Out-of-work employment plaintiffs fueling rise in whistleblower claims 
POSTED: Friday, February 3, 2012 at 10:05 AM PTBY: Sylvia Hsieh
With more attention being given to corporate rule-breaking and stronger laws supporting those who report it, employment lawyers are seeing more workers claiming that they lost their jobs because they complained about wrongdoing in the workplace.
While special federal laws like Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank protect whistleblowers in specific industries, employment lawyers say workers in all types [...]
After mine closure, Hecla faces lawsuit from investors
POSTED: Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 12:43 PM PTBY: Brad Iverson-Long
Tags: Hecla Mining
When the Lucky Friday mine in Mullan shut down earlier this year due to safety concerns and recent deaths, mine owner Hecla Mining Company’s stock tumbled. Now shareholders have filed a class action securities lawsuit. The shareholder and other law firms who filed the suit in Idaho District Court Feb. 1 say they’re investigating whether [...]
Idaho can still get rough and tumble collecting taxes
POSTED: Monday, January 30, 2012 at 06:19 PM PTBY: Sean Olson
Tags: Idaho State Tax Commission
From 2006 to 2008, Hayden resident Scott Grunsted made more than $100,000 per year without filing state income taxes, the Idaho State Tax Commission contends.
After more than a year of correspondence, the Tax Commission has asked a judge to force Grunsted to file Idaho returns for those three years, complaining that he has ignored their [...]
Emboldened GOP wants to abolish state income taxes
POSTED: Monday, January 30, 2012 at 04:42 PM PTBY: The Associated Press
A year after Republicans swept into office across the country, many have trained their sights on what has long been a fiscal conservative’s dream: the steep reduction or even outright elimination of state income taxes.
The idea has circulated among academics and think-tank researchers for years. But it’s moving quietly into mainstream political discourse, despite the [...]
Idaho Supreme Court rules on loan transfer
POSTED: Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:59 PM PTBY: Brad Carlson
The Idaho Supreme Court has weighed in on the nationwide mortgage banking industry’s system of registering and tracking loans. The court, in a Jan. 25 decision, found the system to be valid in an instance involving a Coeur d’Alene homeowner whose loan was transferred and foreclosed.
The Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) acts as the lender’s designated agent [...]
Idaho Supreme Court: Legal malpractice claim abated upon client’s death
POSTED: Monday, January 23, 2012 at 12:27 PM PTBY: Pat Murphy
The estate of a client could not proceed with a legal malpractice lawsuit commenced by the client before her death, the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled in reversing judgment.
The client received workers’ compensation benefits for catastrophic injuries suffered in an automobile accident. She later retained the defendant to represent her in a malpractice suit against [...]
In workers’ comp case, a question of time
POSTED: Monday, January 16, 2012 at 09:30 AM PTBY: Kimberly Atkins
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court recently considered just when injured claimants are entitled to compensation under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’ Compensation Act – the date a disabled worker was injured or the date when the worker receives an award of disability payments.
The case, Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, involves Dana Roberts, a longshoreman gatehouse [...]
Tax Commission prepares for Boise County lawsuit
POSTED: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 03:07 PM PTBY: Brad Iverson-Long
The Idaho State Tax Commission is preparing to be sued by Boise County over a judge’s order that the county raise its property taxes above the state’s 3 percent cap.The county was ordered by Judge B. Lynn Winmill to raise its taxes to pay a $5.4 million court settlement with a developer that wanted to build [...]
Hoku wants to stay powered, lower its rate
POSTED: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 06:38 PM PTBY: Brad Iverson-Long
A dispute has deepened between Idaho Power and Hoku Materials, which is building a polysilicon production facility in Pocatello. Hoku, already late on an almost $1.9 million electricity bill from November, filed a complaint with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission Jan. 9 to amend its electric service agreement with Idaho Power, amid efforts from the [...]
Controversial TIF is the core of Nampa redevelopment
POSTED: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 05:16 PM PTBY: Sean Olson
At the heart of Nampa’s economic development efforts is a tax incentive that city leaders say is integral to rebuilding the historic downtown area.
But critics call it a misleading tax mechanism that shorts existing businesses.
It’s called tax increment financing, or TIF, and it puts millions of property tax revenues into a quasi-governmental agency over decades. [...]
