David Winter of Local 12 yesterday did a great piece on the recent spike in property values in Hamilton County and how to fight the increase in your property. Watch it and read it here.
We have been looking for details of the calculations of and eligibility for the second round of PPP in the most recent COVID stimulus bill. We found this excellent in article in Entrepreneur.Com here.
Some details from the article follow (note, since the PPP “loans” are forgivable, the word “loan” essentially means “grant” for most eligible businesses):
Qualifications:
- A loss of revenue of 25% or greater, for any one quarter — comparing 2019 to 2020. If your firm had swings in revenue or had a pronounced one-quarter loss due to COVID or other causes, you may be eligible even if your annual revenue did not dip by 25%.
- 300 employees or fewer.
- Must have already used or plan to use their original PPP funding.
Loan terms:
- Maximum loan limit of $2 million.
- Loans of 2.5 months of payroll, which is the same as the original PPP. We are checking the legislation to see if the loan amount will change based upon increased payrolls from the original calculation (for example, if additional employees were added).
- Restaurants food businesses (we are checking on the meaning of that term) qualify for 3.5 months of payroll as their loan amount.
- Qualifying expenses are expanded from payroll and rent or mortgage payments in the original PPP to now include operating expenses, workplace protection costs to protect employees from COVID-19 and covered property damage.
- Loan proceeds are not taxable and loan expenses are deductible (this is true for the new program and the original PPP payments).
- Loans less than $150,000 have significantly simplified loan forgiveness (a one-page form).
For additional details on second round PPP loans, contact attorney Rebecca L. Simpson (513.797.2856) of Finney Law Firm.
County Auditors in Ohio are required by law to re-value every parcel of real estate in their County every three years. The cycles differ by county, but for Hamilton, Butler, Montgomery and Clermont Counties, the next revaluation comes out on the January 2021 tax bills. This means that for those counties (and certain others in Ohio), the value stated on every tax bill in the January 2021 tax bills should be new for almost every property owner. Dusty Rhodes, the Hamilton County Auditor has sent new valuation notices to each property owner, and those have been arriving this week. As a result, our phones are really starting to ring.
The Enquirer today reports that Hamilton County property values have spiked 15% from the 2018 values here.
Yesterday, we wrote this blog entry: All the info you need to know on property tax valuation issues in Ohio. Click for more information.
Finally, the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors is hosting a free seminar featuring Christopher Finney and Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes on the property tax valuation reduction process. The public is invited to attend. Click here to register to get a link for that seminar.
Contact Chris Finney (513.943.6655) or Casey Jones (513.943-5673) for more information on reducing your property taxes.
Tax bills in Hamilton County will be mailed on January 7 and are due February 1. Nonetheless, the County Auditor has sent out notices to homeowners in December as to the new valuation of properties that will appear on the January tax bills. Since the January 2021 tax bills represent the start of a new tax triennial, every property owner in Hamilton, Butler and Clermont Counties will get new valuations in those upcoming tax bills. As a result, our phones are starting to ring about help with property tax valuation reductions.
If you are thinking about challenging your property’s tax valuation, below are linked two blog entries with lots of information on the wisdom of taking such a path, and the detailed procedures for doing so. One of them has an instructional video on tax valuation reduction in Ohio.
Ohio and Kentucky property tax valuation challenges vexing in 2021
’tis the season for property tax valuation reduction (with How To video)
Contact Chris Finney (513-.943.6655) or Casey Taylor (513.943.5673) for information on how we can help get your property taxes reduced.
Tonight, a second historic COVID relief bill passed both Houses of Congress and awaits signature by President Trump.
The bill provides significant supplemental relief for small business in addition to direct payments to individuals. Here are some highlights of the bill’s business provisions:
- Paycheck Protection Program funds distributed under the first relief bill this spring and summer already by law were not to be counted as income, but the IRS had ruled that businesses could not count their expenditure as deductions, which essentially reversed the “tax free” nature of the forgivable loans. Under this bill, for all businesses who received the PPP this spring or summer, Congress has clarified that the expenses are deductible, which results in a benefit of another 30% or more from the previously-granted funds for businesses that are profitable.
- A second round of PPP funding will be handed out, but this time it is limited to businesses with documentable and demonstrable downturn of 30% or more as a result of the COVID pandemic. Other tight conditions will apply. Thus, the pool of eligible borrowers (grantees) is far more limited than under the first PPP program. Amounts of the loans (grants) are not yet available.
- In a significant give and take for landlords, Congress extended the eviction moratorium until the end of January, but they added $25 billion in assistance to tenants in arrears on their rent, allowing landlords to make application for the funds. It is expected that the Biden administration will extend the moratorium further after he takes office January 20 of next year. The applications are allowed for tenants who meet eligibility requirements, including (i) earning less than 80% of median income, (ii) at least one person in their households has lost a job and (iii) are at risk of losing housing.
- Making meals and drinks for business entertainment of clients and customers 100% deductible.
The bill is 5,593 pages in length, meaning there remains a lot of dissection of its intricacies. Attorney Rebecca L. Simpson of the Finney Law Firm will be leading another EmpowerU webinar in early January covering how businesses and individuals can fully take advantage of the deductions and subsidies the bill provides. We will announce that webinar shortly.
More on the bill is detailed here in today’s Wall Street Journal.
Advancing our objective of “Making a Difference” for our clients, Finney Law Firm has made a point of briefing the various COVID relief and legal developments for our clients throughout 2020, and that will continue on this blog into 2021. Stay tuned for updates.
This week, the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors addressed a topic on which I have written previously: The proper form to use to terminate a real estate contract pursuant to the failure of a contingency such as inspection or financing contingency. Their blog entry and this one address termination of the form Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors residential purchase contract.
Cindy Henninger, director of Professional Services of the Board wrote this blog entry about the use of a “Notice of Termination,” which is a one-party notice from the buyer to the seller to exercise a contingency and terminate a contract. No seller signature is required for it to become effective. The other form available from the Board and commonly in use in the greater Cincinnati/Dayton marketplaces is a “Mutual Release,” which is not appropriate for use when the buyer is simply exercising his unilateral right to terminate.
Here’s why: The Release form requires the seller’s signature and therefor his consent. And if the seller refuses his consent, there could be an issue that the buyer did not in fact terminate (but simply rather proposed termination). Then, if the time period lapses for termination pursuant to a financing or inspection contingency while awaiting the seller’s signature, the seller then may say “too late.” I know because a seller tried this on me once.
I wrote on this topic previously, here.
Realtors would be advised to familiarize themselves with the proper form to use. Otherwise, you may find your self in a “what the heck?” moment of lawyerly interpretation over the use of the wrong form, even though everyone knows what you in fact intended.
For assistance with transactional matters, including contract disputes, feel free to contact attorneys Jennings Kleeman (513.797.2858) or Eli Kraft-Jacobs (513.797.2853)
Those of us old enough to remember the Watergate scandal from the early 1970s will remember that what brought down Richard Nixon’s presidency was not the burglary of the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate Hotel, but rather the cover-up that followed the burglary. A similar principle can be seen in employment law. Often, it is not original act of alleged discrimination or harassment that brings down an employer, but rather a subsequent act of retaliation the employer engages in against the employee who accuses it of discrimination or harassment.
Let’s say you are an employer, and one of your employees claims that they are being paid less than their co-workers because of their sex or race. You, as the employer, happen to know that is not true. You have legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for paying this particular worker less. Perhaps he is less productive than his co-workers, or perhaps he has less experience. Nevertheless, you find yourself being falsely accused of race or sex discrimination.
You understandably are angry, right? You have been falsely accused of a really bad act. Essentially, you have been accused of being a racist or sexist. Can’t you fire the employee who has made this false accusation against you?
No, you can’t. At least not legally.
Retaliation is a normal human response. That is why it happens so often. When any of us is attacked, regardless of whether the attack is physical or verbal or otherwise, our immediate impulse is to retaliate. It is almost a reflex. We instinctively act to defend ourselves from the attacker. That is why retaliation claims are so common, and why they get so many employers into trouble. When we retaliate, we are just doing what comes naturally.
Despite retaliation being a normal and natural human response, in this context the law says the employer CANNOT legally do it. As long as the employee has a reasonable belief that his allegation is true – even if he turns out to be completely wrong – the employer is prohibited from retaliating against him in any form for making the accusation. This principle not only applies when the accusation is made as part of a formal legal action, such as filing a charge with a government agency, but also when an accusation is made informally, such as in a conversation with a supervisor or human resources employee.
The prohibition against retaliation is very broad. Prohibited retaliation includes not just obvious actions like firing the employee, but also more subtle actions, such as harassment, excluding the employee from opportunities for overtime, or denying the employee a promotion.
If you have questions about your rights as an employer or an employee when it comes to retaliation, it is wise to seek the advice of an experienced employment attorney before you act. Just remember what happened to Richard Nixon!
- posted: Dec. 15, 2020
- J. Will Huber
- COVID-19
- executive orders, lockdown
On November 12, 2020, the Kentucky Supreme Court rendered a unanimous decision that upheld executive orders and regulations issued by Governor Andy Beshear in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, finding them a legitimate use of the governor’s executive authority that did not violate the Kentucky Constitution. However, the decision has prompted a legislative backlash that may lead to an attempted curtailment of the governor’s emergency powers.
Beshear, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on March 6 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, he issued multiple executive orders directed at various businesses, schools and other facilities throughout the state. These orders restricted hours of operations, who could and could not be admitted to places of business and how many customers could be admitted or served.
Several businesses — including a restaurant, a day care center and an automotive racetrack — sued the governor, seeking injunctions against the restrictions under state administrative law. The Kentucky Attorney General intervened in the suit on the side of the businesses. In July, the Supreme Court ordered the executive orders and regulations to be stayed until the court heard the cases on the merits.
In its 103-page opinion, the court stated:
- The governor properly declared an emergency and validly invoked the emergency powers granted to him under Kentucky Revised Statute Chapter 39A.
- Chapter 39A does not violate the separation of powers provisions of the Kentucky Constitution.
- The governor was not required to address the COVID-19 emergency solely through the emergency regulations adopted under Chapter 13A.
- The executive orders and regulations issued by the governor did not violate the Kentucky Constitution’s provisions protecting the property rights of state residents.
Republicans were not happy. Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer went on Twitter, calling the Democratic governor’s orders “arbitrary & capricious.” He further tweeted that the governor’s actions “have destroyed jobs, harmed economic recovery & increased mental illness.” Republican Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said that when “the General Assembly returns in January, I hope they move quickly to restore the balance of our constitutional order back to the people, where it rightly belongs.”
Will the majority Republican legislature amend Chapter 39A when the legislature reconvenes? Certainly, some Kentuckians feel that Governor’s executive orders are excessive and heavy-handed. However, as of the end of November, 2020, there were over 164,000 coronavirus cases and over 1,900 COVID-related deaths in Kentucky. Hopefully, politicians from both sides will make decisions that benefit the public health and welfare of all Kentuckians.
About Finney Law Firm, LLC
Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation. FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.
FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.
For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.
Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; [email protected]; 513.797.2850.
Entertain us, if you will, as we serve as Jacob Marley to landlords in visiting the ghosts of eviction moratoriums, past, present and future.
After months of experience with the eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control, we now know that most residential evictions — even those for non-payment of rent — can proceed per normal procedures, at least until new regulations are issued and the moratorium never applied to eviction for issues other than non-payment (e.g., criminal activity and damaging the premises,)
The past
As reported here, the Centers for Disease Control on Friday, September 4, 2020 imposed a residential eviction moratorium for non-payment of rent in certain limited circumstances through the end of the year due to the impact of COVID-19. That relief required the tenant to certify that 1) the individual has used best efforts to obtain government assistance for the payment of rent, 2) the individual falls below the above-income thresholds ($99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for those filing jointly), 3) the individual can’t pay rent due to loss of income or medical expenses, 4) the individual is using best efforts to pay the rent or as much of it as he can, and 5) eviction would render the individual homeless.
And as we report here, the CDC clarified that Order, allowing for more vigorous actions by landlords pursuing eviction: Cross examination of a tenant who claims he has met the criteria, allowing commencement and pursuit of an eviction action even if the set out is not until after the first of the year, and imposing criminal penalties upon tenants making false certifications.
The present
Our experience in recent evictions is that many tenants cannot stand up under cross examination as to the CDC certifications: They usually have paid no rent at all, which hardly ever complies with the CDC “best efforts” criteria, and it is unlikely the eviction will result in homelessness for the vast majority of tenants.
In Hamilton County, before conducting the forcible entry and detainer hearing, the Magistrate has a separate evidentiary hearing on whether the CDC criteria are met — including allowing a landlord to cross examine a tenant — and then, when the tenant fails to meet this burden, allows the eviction hearing to proceed. In all, the takes an extra 5-10 minutes to try an eviction case and we have not yet failed to exceed the CDC standards.
The future
Add to all of this the fact that an eviction commenced today won’t result in a set out until well into January. Thus, the moratorium no longer has any application to new evictions being filed.
Finally, we don’t know either how the Trump administration will address the regulations after their year-end expiration until his term ends on January 19th, or how the new Biden administration will address the issue thereafter. For both Presidents, the issues are difficult: Millions of tenants are facing severe financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, but on the other hand, landlords have to pay bank loans, real estate taxes, building repairs, and for insurance. Many can’t meet their obligations if tenants are not paying their rent. Then, if they start en masse to default on mortgage loans, it could destabilizing banks as in 2007-08. These are not easy issues for anyone.
So, the next few weeks and months will determine a new course for landlord-tenant legal relationships. Stay tuned for more updates, and contact Chris Finney (513.943.6655) with any Ohio or Kentucky eviction issues you may have.
A Realtor recently posed this question to me:
How often are the agents getting sued when/if a client falls at someone’s house during a showing? To me it seems unlikely but recently in a CE course they tried to scare us.
My answer follows:
Liability generally is fault-based: Did you do something negligent to endanger a client? The standard is the normal “standard of care” a buyer expects from his Realtor. If the Realtor has that duty, fails to adhere to it, and someone is injured as a result, then liability may ensue.
- Does a Realtor have a duty to-pre-inspect for hazards on and about a property? To turn on lights, to check for loose floor boards, to smooth edges of carpet that have curled? To make sure a buyer does not stick their hand in the electrical panel?
I never have heard of a scenario in which the Realtor was accused of negligence of this type, but I assure you if someone is seriously hurt, the Plaintiff’s attorney will sue everyone involved and attempt to say you “fell below the expected standard of care.”
So, prudence would call for everyone (Realtors, lawyers, appraisers, contractors, investors) to each have commercial general liability insurance against these types of risks. For Ohio real estate salesmen, this insurance would typically be maintained by his broker, and that coverage would extend to the agent. Each agent should not need to obtain his own coverage.
It is generally not expensive, but it is helpful to have.
Beyond that, there are certain special coverages that are advisable: Errors and omission insurance (sort of malpractice insurance for real estate brokers and agents), fiduciary coverage in case your employees steal from you or steal client funds (or property), and auto liability coverage, which is auto insurance for those engaged in commerce on your behalf (driving to and from appointments, getting signatures on contracts or delivering contracts, delivering keys, etc.).
For every business owner and individual, we recommend selecting a qualified insurance agent, and sit with him as the business is created, and as it grows over time, to discuss the amounts, deductibles, and types of insurance to maintain. Someday, you may be very happy that you did.