Commercial Client Fall 2017 Newsletter

On Behalf of | Oct 24, 2017 | Firm News

Password Protection + Internet Security

You’ve heard it before…that password and internet security is increasingly important, given the cyber threats that exist now and more sophisticated threats in the future. You should consider the following when using passwords for your business: Make sure you use at least 12 characters and at least 3 of the following (uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.) You should also change your passwords every 120 days or so and use unique passwords for every website that your business frequently visits. I’ve struggled to maintain and follow my own advice. One helpful tool that might assist you in getting this done is to use a software package designed to act as your password manager. These come in various forms and from many different vendors. A few of them include dashlane.com, keepersecurity.com, msecured.com, and lastpass.com. There are certainly others out there. You should test-drive some these programs and select one to manage the passwords for your business. Some of them even have the capability to change the password for you so that you don’t have to do so every 120 days for each website that you frequently visit.

Which Laws Apply To My Company?

I came across a handy website link that summarizes which federal laws apply to companies based upon the size of the business/number of employees. If you run into an issue regarding any of the areas of law contained in this link, you should consult an attorney. However, this gives you some idea of which laws might apply to your company. Additionally, you should be aware that many times there are state laws that apply in your jurisdiction to your company/ business that govern the same area of law as these federal statutes/regulations. If you are not covered by the federal law, you may be subject to state laws and regulations. I hope you find this summary helpful.

Article Reference Source:

(https://hr.blr.com/state-comparison-charts/HR-101-Which-Laws-Apply-to-My-Company)

For your foreclosure/commercial law needs..

Within the last two years, we have had 9 cases ruled upon by the Court of Appeals. We have won 8 of them. The only one we lost was a denial of our right to end a case early on summary judgment. We recently obtained an appellate victory in the Georgia Court of Appeals after winning summary judgment in the trial court. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling in our client’s favor. The issue involved confirmation of a foreclosure. In our case, both the first and second mortgage were originated by the same lender. Basically it was a 80/20 program (you don’t see these anymore) where the second mortgages amounted to a loan for the down payment. After the loan was originated, the first and the second mortgage were assigned to different servicers as well as different investors. The first mortgage foreclosed. The second mortgage did not foreclose and the second mortgage holder sought collection of its outstanding balance. The consumer’s attorney took a legal position that the foreclosure by the first mortgage (and the failure to subsequently confirm the sale) prohibited the collection of the second mortgage balance because the two loans were “inextricably intertwined.” When two loans are “inextricably intertwined” the foreclosure on one of the loans could bar the collection of the balance owned by the other loan. We successfully overcame the “inextricably intertwined“ defense to preserve the second loan holder’s right to pursue collection of the note. This was a very interesting case from a foreclosure/confirmation process and was not directly addressed previously by the Court of Appeals in a situation involving a 1st and 2nd loan which was originated by the same lender. The name of the case is Hildebrand v. Bank of America, N.A. 332 Ga.App.175 (reconsideration denied April 14, 2015; certiorari denied September 8 2015).