Latest Legal Insights

What you need to know: "The production of gas for... household use only is not 'production' under the terms of the lease."

The family is the basic unit that ensures the biological and cultural continuation of society. So that families function as well as possible, the law establishes rights and duties for family members (generally parents and their children) and a method to enforce these rights and duties.

Criminal law is one of the oldest of the major branches of law. It spells out rules of conduct for society to follow and provides for penalties when those rules are broken. It also protects citizens by shielding them from wrongful prosecutions and mistakes made by law enforcement officials,

Contracts permeate our lives. If we rent an apartment or agree to buy a home, we enter into a contract.When we have electricity, gas and water furnished to that apartment or home, we have a contractual relationship with each utility provider for the service.

A tort is the violation of a legal responsibility when that violation directly causes injury to a person’s body, property or rights. Both the law of torts and criminal law deal with socially unacceptable conduct; however, torts and crimes are brought to court for different purposes, by different people, and they are handled by the courts using different rules.

“To those who are engaged in commercial dealings, justice is indispensable for the conduct of business.” - Cicero

Children learn about business transactions when they set up their first lemonade stands or do chores for an allowance, but they likely will not appreciate the pervasiveness of business transactions until they grow up and begin to manage their own lives. At this point, it becomes important for them to have a basic understanding of business law.

During the Cold War, the United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command (SAC) was charged with keeping the United State’s vast nuclear armament at a constant state of readiness. Brigadier General Edward O.Martin is credited with the creation of SAC’s motto, “Peace is our profession.”

Attorney Christopher M. White contributed to an article run in two German newspapers.

Many readers of this column experience the tremendous religious freedom that we have in America. In addition to worshiping where and how we like, many also enjoy exemptions from civic duties such as mandatory school attendance after 8th grade, jury service, worker’s compensation and other government requirements. Although we all do have to pay taxes!

This article is the second in a series discussing other ways of resolving disputes as alternatives to litigation. Last month, we discussed arbitration. This month, we deal with mediation.

I remember attending a speech by the late Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Tom Moyer, during which he discussed the basic function of lawyers and judges. He said, "We resolve disputes."

Much of our practice has been devoted to representing landowners on issues involving oil and gas leases. In the next several articles I will discuss some key concepts that may help make more sense of this challenging field.

The difference between ownership of mineral rights and leasing of mineral rights is one that often confuses landowners and even lawyers. The ownership of the minerals beneath your land is usually part of your ownership of the land as a whole.

The questions deals with the land-owner’s royalty interest in production from an oil and gas lease. Historically, this interest was 1/8 (12.5%) of the net production from a well or wells leased by the landowner. Note that the royalty is a net amount. This allows the producer to subtract production costs from the gross or total production before dividing the proceeds with the landowner.

Most of our families have family doctors, dentists, chiropractors and other professionals. But why should a family have a lawyer? Most of us want to avoid lawyers and only hire one if absolutely needed.

Judge Robert Rinfret's decision was the culmination of a civil lawsuit filed in Holmes County Common Pleas Court by Darrell and Dortha Helms against Thomas Whitney and Donald Ridgeway, who lease land and own a well on the Helms' Brinkhaven property.

Previously I wrote about the problems when parents name one of their children as trustee of the family trust. This month, we deal with some tips if you are one of the children who have been named as the trustee.

Last month, I wrote about the decision many have made to form trusts as their plan to transfer property within the family. This month, I am writing concerning one of the most common problems stemming from a poorly crafted family trust: Who is going to be the trustee after Mother and Father pass?

Judges are sheltered creatures. Fed only what the lawyers bring to them in the Courtroom. When I retired as a Judge in 2010 and started a law practice, one of the things I noticed had changed since I became a Judge in 1989, was how different the plat books looked.