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Month: March 2011

3/30/2011

M&B Receives $1.6 Million Dollar Verdict in a Breach of Contract Case

The Plaintiff Chris Kolb was a salesman for a company known as CTA in Madison County, Alabama. CTA sold robots and robotic systems for applying paint and stealth coatings. These products and services were mostly sold to government contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin. In May of 1999 Kolb was promoted to a salesman. As a part of this promotion Kolb signed a written contract that paid him the same base salary he was previously earning with the company but also entitled him to earn commissions. Attached to the contract was a detailed commissions schedule that outlined how the commissions were to be calculated. (It was not simply a percentage of the sale). Kolb worked under this contract from May 1999 to October 2003. During this time frame, Kolb sold over $23M worth of product and services for CTA. In October 2003, he signed another written contract that increased his salary and promoted him to VP of Sales. This October 2003 contract eliminated Kolb's right to receive commissions on future sales. In October 2003, CTA began to negotiate the sale of the company and it was officially sold to Pratt & Whitney Automation in June 2004.

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3/25/2011

Feeling the Tax Squeeze: Estate Gifting

Huntsville residents, North Alabama residents, and residents throughout the State of Alabama will likely be affected by large state deficits. In Jefferson County, employees are awaiting the effect of tax changes. There are Alabama tax lawyers getting ready to go to trial over the Alabama property tax system. And this large deficit is event causing squeezes to Alabama educators. It appears that every person, in every county, in every state throughout this country is feeling the squeeze. During these times, it can be really hard to think about estate planning, but effective estate planning can make your loved ones' transition that much easier as well as allowing your money to go who YOU want it to, and not the IRS.

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3/17/2011

Alabama Medicaid: Under-funded and over-extended

The Alabama Medicaid Commissioner has divulged that the state of Medicaid in Alabama is dire. According to Dr. Bob Mullins, the Alabama Medicaid needs $700 million to operate. That is, according to Dr. Mullins, approximately 40% of the General Fund of the State of Alabama. There is a large shortfall in funding for this agency and the main cause of this budgetary gap is the loss of federal stimulus money. With no telling if the federal government will ever again have a stimulus package, Gov. Robert Bentley and other Alabama officials are scrambling to fund this desperately-needed agency.

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3/15/2011

Car Wreck Near Madison Claims Life of Decatur, AL Man

A rear end car accident near Madison, AL in Limestone County has sadly claimed the life of Stephen Lee Shankle, 21, of Decatur. According to an article by Victoria Cumbow in the Huntsville Times, the wreck happened on US Hwy 72 just four miles west of Madison. Shankle was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by Emily Barnes of Athens. Ms. Barnes' vehicle was rear ended by a vehicle being driven by David Kohlhoff of Madison.

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3/14/2011

Huntsville Car Accident Raises Questions About Elderly Drivers

A car wreck in Huntsville, AL involving an 82 year old driver raises questions about how states should regulate elderly drivers. A 3 car accident at the intersection of Blue Spring Rd and Winchester Rd was the result of an elderly driver running a red light. According to the Huntsville Times, Eddie Elliott, ran a stop light and struck another vehicle which collided with another vehicle. Sadly, Mr. Elliott died in the wreck and the driver and passenger of another vehicle were injured. The article does not mention what caused this wreck; however, it does raises questions as to how we monitor elderly drivers.

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3/7/2011

Alabama To Get New Veterans Home with $33 Million Federal Grant

Alabama To Get New Veterans HomePell City, Alabama is about to join Huntsville, Alexander City, and Bay Minette as a host to a Veterans Home. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, $32,965,078 has been awarded for the construction of this new state veterans home. The grant will aid in the cost of designing and constructing a nursing home with 174 beds and an assisted living facility with 80 beds. This is great news for Alabama veterans as most of the Veterans Homes in Alabama are overbooked and have extremely long waiting lists just to be able to go there. Applying for and receiving an available bed at a Veterans Home can save a family thousands of dollars a month in health care expenses and long term care expenses.

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