On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, the Department of Labor ("DOL") proposed a 60-day extension of the applicability date of the ERISA Fiduciary Rule. President Trump's administration has openly criticized the Fiduciary Rule, and on February 3, 2017, directed the DOL to further analyze the legal and economic impact of the rule before its implementation ...
As of March 14, 2017, the recently enacted Consumer Review Fairness Act (the “Act”)1 will prohibit “gag clauses” – contract provisions that prohibit or restrict a consumer's ability to write negative reviews of products and services. While enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and state attorneys general is set to begin on December 14, 2017, businesses should act now to ensure compliance ...
The morning news reports flashes a report that your customer was actually a Ponzi scheme and defrauded numerous people. Of course, this is terrible news for the innocent victims, but, you ask yourself, could my bank be somehow liable…why would anyone want to sue us… we did not defraud anyone, did we? To paraphrase the infamous bank robber Willie Sutton on why they would sue your bank: “Ms. Plaintiff’s Lawyer, why do you sue banks?.. ...
As consumer bankruptcy filings remain an all-too-common occurrence, many lenders continue to find themselves in the often murky world of bankruptcy. As a result, on top of ensuring adherence to the numerous confusing regulations applicable to commercial loan transactions, lenders must navigate the federal bankruptcy laws. This article sheds some light on one bankruptcy process lenders are often faced with: reaffirmation agreements ...
Many community bankers have looked surprised at the “internationalization” of our banking rules. Standards coming out of the Basel Committee, particularly the Basel III Capital Rules, do not seem to fit community banks. The Basel Committee focuses primarily on the European banking system, which is dominated by very large banks. The rules have seemed to be a bad match for the U.S. economy, in which small community banks play such a large role ...
Dispute is heating up over IRS’s attempts to get personal information about users of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Last November, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. It sought the court’s permission to serve a “John Doe” summons on Coinbase, Inc., a virtual currency exchanger in San Francisco ...
The September 23, 2013 deadline for covered entities, business associates and their subcontractors to implement the new HIPAA rules is approaching quickly. In case you missed it, on January 25, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued an omnibus final rule modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ...
Since 1965, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has consistently held that defective workmanship that caused bodily injury or property damage did not constitute an “occurrence” under a policy of commercial general liability insurance, and therefore the insurer was not obligated to pay for the damage or tender a defense. See McGann v. Hobbs Lumber Co., 150 W. Va. 364, 145 S.E.2d 476 (1965) ...
Despite the highly publicized announcement that enforcement of the “Pay-or-Play” mandate (which requires businesses to provide health insurance to all full-time employees or face yearly penalties of up to $3,000 per employee) has been delayed until 2015, important considerations remain for businesses and consumers about how they will ultimately be affected by the Affordable Care Act ...
Good news! The murkiness surrounding declarant rights in North Carolina became a little clearer this summer. On July 7, 2014, Governor McCrory signed an amendment to the Planned Community Act addressing the transfer of declarant rights. This article only addresses lender’s rights or liability surrounding declarant rights if that lender were in acquiring ownership of that collateral in the context of foreclosure or “deed in lieu ...
It is undeniable that technology and globalization are changing the way lawyers practice law. Technology has not just made people, places, and things much more accessible to us – it has impacted the way we store information and documents, the way we communicate with and advise clients, how we conduct investigations, and how we participate in discovery ...
With the first annual Affordable Care Act open enrollment in the books (although the end of open enrollment is still something of a moving target – more on that later), everyone is examining, discussing, applauding and challenging the numbers. And there are a lot of numbers to consider: How many people signed up for health insurance coverage during open enrollment? How many of them went into Medicaid? How many of them are young, healthy people vs ...
A debtor files for bankruptcy protection, and his or her creditors are sent notice of the filing. Despite having received the notice, due to a breakdown in internal procedures one of the creditors, a bank, accidentally takes action to collect on the debt after the filing of the bankruptcy case – thus violating the automatic stay. Since the violation was unintentional, surely the bank cannot be sanctioned, right? Wrong ...
Originally published in the West Virginia Law Review ...
At the time of this interview, Adam O'Daniel was the Finance Editor at the Charlotte Business Journal. Mr. O'Daniel served in this role for more than four years affording him a front row seat in the country’s second largest financial city to cover banking, finance, small business, and economic development. We asked Adam about his thoughts on the state of community banks now, and in the future. His responses were honest and quite intuitive ...
Q: What do you think sets a community bank apart from other banks? A: I think you know you’re in a community bank when you walk through the door. The people working in a community bank greet you with a smile and say hello. That’s because the people working there have usually been there for a while. They are your friends, your neighbors and your family ...
Larry Mazza is Chief Executive Officer of MVB Financial Corp., the parent of West Virginia-based MVB Bank, Inc. Mr. Mazza also serves on the MVB Financial Corp. Board of Directors. He is a recognized name in West Virginia banking with over 25 years of experience in both large banks and community banks. Mr. Mazza is a member of the West Virginia Board of Banking and Financial Institutions, part of the State’s banking regulatory and oversight agency ...
We interviewed Lyn Hayth, President and CEO of the Bank of Botetourt, for Community Banking Excellence this issue. Lyn has been a banker for more than 30 years. His bank, with about $312 million in assets and $248 million in loans, operates primarily in the Virginia counties of Botetourt, Roanoke, Franklin and Rockbridge ...
Timothy R. Moore, Member, Spilman Thomas & Battle interviews Robert T. Braswell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Carolina Bank Q: What is the most personally rewarding part of being a community banker? A: Being a banker for 40 years, working for both larger regional and national banks as well as Carolina Bank for the last 18+ years, I find the community bank gives an individual more recognition for the value of their contribution ...
In today’s economy, banks all too commonly find themselves foreclosing on real property collateral. As a result, banks are regularly in the position of having to determine the starting bid in foreclosure proceedings. This determination can be complicated by North Carolina General Statute § 45-21 ...
Unfortunately, as we all know, foreclosures are necessary. But foreclosures, by their nature, involve a certain degree of unpleasantness and challenges. A particularly thorny set of challenges arises when the foreclosure involves income producing property, especially residential rental property. The Problem. Imagine this all too familiar real world scenario: as security for a loan, the borrower grants the bank a deed of trust lien against the borrower’s apartment building ...
After months of phone calls, loan modifications and discussions with borrowers, one finally receives the dreaded bankruptcy notice in the mail. A chapter 7, no-asset case, with the loan listed on the bankruptcy schedules as a secured claim. After a few short months, one is notified that the debtors have received their discharge in the bankruptcy case. Since the bank hasn’t been paid in months, one discusses internally and decides to initiate foreclosure proceedings ...
Imagine you are a materialman, selling indoor carpet to the contractors. You are approached by a West Virginia developer that wants you to supply carpet and flooring for several houses in a new development. The contract represents $50,000 in new business for your company – and you hope it marks the establishment of a productive relationship with the developer ...
The Treasury Department has announced further extensions for medium-sized and large-sized employers for compliance with the “employer mandate” of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The employer mandate requires employers with a threshold level of employees to provide affordable health insurance to 95% of their full-time employees. Under the ACA, a full-time employee is defined as any employee who works on average 30 or more hours per week ...
America’s fascination with zombies infiltrated the West Virginia Legislature during the 2014 Regular Session, resulting in the introduction of a “zombie debt” bill, House Bill 4360. The bill, as introduced, was designed to thwart all debt collection efforts after a debt’s statute of limitations has passed ...
