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Author Archives: Christopher P. Finney

Ohio adds two new programs to assist small businesses with COVID crisis

Author By Christopher P. Finney and Jane SchultePosted on

The State of Ohio has added two programs to further assist small businesses with the unprecedented business interruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, (a) $125 million in Small Business Relief Grants and (b) $1.5 billion in refunds to small businesses from the Workers Compensation program. Details on both programs are below

  1. Small Business Relief Grant.

    The Small Business Relief Grant (“SBRG”) is designed to provide necessary relief to Ohio businesses that have been negatively impacted by the effects of COVID-19. The State has designated up to one hundred twenty-five  million dollars ($125,000,000) of funding received by the State of Ohio from the Federal CARES Act to provide $10,000 grants to small businesses to assist in ensuring the survival and stability of these crucial businesses.

    Some of the terms  are:

    • The applicant business is a for-profit entity (corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietor).
    • The applicant business is an employer firm with at least 1 and no more than 25 Ohio employees paid via W2 wages as of 1/1/2020, determined either by a headcount or full-time equivalent employee calculation.
      • NOTE: A headcount calculation should include both part-time and full-time employees. A full-time equivalent calculation equals the total hours compensated for all W2 employees in calendar year 2019 divided by 2,080.
    • The applicant business has a physical location in Ohio and earns at least 90% of annual revenue from activities based in Ohio.
    • The applicant business has been in continuous operation since January 1, 2020, except for interruptions required by COVID-19 public health orders, and has the ability to continue operations as a going concern, taking into account a potential program grant.
    • The applicant business has experienced revenue loss or incurred unplanned costs substantially caused by COVID-19 and a grant is necessary to help it recover from the impact of COVID-19.
    • The applicant business is in good standing with the Ohio Secretary of State, the Ohio Department of Taxation, and any other governmental entity charged with regulating the business.
    • If applicable, the applicant business has fully utilized any other government support received (including both grants and loans) by the applicant business for business expenses incurred due to COVID-19 or that can be utilized for business expenses incurred due to COVID-19.
    • The link for the Ohio Small Business Relief Grant program from the Ohio Development Services Agency is here.

    There are also restrictions that may nullify your ability to obtain a grant.  Contact Jane Schulte at Finney Law Firm for more information on how we can assist you in navigating the application process.

  2. Workers Compensation refunds.

    • This is the second refund program this year, this time distributing $1.5 billion in excess funds held by the Ohio Worker’s Compensation program to Ohio employers. BWC started sending checks to up to 200,000 private and public employers in its system in late October after first applying the dividend to any unpaid balances. The dividend follows a similar dividend in April, where the average check size was $8,500.
    • The refunds are automatically calculated and the checks sent by the BWC. No action on the part of employers is necessary.
    • The announcement from the BWC is here.
Finney Law Firm

We are pleased to announce the Launch of our new website | FINNEY LAW FIRM

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

We are excited to announce the launch of Finney Law Firm’s new website. We have worked hard to create a modern website that is easy to navigate and fun to use. Our website is optimized to work on your laptop, desktop, tablet, and smartphone. Our new social features make it easy for you to connect with our professionals and share content on all your favorite platforms. Please take a look: www.finneylawfirm.com and let us know what you think.

Responsive Design

One of our primary goals in creating our new site was to make our content accessible to all our clients and visitors. Our new website employs what is called a “responsive design” that dynamically resizes to fit your browser. This means that no matter what device you are using right now, our website will change to give you a great viewing experience.

Clean, Modern Design

We are committed to keeping you up to date on the latest legal and business issues. To reinforce this commitment, our new website delivers rich content in a clean and organized way. We have changed the organizational structure of our Blog and have narrowed down our categories for easier searching. Our website infrastructure has been developed to make this content easily accessible and fast to load.

Partnership with Holland Adhaus

We are thrilled to have found an agency that shares our values and integrity. Their honest and open communication every step of the way has helped us to enhance Finney Law Firm’s presence in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Holland provides a comprehensive suite of marketing services for small businesses and large companies alike. Please visit www.hollandadhaus.com for more information.

Thank you for your continued support of Finney Law Firm. We look forward to servicing all of your legal needs and in particular, please check out our new Practice Area, Small Business Solutions Group, at this link: https://finneylawfirm.isoc.net/practice-areas/small-business-solutions-group/

Real Estate Law: CDC to issue nationwide residential eviction moratorium this Friday through end of year

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

Tonight, the Centers for Disease Control issued this proposed Order  that will prohibit most residential evictions nationwide. The Order is scheduled to take effect on September 4, 2020, this Friday, and last through the end of the year. 

Previous rulings by the federal government limiting evictions were limited to projects financed with special HUD loans, which were few and very large projects. In contrast, this ruling applies to almost all residential tenants in all States and US Territories (except American Samoa) with the following exceptions:

  1. Engaging in criminal activity while on the premises;
  2. Threatening the health or safety of other residents;
  3. Damaging or posing an immediate and significant risk of damage to property;
  4. Violating any applicable building code, health ordinance, or similar regulation relating to health and safety; or
  5. Violating any other contractual obligation, other than the timely payment of rent or similar housing-related payment (including non-payment or late payment of fees, penalties, or interest).

The Order also will not apply to residents who earn more than $99,000 individually or $198,000 if filing jointly.

In order to qualify for the protection, the resident must sign a CDC-prescribed form that says:

  • The individual has used best efforts to obtain government assistance for the payment of rent.
  • The individual falls below the above-income thresholds.
  • The individual can’t pay rent due to loss of income or medical expenses.
  • The individual is using best efforts to pay the rent or as much of it as he can.
  • Eviction would render the individual homeless.

The Finney Law Firm sees this as a significant shift in the balance between landlords and tenants in fulfilling leasehold obligations through year’s end. It will cause economic hardship for many landlords, and could force many projects into default.

Contact Chris Finney (513-943-6655) for more details and to learn how we can help.

 

The Best Lawyers in America© Recognizes Two Finney Law Firm Attorneys for 2021

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen E. Imm – recognized since 2010 in Commercial Litigation, since 2011 in Litigation and 2012 for Employment Law

Kevin J. Hopper – recognized since 2009 in Environmental Law and Water Law

About The Best Lawyers in America©

Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.

ABOUT FINNEY LAW FIRM

In 2014, led by Christopher P. Finney, seven bright, hard-working attorneys and a dedicated and talented staff, came together to form Finney Law Firm. Our team is committed to a unique practice of law that makes a positive difference for our clients by focusing on defining and then arriving at the best outcome for them. Finney Law Firm’s practice has extensive experience in the broad range of legal services that individuals and businesses may need:

  • Business formation and development
  • Residential and Commercial Real estate
  • Estate planning and administration
  • Commercial dispute resolution
  • Public interest law
  • Labor and employment law
  • Small Business Solutions Group
  • Bankruptcy
  • Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
  • Water Law
  • Affiliated Title Company – Ivy Pointe Title, LLC

We work relentlessly to add value for our clients by applying cutting edge legal strategies and utilizing highly productive technology. This approach allows us to keep pace with the changing demands of our clients’ own challenging personal and business environments. ~ Christopher P. Finney

Visit us at finneylawfirm.com

Paycheck Protection Program: Your small business PPP loan may be public record

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

Last week, the Small Business Administration agreed to disclose the business names and locations, number of employees and loan amounts for all Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans in excess of $150,000. The Administration released the information this morning at 10 a.m. CT. As a result, the loan for your small business may become public as part of the disclosure.

Even though your bank may treat loan information as confidential, in this case, the disclosure of information is directly from the SBA as part of the Freedom of Information Act outlined in the PPP instructions. For more information, please refer to the U.S. Department of the Treasury website.

If you need assistance with obtaining or forgiveness of a PPP loan, please contact Rebecca L. Simpson (513.797.2856).

 

Ohio Personal Injury Law: Finney Law Firm obtains substantial settlement for dog bite victim

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on
Attorney Casey Jones

Back in February, I wrote on the Ohio Dog Bite Statute (R.C. 955.28) and debunked many of the myths surrounding liability for such claims. You can read that entry here.  Recently, our litigation team was able to achieve a settlement for our client, through a dog owner’s/homeowners’ insurance policy, of more than 12 times our client’s economic damages.*

Under Ohio law, dog owners/keepers/harborers are strictly liable when their dog injures another person (with very few, limited exceptions), even if it is the dog’s first incident – i.e., there is no “one free bite.” However, in instances where the dog has demonstrated aggressive tendencies previously, a victim may also be entitled to additional, punitive damages under common law. As responsible pet owners (and as the owner/lover of two extremely sweet, but large German Shepherds myself), it is our obligation to make sure that we understand and acknowledge our dogs’ temperaments and propensities, both for the safety of others and for our own economic interests.

The consequences of a dog attack can be severe and long-lasting for the victim, both from a physical and financial perspective, as well as mentally, and even for those victims who love dogs or may even have a dog of their own.

If you have been injured by a dog and would like to discuss your options, please feel free to contact me at (513) 943-5673 or casey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net, and I would be happy to discuss the matter with you at no charge. I am also offering remote consultations to during this time to honor COVID-19 health concerns.

 

*Case values are dependent upon the unique circumstances surrounding each case and do not necessarily predict the value of any other case.

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