News
FTC v. Employers: Do Banks Have a Dog in the Fight?
On January 5, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would effectively prohibit noncompete clauses in contracts between employers and workers. The FTC’s authority to issue regulations prohibiting...
Uniform Commercial Code Amendments: Correcting Misconceptions
What is the UCC? The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a comprehensive set of laws governing all commercial transactions in the United States. It is not a matter of federal law, but rather a set of universally adopted state statutes. The uniformity of state adoption of...
Credit Card Penalty Fee Proposed Rule – Additional Considerations
Under current Regulation Z, card issuers are prohibited from charging a penalty fee on credit cards unless they have either (1) determined that the dollar amount of the fee represents a reasonable proportion of the total costs incurred as a result of the consumer’s...
Fair Hiring in Banking Act Expands Applicant Pool for FDIC-Insured Banks & Credit Unions
In December 2022, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, which included the Fair Hiring in Banking Act (the Act). Before the Act, FDIC-insured banks and credit unions were prohibited from hiring persons convicted of certain criminal...
Counterfeit vs. Altered Checks
According to most history texts, checks were first used sometime in the early 1500s in the Netherlands, and likely, check fraud was not far behind. In 1762, the Court of the King’s Bench in England decided Price v. Neal, establishing the fundamental principles and...
Potential New Rule Regarding Non-Compete Clauses in Employment Contracts
The world on non-compete clauses may look very different in the future based upon a proposed rule from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). On January 5, the FTC published a new proposed rule that effectively prohibits non-compete clauses in contracts between employers...
Suspicious Activity – Will You Know It When You See It?
The Federal Bank Secrecy Act is aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism or other criminal activity, and suspicious activity reporting is a key component of the BSA framework. A bank’s failure to file suspicious activity reports or its...
Ashley Brost Awarded SDDLA Associate Lawyer Award (Rising Star)
The 2022 South Dakota Defense Lawyers Association (SDDLA) Awards were held November 3. The SDDLA Associate Lawyer Award (Rising Star) was awarded to Ashley Brost, of Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls. The SDDLA Associate Lawyer Award (Rising...
A Primer on Permissible Bank Investments
Banks are creatures of limited powers under both state and federal law and are tightly constrained when it comes to the types of investments they may hold. Those constraints apply to both debt securities a bank may hold for investment, and also equity securities,...
2023 Estate Gift Tax Exclusions
The lifetime estate exclusion amount (also sometimes called the estate tax exemption amount, the applicable exclusion amount, or the unified credit amount) has been increased for inflation beginning January 1, 2023. Applicable Exclusion Amount Under the 2010 Tax...
Kingler Admitted to South Dakota Federal Court
On October 3, Davenport Evans litigation attorney Kurt Wm. Kingler was admitted to practice in the United States District Court, District of South Dakota. Kingler was sworn in by The Honorable Karen E. Schreier, United States District Judge for the District of South...
Davenport Evans Alumna Ashley Blake Named Young Lawyer of the Year by State Bar of SD
On November 10, Davenport Evans alumna Ashley G. Blake will be presented the 2021 South Dakota Young Lawyer of the Year Award on behalf of the South Dakota State Bar Association. The award will be presented at the 2nd Circuit Young Lawyer Section Fall Mixer and...
Which Local Employment Laws Apply to Remote Work?
We are frequently asked, “Which local laws apply when workers temporarily relocate? Does the answer depend on whether the employer assigned the employee to work in that location or whether the employee is some sort of digital nomad who works remotely from locations...
Davenport Evans Alumna Kristina Schaefer Awarded ABA Emerging Leader Award
The following is shared courtesy of the South Dakota Bankers Association. Kristina Schaefer is an Alumna of Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP. Schaefer Honored by American Bankers Association with Inaugural Emerging Leader Award PIERRE, SD –...
Brooke Schmidt Joins Chamber of Commerce Leadership Sioux Falls Class 37
Thirty-seven individuals, including Davenport Evans Employment lawyer Brooke Schmidt, have been selected to comprise the 37th class of the Evan C. Nolte Leadership Sioux Falls program. Class participants, who represent a variety of businesses, industries and...
Davenport Evans Emmy Winners Share Awards Night Picks
With the 74th Annual Emmy Awards airing tonight on NBC, Davenport Evans thought it might be fun to introduce you to our two Upper Midwest Regional Emmy® Award-winning lawyers, Dillon Kober and Joel Rische. We asked them about their award-winning projects and their...
Cramming Down Interest Rates in an Era of High Inflation
In 2004, the United States Supreme Court was faced with the question of whether a debtor could “cram down” the interest rate applicable to a secured creditor’s claim by using a “prime-plus” formula approach. In Till v. SCS Credit Corp., a Chapter 13 case, the debtors...
Davenport Evans Welcomes Kurt Wm. Kingler
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of a new attorney, Kurt Wm. Kingler, to the firm. A native of Wheaton, Illinois, Kurt Kingler is a member of the Davenport Evans Litigation practice group. Kurt joined Davenport Evans in...
Best Lawyers® 2023 Recognizes 17 Davenport Evans Lawyers
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD is pleased to announce that 17 Davenport Evans lawyers were listed in Best Lawyers® 2023 for South Dakota, in 22 different practice areas. In addition, three Davenport Evans lawyers were named 2023 Best...
Davenport Evans Welcomes Dillon D. Kober
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of a new attorney, Dillon D. Kober, to the firm. A native of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, Dillon Kober is a member of the Davenport Evans Transactions and General Business practice group. Dillon...
Why Should Employers Review Their Website Accessibility?
Employers are often familiar with Title I of the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment. But many are not as familiar with Title III of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in places of...
Succession Planning: Worth the Work
Every closely held business should have a succession plan in place. While many owners of small businesses may not find it pleasant to think about a time in which they are no longer able to work, employees and family members are depending on them to develop a careful...
About Cryptocurrency… It’s Not Going Away.
Fans of the Harry Potter books will recall the first book when young Harry was living with his muggle (non-wizard) family and he started receiving letters from Hogwarts, the wizard school, inviting him to attend during the next school session. At first his muggle...
Larson, Akkerman, Donohue, Prendergast Top-Ranked in 2022 Chambers High Net Worth Guide
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP has again received a top ranking in Chambers High Net Worth 2022 in the area of Private Wealth Law. Objective, independent and research-based, the Chambers High Net Worth guide recognized the world’s leading high net worth...