting the foreclosure process.  Also, the short sale negotiation process is a lengthy one. It may take several weeks to months before a lender and the homeowner can agree on acceptable terms. Many lenders have layers of bureaucracy, insurers and investors that you must maneuver through to get your short sale approved.

On December 20th, 2007, President Bush passed The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 which allows California Homeowners to avoid paying taxes on the loss the lender takes. Before this act took effect, if the value of your house declined, and your bank or lender forgave a portion of your mortgage, the tax code treated the amount forgiven as income that can be taxed. According to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, if you sell your home as a short sale, the loss the lender takes will not be considered taxable income by the IRS.

Nevertheless, the IRS may become involved with a short sale because they are seen as a relief of debt and may be treated as income. Please check with your accountant and let them know about The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.

Otherwise, if you have any questions about short sales or foreclosures, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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Not only will estate planning ease the transition of property ownership after death, but estate planning is also beneficial during your living years. Estate planning can help grow and preserve assets during life. Having a plan for property will help to ensure that the property is distributed as desired after passing. Finally, the value of the estate will be maximized by reducing taxes and other expenses.

The process of estate planning involves:

Wills- in which to name an executor, and provide for the distribution of assets at death, as well as appoint a guardian for minor children.

Trusts – in many cases these will help to avoid probate by basically passing on control of the property to an appointed heir.

Powers of attorney – the authorization to act on someone else’s behalf.

To optimize the value of your assets for your heirs, contact Thomas L. Gourde today to create your estate plan. A properly executed estate plan will protect and preserve your assets and property, and when the time comes, ease the legal ownership to the next generation.
If you have any questions about estate planning, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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If you have any questions about the California Limited Liability Company Act and how it can protect your family, please contact Mr. Gourde at (949) 825-6525.

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