By Gabrielle Lessard, Esq. Just days before the busy Valentine’s Day shopping weekend, the California Supreme Court announced its decision that vendors cannot ask customers to provide their zip codes in credit card transactions. Pineda v. William-Sonoma, S178241.  Jessica Pineda brought the case after Williams-Sonoma obtained her zip code in a credit card transaction and [...]

What images come to mind when you hear the word “franchise”?  Probably a fast food place.  But many businesses are franchises.  When someone creates a successful business, one way to profit from it is to sell the right to use the formula for success by franchising the business.  The person that sells this right is [...]

The California Secretary of State’s office has posted a notice on its web site advising that letters are being sent to California corporations and LLCs directing them to submit $495 and a completed form to a private company named Business Filings Division in order to dissolve their business entity. Dissolving an entity is free and [...]

California small businesses and nonprofits often receive notices in the mail from organizations based in Sacramento that are intended to look like official government documents stating that if they do not send in a check for $150 or more, they could lose their corporate status.  Many businesses fall for this scam, believing that they are [...]