The WHV Legal Press
Fall 2010
My Child Wants to Play, But Should I Sign
that Release?
You and your minor child are invited to
a birthday party at the local party center.
The main attractions at the party center
are enormous bounce or jump houses.
We have all seen these – kids take off
their shoes and climb and bounce through
obstacles and mazes. You enter the party
center and your child is ecstatic about the
fun that is awaiting him or her. There is
only one catch – before your child can
participate you have to sign a release and
waiver. What to do? What to do? Of
course you go ahead and sign the release
and waiver because (1) your child really
wants to join the other children at the
birthday party, (2) what possibly could
go wrong? and (3) these release and
waiver documents are not enforceable
anyway - or are they?
An Ohio appellate court recently held
that such releases and waivers are enforceable. The typical scenario is that
when you and your minor child show-up
for the birthday party at the party center
you are presented with a participation
type form to fill out. This form also includes a release and waiver section. In
general, the release and waiver cover
anyone who participates in the activities
– whether it is you or your minor child.
It will also go on to state that you are
aware of a risk of injury in participating
in the fun, you assume and are responsible for all known and unknown risks, and
you and all other participants will release
and hold harmless the party center from
any possible injury whether it is due to
another participant or the negligence of
an employee.
The court determined that if the release
and waiver clearly inform the parent that
injuries are possible while participating
in the activity at the party center, the parent is assuming the risk for any such injury to him or her self and for his or her
minor child. Further, if the form clearly
states that the party center is not responsible for any injuries that occur whether
due to the actions of another participant
or its own employee, then the party center will not be responsible for any such
injuries that occur to the parent or minor
child.
So, think twice before you sign the participation form that includes a release and
waiver of the establishment’s liability.
Do not assume that the release and
waiver will be unenforceable. Understand that if you or your minor child is
injured, there is a possibility that you will
not be able to recover for such injuries.
WHV Practice Area
Spotlight
Family Law
and
Domestic
Relations
Wegman, Hessler & Vanderburg
represents clients in all aspects of
family law matters, including: divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal
separation, child custody, access and
visitation, spousal support, child support, and premarital agreements.
As a mid-sized law firm, we can provide each client with highly personalized service and at the same time
draw upon the experience and expertise of lawyers throughout the firm
who have particular knowledge of
such matters as business ownership
and valuation, pension and benefit
plans, estate and trust administration,
taxation, courtroom litigation and
appellate law. This team approach to
problem solving allows us to be prudent and effective in meeting our
clients’ needs in this most sensitive
area.
Please visit www.wegmanlaw.com
for more information.
Christopher A. Corpus is an associate in
WHV’s Product Liability, Litigation and
Business Practice groups. Chris can be
reached at (216) 642-3342 or by e-mail
at [email protected].
ALERT — Ohio’s Minimum Wage to Increase
Based on an amendment to the Ohio
Constitution enacted in 2006, the minimum wage in Ohio will increase effective
January 1, 2011. The new minimum
wage will be $7.40 per hour for employees that are 16 years of age and older and
do not receive tips. The new minimum
wage will be $3.70 per hour for employees that receive tips. For employers with
gross sales less than $271,000 and for
employees that are 14 or 15 years old, the
minimum wage will be equal to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. If
you have any questions or concerns re-
6055 Rockside Woods Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44131
(216) 642-3342
garding minimum wage and/or overtime
laws, do not hesitate to contact David R.
Knowles at [email protected]
or Christopher A. Corpus at [email protected].
www.wegmanlaw.com
Sign on the Dotted Line
Does the way you sign your name on a
contract or agreement matter? Yes. If
you are not careful, the way you sign
your name could result in you being personally liable for the obligation set forth
in the contract or agreement.
The following example is helpful. You
are the owner of ABC Corporation which
is a small, startup business. You need to
make a substantial purchase and you are
presented with an agreement to sign. The
signature block is just a single line. How
do you sign your name? In general, you
have three options. First, you can just
sign your name on the line – /s/ John
Doe. Second, you can insert the word
“by” in front of your name – By /s/ John
Doe. Or third, you can insert the name of
your company above the signature line,
sign your name on the line and then insert
your official title with the company. For
example,
ABC Corporation
By: /s/ John Doe, President
The obvious and best choice is number
three.
Inserting the company name
clearly indicates to the other party that
this is a corporate and not a personal obligation. Additionally, inserting the word
“By” also indicates that you are signing
the contract or agreement on behalf of
another entity. The same applies if your
official title with the company is inserted
after your name.
Protecting Your Business
from the Hazards of
Social Networking
Why does this matter? Say that you simply signed your name to the agreement
and later your company breaches or defaults on the agreement and $100,000 is
owed to the other party. Since your company is relatively new, the contracting
party might have doubts about your company’s ability to make good on this debt.
The other side to the agreement will
claim that you are personally liable for
the debt. Upon
review of the signed
agreement or contract, it is noticed that
you simply signed your name and made
no reference to your company. The other
party will use this to assert that you are
personally liable for the debt. By signing
your name in such a way you will have
created a hurdle for yourself to overcome. However, personal liability is not
so easily created. A court would review
the agreement or contract using well settled contract interpretation principles to
determine the responsible party under the
contract. The point, however, is not to let
the matter get to the point of contract
interpretation. Just take a moment to
ensure that the signature block reflects
that your company is entering into the
contract or agreement and that you are
only signing as an officer of the company.
Corporate End User Survey, nearly onefourth of employees visit social networking sites while on their company's computer network. While social networking
sites can be useful for both business and
personal relationship-building, these sites
provide endless opportunities for identity
theft and the corruption of business data
and company networks.
Christopher A. Corpus is an associate in
WHV’s Product Liability, Litigation and
Business Practice groups. Chris can be
reached at (216) 642-3342 or by e-mail
at [email protected].
Although employees may have enough
technical knowledge to create an on-line
profile, many are not aware of the security risks that go along with their access
to these websites or the longevity of the
information they post on these sites and a
little information and advice can go a
long way toward protecting your business.
WHV Notable News and Events
W egm an, H essler & Vanderburg w elcom es our new est asso ciates: M olly M oran Lukenbill is an associate in the firm ’s Product Liability and Litigation D epartm ents and Jay R.
C arson is an associate in the firm ’s Litigation D epartm ent with an em phasis on business
disputes. In addition, D ebbie A. H ighman recently joined the firm as a paralegal in the
firm ’s Probate D epartm ent.
In an effort to keep company data safe
and secure, businesses should educate
employees regarding the potential pitfalls
associated with their access to these sites.
Employees should be trained to avoid
suspicious links and to avoid giving out
confidential business information online.
In addition, employee handbooks and
policy manuals should address the use
and access to the Internet and social networking sites. Policy manuals should
clarify what information employees are
permitted to transmit from work computers and company networks. Where a
computer network permits monitoring of
web activities, employees should be
aware that their actions are being recorded and the failure to comply with
company policies will result in disciplinary action.
Angela M . Lavin is an associate in
W H V’s Litigation and E -D iscovery &
Technology practice groups. Angela m ay
be reached at (216) 642-3342 or by email at [email protected].
Please visit the firm ’s w ebsite at w w w .w egm anlaw .com to review all of our attorney bios
and contact information.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter has been prepared by Wegman, Hessler & Vanderburg and is provided for general in formation purposes only, and should not be construed as legal
advice on any specific matter. The receipt of information contained in this newsletter does not constitute or create an attor ney-client relationship between the recipient and the firm. Readers should not act
upon, either positively or negatively, any information found herein without seeking professional legal counsel addressing the specific legal need and factual situation.
6055 Rockside Woods Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44131
(216) 642-3342
www.wegmanlaw.com