Reena Gulati Blog

The Administrative Code of the City of New York § 7-210 imposes a nondelegable duty on the owners of commercial property to repair and maintain the sidewalk to their property. However in certain cases, if there is an injury or worse death due to the sidewalk being in disrepair, a tenant at the property could be held liable to the owner, to indemnify the owner of the property for any damage resulting from that injury. It depends upon how the lease reads.

Most people form a limited liability Company to shield their personal assets from liability and debts of the LLC. Did you realize that most single member LLC's are at risk to pierce the corporate veil? You can avoid that outcome by taking certain steps. These small steps if done right can be very beneficial in avoiding liability that you never intended to take on but can be devastating for any business, particularly for a small business owner.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of U.S. Department of the Treasury, issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) that require the title companies to identify the individuals behind the LLC's or companies that purchase all cash real estate in Manhattan worth more than $3,000,000.00. This order currently applies to Manhattan and Miami Dade County, Florida. The purpose is to combat money laundering in the real estate sector in certain high end markets.

In this economy, a lot of people either prefer to start their own business or are compelled to because of the current job market and decide to take the plunge into the realm of being a business owner. This is your window of opportunity. Wonderful! Now let's be smart about it.