There is no charge to attend the event.  Please RSVP to 812-452-3567 or rsvp@bamberger.com.

Author: Kim Jewell (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3588
email: kjewell@bamberger.com

Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season!

That change simply provides that if a particular office has only one person signed up to be considered by the voters that office will not appear on the ballot.  Rather, that candidate will be deemed “elected” and receive the Certificate of Election without actually having received even one vote.  So, if there are seven (7) city or town council seats up for election but four (4) of them have only one candidate that sign up to run for that seat, that specific seat will not appear on the ballot at the general election.

Before the adoption of HEA 1242, the Indiana Code provided that if there was an election contest in one municipal office all nominees for each office that was “up for election” would be on the ballot, regardless of whether there was an active contest for a particular seat.  Now, if a town of city council seat only has one contestant that seat will not appear on the ballot.

In many instances campaign tactics and strategy may well be affected by this change as typically candidates from a political party, whether they were opposed or not, would cooperate in campaign strategy and tactics.  For those who now will not have their name of the ballot there may be less pressure to actively get involved in the election and that potential is worry some to many candidates this fall.

Author: R. Thomas Bodkin (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3562
email: tbodkin@bamberger.com

While the Highway Department and the Public Works Department cannot get everywhere to place signage indicating that water is too high to drive through safely, there are plenty of signs being posted around town warning us “Road Closed” or “High Water” or words to that effect.  As the water starts to recede, we might have a tendency to feel that those signs are no longer necessary and that the water standing at a particular place on the road is no deeper than it has often been before – nowhere near deep enough to worry about.  And it may be true that your knowledge of that part of the road is such that you could safely drive through water no deeper than is still there. 

But no matter how low the water gets, as long as that “Road Closed” or “High Water” sign stays there, you should not drive around that sign.  Under the Evansville Municipal Code, driving past a barricade or other publicly installed sign warning you of “High Water” or “Road Closed” or words to that effect is a violation, and it will subject you to a flat rate $500.00 fine (plus court costs if you do not pay the fine at the City Clerk’s office), even if you can safely cross.  If damage is caused by your crossing through the high water (usually through wake), the fine is doubled.  The fact that the water has receded to the point of being fairly safe, or has receded completely off the road, is no defense.  The violation is not driving through deep water, it is driving past the sign or around the barricade. 

It may take some time for the City to take all of those signs down, or signs may be left up if there is a threat the water might rise again.  Therefore, you are likely to encounter a place where there is such a sign at a place in a road that you believe (or even can see) to be safe at the time.  But no matter how safe it looks and no matter how inconvenient it is to take the detour around the area blocked by the barricade/sign, the inconvenience will probably be far less than the $500.00 fine (plus costs) you will face if a police officer sees you drive past the barricade or “High Water” sign.

Author: Frederick R. Folz (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3504
email: ffolz@bamberger.com

It is not appropriate for the individual that is being authorized to sign loan documents or other papers on behalf of the corporation to also sign the Resolution unless this one individual serves in all officer positions.  Preferably, a president or vice-president is the one being authorized to execute documents with the secretary or assistant secretary signing the Certificate of Resolution. 

It is also important that if the form of the Certificate of Resolution you are using requires a sample of the authorized signature that such is actually obtained and this fully completed Certificate is kept in the bank’s files. 

Finally, obtaining properly executed Certificates of Resolution is as important for very small corporations as it is for very large corporations.  A challenge to corporate authority can be made no matter what the size of the business.

Author: Lori Young (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3560
Email: lyoung@bamberger.com

Although other methods of perfection exist, the best way to perfect a pledge of a membership interest in an LLC is to file a UCC financing statement.  The financing statement should list the owner of the membership interest as the debtor and the description of collateral should describe the membership interest pledged. 

This method of perfection is different than the method of perfection used to perfect a pledge of stock in a corporation, and lenders should be cautious to use the correct method of perfection depending on whether the pledged collateral is an ownership interest in an LLC or an ownership interest in a corporation.

Author: Laura A. Scott (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3557
email: lscott@bamberger.com

Employers and employees often have the mentality that “it will not happen here.”  More and more news stories are showing workplace violence can happen anywhere – including at your business or place of work.  Statistics show that one out of six violent crimes occur in the workplace and that violence is the second leading cause of workplace deaths.  Workplace violence is not just shootings at the job.  It also includes threats, coercion, intimidation, harassment, robbery and many other examples. 

Employers need to be aware of employee behavior especially in situations of layoffs and firings.  Employers also need to have a plan of action when an employee exhibits bad behavior or when the employer becomes aware of conflict between two or more employees.  Steps that employers can take range from Violence Prevention Programs to Employee Assistance Programs to policies on security, reporting of potential problems and how to document incidents/meetings with employees.

Each employer will have different risks so each employer will need different policies and procedures.  The key for employers is to develop policies and procedures, follow the policies and procedures and continue to re-evaluate the policies and procedures on a timely basis.  Having the policies and procedures will not guarantee that workplace violence will not happen to you or your company, but it can make you and/or your company better prepared.

Please contact the Employment Law attorneys at Bamberger if you’d like to discuss your policies and procedures in more detail.

Author: Chad M. Smith (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3597
email: csmith@bamberger.com

Because of the cancellation statute, often times those owners and operators assume that even a pittance of a royalty paid to the mineral owner or a feeble effort by the lessee of the well to maintain production is sufficient to keep a lease operative.  A mineral owner may suffer paltry royalty payments and ineffective operation of the well for years under the incorrect assumption that he or she has no alternative.

However, even if the requirements of the cancellation statute are not triggered, the mineral owner may have legal means available to rid himself or herself of the problem lessee.

Long before Indiana adopted its cancellation statute in 2002, common law and the terms of the lease protected mineral owners from irresponsible and unproductive oil operators.

Many fail to realize that there are a number of “implied duties” on the part of the lessee in any oil and gas lease— including a long-recognized implied duty of “reasonable development.”  Irrespective of the terms of the oil and gas lease, the lessee has an affirmative duty to the mineral owner to operate the well as a prudent operator.  Courts have held that where a lessee has failed to exercise as a prudent operator, the lease may be terminated by the mineral owner.  If a lessee has failed to make efforts to maximize profits from an oil or gas well, the lessee may be in breach of the implied convenant of reasonable development and the prudent operator standard.

A mineral owner suffering difficulty or disappointment with a lessee’s operations should not assume that just because he or she is receiving royalty checks from time to time the lessor/lessee marriage cannot be dissolved.  The mineral owner may have other rights not expressly stated in the lease or the statutes to terminate the lease.

The seminar will be held at Bamberger’s Evansville location on the 10th floor of the Hulman Building.  Breakfast will be provided.  If you’d like to attend, please RSVP by Tuesday, October 6th to Truda Hartmann at thartmann@bamberger.com or by calling 812.452.3578.

Author: Kim Jewell (bio)
Phone: 812.452.3588
email: kjewell@bamberger.com