Johnson & Johnson, the largest manufacturer of health products in the world, has not been immune from a rash of recalled products and other business litigation, some of which has directly affected customers in Michigan.
The latest event in the company's legal saga came recently when Johnson & Johnson reportedly agreed to pay $1 billion to the United States government and most individual states to resolve an investigation that is examining how the company marketed one of its drugs.
The last independent hospitals in Michigan are feeling the effects of doing business as a freestanding company. That could be why the 37 hospitals that remain independent are looking around for larger hospitals to potentially merge or affiliate with.
Merging larger hospitals with their smaller counterparts could also bring around monetary benefit. On the heels of federal health reform, the arrangement could help companies earn more money for strides in savings and improvements. While not all of them are willing to discuss it publicly, many hospitals are exploring their options on possible mergers and acquisitions. The entire landscape of hospitals in Michigan has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, when most of them were still freestanding.
Most business planning experts will be quick to point out the benefits or incorporating your business or forming a limited liability corporation here in Michigan or elsewhere throughout the country. Taking these measures with your business will help save it money with taxes and limit your own personal liability as owner.
If you have not done either with your business, you are in luck. The beginning of the year is considered the best time to incorporate your business. One of the main reasons is the fact that an incorporation date is not retroactive. If your business started as a sole proprietorship at the beginning of the year and you later incorporated, you would have to file two tax returns -- one for the sole proprietorship and the other for the corporation. If you incorporate on at the beginning of the year, you can remain as a corporation throughout the whole year and file just one tax return.
Many people in Michigan have witnessed the huge success of the iPhone and iPad over the last few years. In fact, many Michiganders are likely equipped with these state-of-the-art devices. But, because of the success by Apple -- the company that produces these electronics -- other companies have rushed production efforts to construct and market similar products.
For example, Samsung Electronics Co. has done just that -- and is looking like its product is a little too similar for Apple's taste. Apple has since introduced business litigation against Samsung over possible patent violations.
Every business in Michigan and throughout the nation strives to create a brand that becomes recognizable to the public. If that happens, they also closely guard their brand. When a competitor encroaches on this product, not only can the rivaling business make money off it, but the original business can end up seeing their creation devalued.
Bell's Brewery, a Galesburg, Michigan-based beer maker, is looking to protect its brand by introducing litigation against a California company it alleges infringed on its registered trademark.
The Michigan Supreme Court apparently changed its mind on listening to an appeal from the Ford Motor Company about a $22.6 million arbitration that was awarded to a software company over a breach of contract dispute.
The final decision by the high court, which initially agreed to accept the appeal and hear arguments during November, ends eight years of legal proceedings between the automaker and EnGenius Inc., based out of Livonia, Michigan. The court released a statement that states it no longer thought that questions Ford was raising should continue to be reviewed by a court.
Many Detroit readers probably have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan as their healthcare provider. It's one of the largest organizations with which employers contract to provide their workers with healthcare benefits.
It may be of interest, then, that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is facing a lawsuit that alleges in engaged inunfair business practices.
Continue reading Michigan becomes a battleground as healthcare-plan providers sue
Comments: Leave a comment
It was announced yesterday that local firm Budco Holdings Inc. is being acquired by Glencoe Capital. Terms of the acquisition were not announced Monday, when news of the deal was made public.
Budco, which offers e-commerce services to other businesses, is one of the biggest employers in Highland Park. It was founded in Detroit in 1982 and has about $100 million in annual revenue. Glencoe Capital is based in Birmingham.
Continue reading Michigan Opportunities Fund marks sixth major business transaction
Comments: Leave a comment
For companies both big and small, a contract dispute can put a kink in the profitability and effectiveness of the company, especially if there is a threat of an employee strike.
Recently, about 6,000 workers represented by five unions for Detroit-area casinos threatened to strike if an employment contract was not reached. As discussed in a previous blog, two of the three casinos were able to ratify contracts, leaving MGM Grand Detroit casino scrambling to find a suitable solution.
Allegations of wrongful discharge can have a negative impact on the reputation of a business and ultimately affect its productivity. In a recent case, an employee of a substance abuse center sued the center, a councilwoman and the city of Detroit after being fired.
Now, the city of Detroit is being forced to pay money in order to settle the wrongful discharge suit filed by a man that was unlawfully let go by a Detroit City Council member in 2009. A lawyer representing the man said that a deal is on the table, but did not disclose the amount and has not yet accepted it.
Continue reading Wrongful discharge suit targets business, city and councilwoman
Comments: Leave a comment
Bold labels are required.
Kaufman Payton & Chapa
200 Kaufman Financial Center
30833 Northwestern Hwy.
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Phone: (248) 626-5000
Other Offices
40 1/2 East Ferry Street
Detroit, Michigan 48202
(248) 626-5000
Suite 205-C
161 Ottawa Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503
(616) 459-4200
