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Reasons to Read
March was a busy month, making it difficult to choose which stories to feature in this space. Thus, I have covered several in a News Briefs section that is a relatively new addition. For features, you will find references to: government programs providing relief for underwater homeowners; tip sheets for individuals impacted by tax changes in 2010; a summary of an important Supreme Court decision benefitting employers; and, an alert about stepped up enforcement of construction site pollution regulations by the Ohio EPA.
 As always, I appreciate the time you have taken to review this e-newsletter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future articles.
Jim Dixon
216-515-1642
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Federal Government Tossing a Life Vest to Underwater Homeowners In this space, you have read about the notion of strategic mortgage defaults, where homeowners choose to default rather than pay their mortgage when that mortgage exceeds the home's value. This strategy only works in states where banks are not entitled to a deficiency judgment against the personal assets of the borrower. Since many populous states have anti-deficiency rules, the problem has national significance. In March, there were reports of an increase of such defaults in California. As reported by The New York Times, the government has created several programs to help underwater borrowers. Read this article to learn more. Note that it does not appear that these programs are limited to states with anti-deficiency rules, so residents in the other states, including Ohio, can take advantage. |
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EPA Steps Up Enforcement of Job Site Pollution Standards Through our Environmental Law Group's advocacy on behalf of one client, we have learned that the EPA is stepping up enforcement of pollution regulations that impact construction job sites. This short article in The Plain Dealer discusses a $10,000.00 fine issued to a contractor for failing to control dust emissions from masonry sawing operations. Contractors should be aware of these issues to avoid such fines and expensive enforcement procedures. |
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Tax Time Tips It is tax time, and our tax and estate planning attorneys have prepared two alerts that address several important issues. Follow this link for an article that discusses the impact on estate planning resulting from the sunset provisions of the 2001 tax act, which impact 2010. Follow this link for an article that discusses new rules for 2010 and their impact on individual taxpayers. |
