It has been widely publicized that the Illinois Liquor Control Act (235 ILCS 5/1-1, et seq) has been amended in Illinois by way of the Culinary and Hospitality Modernization Act. The Act allows, among other things, for the return of happy hour to Illinois. However, what has been lost in the celebration is that the law added the requirement of additional training for those employees that serve alcohol.
For those in Cook County, all employees serving alcohol must pass a certified Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training (BASSET) course by July 1, 2015, or within 120 days of hire. For those in other counties with population over 200,000 people, the employee serving alcohol must take the course by July 1, 2016, or within 120 days of beginning employment. Smaller counties with population of 30,000 to 200,000 must have employees serving alcohol take the course by July 1, 2017, or within 120 days of hire, and the same provisions apply for under 30,000 but the time is extended to July 1, 2018.
For owners, managers, investors, and license holders, this requirement is extremely important. The liquor license holder can be cited, fined, and sanctioned by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and the local municipality for failing to produce records. Further, failure to comply could be grounds for liquor license suspension. Additionally, the failure to comply with the law can be prima facie evidence of negligence in a dram shop type proceeding, which could be enormously costly.
Best practices are to require all new employees to complete the training and produce evidence of the certification, and to maintain such records in the personnel file. The Illinois Restaurant Association offers a comprehensive, and affordable course here. While celebrating the return of happy hour, please also heed this warning and double check compliance.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The End of the Saga - What's Michael Jordan's Likeness Worth? 8.9 million
One of my very first blog posts - from June 2013.....
http://lawforfoodies.blogspot.com/2013/06/jordan-and-dominicks-beef-cautionary_21.html
Finally - the story has come to an end... and the final price tag for Dominick's? 8.9 million dollars! A federal jury awarded Michael Jordan that amount of money after a protracted battle about Dominick's use of Jordan's likeness in a congratulatory ad in a commemorative edition of Sports Illustrated. The ad offered a discount for the purchase of Rancher's Reserve Steaks. Dominick's used his name, trademark number 23, and Air Jordan emblem and admitted that they did not receive Jordan's permission. It was a clear violation of the Act.
The question came down to damages - that is what was Jordan's likeness worth? Safeway argued it was worth $126,900, and emphasized that only two coupons were redeemed. Jordan put forth an expert witness that set his damages around $10 million dollars, citing his net worth, and contracts with other advertisers. The jury returned a verdict much closer to Jordan's value - $8.9 million. It should be noted that Jordan is donating the entire award to charity. Further, the award was less than 1% of his 1.1 billion dollar net worth.
Many are asking the question - why did Jordan prosecute this so vigorously if it wasn't about the money? Well, legally - he may have had to. His name is worth A LOT of money, and allowing Dominick's to use it without compensating him sets precedent around the world.
The law has built several doctrines that punish the failure to police likeness or marks, or failure to assert rights. The doctrine of laches states that if a party waits too long to enforce a right, that party might be prevented from asserting the right at a later time because the delay was prejudicial to the defendant. Additionally, courts have held that the failure to police the use of a mark by unauthorized users can result in a court ruling of abandonment. If Jordan did not act, he could have lost his right to compensation down the line. Not only did he act, but he set a monetary value on his liking. Count it as another victory for Jordan.
http://lawforfoodies.blogspot.com/2013/06/jordan-and-dominicks-beef-cautionary_21.html
Finally - the story has come to an end... and the final price tag for Dominick's? 8.9 million dollars! A federal jury awarded Michael Jordan that amount of money after a protracted battle about Dominick's use of Jordan's likeness in a congratulatory ad in a commemorative edition of Sports Illustrated. The ad offered a discount for the purchase of Rancher's Reserve Steaks. Dominick's used his name, trademark number 23, and Air Jordan emblem and admitted that they did not receive Jordan's permission. It was a clear violation of the Act.
The question came down to damages - that is what was Jordan's likeness worth? Safeway argued it was worth $126,900, and emphasized that only two coupons were redeemed. Jordan put forth an expert witness that set his damages around $10 million dollars, citing his net worth, and contracts with other advertisers. The jury returned a verdict much closer to Jordan's value - $8.9 million. It should be noted that Jordan is donating the entire award to charity. Further, the award was less than 1% of his 1.1 billion dollar net worth.
Many are asking the question - why did Jordan prosecute this so vigorously if it wasn't about the money? Well, legally - he may have had to. His name is worth A LOT of money, and allowing Dominick's to use it without compensating him sets precedent around the world.
The law has built several doctrines that punish the failure to police likeness or marks, or failure to assert rights. The doctrine of laches states that if a party waits too long to enforce a right, that party might be prevented from asserting the right at a later time because the delay was prejudicial to the defendant. Additionally, courts have held that the failure to police the use of a mark by unauthorized users can result in a court ruling of abandonment. If Jordan did not act, he could have lost his right to compensation down the line. Not only did he act, but he set a monetary value on his liking. Count it as another victory for Jordan.
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