Los Angeles Business Law Blog

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of bringing a real estate development to the market. After you’ve arranged all the financing, licensing, design and construction, you’ve finally hit the last stretch. You’re almost ready to realize your profit. But the recent hacking of one developer’s Zillow listing shows this last stretch may come with new dangers of its own.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the developer of a $150 million luxury home sued Zillow for falsely reporting two sales that were nearly $60 million below the property’s list price. The phantom sales were “self-reported” by someone with a Chinese IP and fake phone number who claimed to be the former homeowner. And as the developer claims the forged records will cost him tens of millions of dollars, the hack reminds us that developers often take great risks in pursuit of their rewards.

A couple months ago, we wrote about SB 826 - a new California law requiring publicly traded companies to include at least one woman on their board of directors. The law is intended to address gender inequality in the workplace and is the first of its kind in the nation. According to the California Secretary of State’s office, as of the end of 2018, nearly one-quarter of the State’s 445 publicly traded companies did not have a woman on their boards.

The law went into effect on January 1, 2019. All public companies based in California must be compliant by December 31, 2019. The legislation does not stop there. By July 31, 2020, public corporations with five directors must have at least two women on their board, and those with six or more directors must have at least three women on the board.

As a business owner, you will likely be party to numerous contracts with employees, independent contractors, vendors, customers and landlords. Needless to say, it's important that these contracts protect your business, minimize potential disputes and maximize profits.

This is why it is crucial to work with an attorney to ensure the contracts are fair, enforceable and necessary. Failure to secure legal guidance can facilitate unwise decisions and missteps that can have costly consequences, including those we discuss below.

Over the years, the use of arbitration clauses in employment contracts has become more common. These clauses specify that in the event of a dispute between an employee and employer, the matter will go to arbitration, not court.

However, arbitration agreements are controversial. Employers often see the benefits of using arbitration clauses, including keeping certain matters private and avoiding the cost of litigation. Employees, on the other hand, argue that these clauses unfairly benefit employers and perpetuate a cycle of workplace violations.