Adellaw-Real Estate Law: LIABILITY OF PROPERTY OWNER FOR ...

The owner of an immovable property in Quebec may be the king of his castle but what he does to or with his property is limited, not only by zoning regulations, but also by the adverse consequences that legitimate activity may have on a neighbor. Neighbors are also the kings of their castles and competing rights may often conflict.

What are the legal principles that determine when a property owner may be liable for damages that he has caused to a neighbor? The leading court decision on this subject was rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada in St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette.(1)

This decision clarified what was until then, a conflicting and controversial area of the law. The Supreme Court decided that there are actually two (2) complementary regimes of legal liability that are applicable.

The first requires a degree of fault or negligence on the part of the offending property owner, which is consistent with the general theory of liability applicable to most civil claims. Under this regime, the victim must prove the existence of a fault, i.e. the breach of an objective standard of conduct, damages and a direct causal link between the two.

In the St. Lawrence Cement case, the evidence established that the cement plant operated by St. Lawrence Cement ("SLC") caused substantial dust, odor and noise that disturbed the owners of other properties located in the vicinity of the SLC plant. The evidence also established that SLC had implemented reasonable measures to minimize the disturbance and consequently, was not negligent or at fault and was merely exercising its right of ownership in a reasonable manner by operating its business on the property that it owned.

The second regime of liability which is specifically applicable to property owners, does not rely on impeachable conduct as a basis for a successful claim. It is a no fault liability regime based upon Article 976, Civil Code of Quebec, which reads as follows:

Neighbors shall suffer the normal neighborhood annoyances that are not beyond the limit of tolerance they owe each other, according to the nature or location of their land or local custom.

This regime ignores the conduct of the property owner and instead, focuses on the annoyance suffered by the victim that, when deemed to be excessive, triggers the legal liability of the offending property owner.

In the SLC case, the Court concluded that SLC had not committed any civil fault; had fulfilled its obligation to implement the best available means to eliminate dust and smoke; and had taken reasonable precautions to ensure that its equipment was in good working order.

The Court, however, concluded that neighbors of the plant suffered excessive annoyance that was beyond the limit of tolerance that neighbors generally owe to each other, and SLC was condemned to compensate them accordingly.

(1) St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette, [2008] 3 S.C.R. 392, 2008 SCC 64 (CanLII)

Source: http://adellaw-realestatelaw.blogspot.com/2012/02/liability-of-property-owner-for-causing.html

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South Korea man charged for re-tweeting North, says group

By msnbc.com staff

Amnesty International on Thursday called for the release of a South Korean activist accused of breaking security laws by re-tweeting messages from the North Korean government?s Twitter account.

The human rights campaign group said Park Jeonggeun, an activist with the Socialist Party, intended to lampoon North Korea's recently-deceased dictator by re-posting the message ?long live Kim Jong-il? to his own followers.

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The New York Times reported that Jeonggeun, who it said was a photographer who specialized in taking pictures of babies, was detained last month on charges of violating the National Security Law which bans undefined ?acts that benefit the enemy?.

It reported that the Twitter account Mr. Park was accused of re-tweeting is run by the North Korean government Web site, Uriminzokkiri.com, which South Korean news media regularly cite for their stories.

Amnesty International said it had spoken to Jeonggeun, who was formally charged on Wednesday. It said he has been held at Seoul Detention Centre since 11 January and could face up to seven years in jail.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International?s Asia-Pacific Director, said: ?This is not a national security case, it?s a sad case of the South Korean authorities? complete failure to understand sarcasm.

?Imprisoning anyone for peaceful expression of their opinions violates international law but in this case, the charges against Park Jeonggeun are simply ludicrous and should be dropped immediately.

?Park is a member of a party which openly criticises North Korea but the absurd case against him is not an isolated one. For too long South Korean authorities have been using the National Security Law to restrict basic freedoms and gag civil society in the name of national security.?

In an article on its website, Amnesty International quoted the activist as saying:??My intention was to lampoon North Korea's leaders for a joke; I did it for fun. I also uploaded and changed North Korean propaganda posters on Twitter - I replaced a smiling North Korean soldier?s face with a downcast version of my own face and the soldier?s weapon with a bottle of whisky.?

The article also said that, "despite the end of military rule in South Korea, authorities have increasingly used the [law] to harass critics of the government?s North Korea policies since 2008".

The New York Times reported that 151 people were interrogated on suspicion of violating the security law in 2010, up from 39 in 2007.

Msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson contributed to this article.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10302118-south-korea-man-charged-for-re-tweeting-north-says-group

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House ready to consider insider trading ban (AP)

WASHINGTON ? With members of Congress convinced their political survival depends on their image, the House is wasting no time in considering a Senate-passed bill that would ban insider trading by lawmakers and thousands of executive branch officials. Stock trades would have to be posted online within 30 days.

The Senate showed a rare display of bipartisanship Thursday to pass the bill 96-3, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said it would be before the House next week. President Barack Obama repeated a pledge to sign it immediately.

"With approval ratings of Congress at an all-time low, this bill represents an opportunity to build some trust with the American people," said Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., a chief sponsor of the bill. "The truth is, members of Congress have access to all kinds of sensitive information, and it has to be clear that the information is being used to serve our country, not to make a personal profit."

Congress' approval ratings have been in the teens lately.

Cantor said, "Insider trading at any level of the federal government is unacceptable. We will quickly review the entire bill and the amendments that were added ... to ensure that public servants, whether in the legislative or executive branch, do not personally profit from insider information.

"It is critical that the bill we send to the president guarantees that the same rules apply to those in the federal government as they do to everyone else."

Obama praised the Senate.

"No one should be able to trade stocks based on nonpublic information gleaned on Capitol Hill," the president said. "So I'm pleased the Senate took bipartisan action to pass the STOCK Act. I urge the House of Representatives to pass this bill, and I will sign it right away."

Obama said still more ethics restrictions were needed, "like prohibiting elected officials from owning stocks in industries they impact."

Several amendments were added to the bill before final passage.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., won an amendment to include the 28,000 government workers in the executive branch in the bill, saying it would create a level playing field with the requirements for Congress. But the same amendment included conflicting language by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., that would apply to only 2,000 top policymakers ? including the president, vice president and members of the Federal Reserve Board. Lieberman disputed Shelby's numbers, saying 300,000 executive branch workers could be affected.

A House-Senate conference will have to reconcile the two versions.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, successfully added language that would require "political intelligence" operatives to register and disclose affiliations, the same as lobbyists. These individuals are hired by stock traders to obtain useful information from members of Congress and their staffs.

Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate's ethics committee, and senior committee Republican Johnny Isakson of Georgia won an amendment that would force disclosure of all residential mortgages ? by members of Congress, the president, the vice president and most Senate-confirmed appointees. Currently senators are not required to list all mortgages.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said laws prohibiting trading on inside, non-public information clearly cover members of Congress. In 2005, the SEC investigated then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee concerning his divestiture of stock in the family's hospital company days before its price fell on an analyst's forecast. Frist was not charged with wrongdoing.

To a large extent, Congress is reacting to a segment on CBS' "60 Minutes" that raised questions about stock trades by House Speaker John Boehner, the husband of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the Financial Services Committee. All have denied wrongdoing and denounced the network's story.

Republicans insisted on including top government officials outside the Congress in the bill even though they also are covered by insider trading regulations and face tougher conflict-of-interest restrictions than members of Congress. In some cases, executive branch officials are required to divest themselves of stock holdings that pose a conflict. Lawmakers don't have to do that and the Senate bill would not require it.

In addition to the 30-day online reporting requirement, the Senate would have to join the House in posting members' annual financial disclosure statements online instead of making only paper copies available on request.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., proposed wiping out the entire bill and substituting a simple certification by senators each year that they did not participate in insider trading. It was defeated, with 37 senators voting "yes" and 61 opposed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120203/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_insider_trading

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Investing In Cheap Stocks | Investing | Economics Finance

[unable to retrieve full-text content]When it comes to choosing what stocks to put into your investment portfolio, cheaper can sometimes mean better. For relatively more affordable stocks, the.

Source: http://www.economicsfinance.com/investing-in-cheap-stocks/

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Automakers start year with strong sales

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Chrysler and Jeep logos are shown on the exterior of a Chrysler Jeep and Dodge dealership in Vallejo, Calif.

By msnbc.com staff and wire

Car sales zoomed ahead in January, with many automakers reporting solid sales at the start of a year expected to show a steady gain in vehicle purchases.

Chrysler, now privately held and majority owned by Italy?s Fiat, was the notable standout for the month. It posted a 44 percent rise in U.S. auto sales, led by gains for its Jeep brand, while its larger domestic rival General Motors lost ground in a month marked by modest growth.

Chrysler?s sales blew past some analysts? expectations of a 35 percent increase, demonstrating the remarkable comeback of the smallest U.S. automaker nearly three years after its taxpayer-funded bankruptcy restructuring. It also reported its first full-year profit since 1997.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, reported a 6 percent drop in U.S. auto sales for the month, while Ford posted sales that were 7 percent higher, spurred by a 60 percent jump in sales of the Focus small car. Japan?s Toyota said its January sales in the U.S. rose 7.5 percent as momentum from the fourth quarter of last year picked up speed.

U.S. auto sales, an early indication of consumer demand each month, are expected to show an overall rise of 6 percent in January. Older cars, which now average a record 11 years old, are helping to boost new car sales as people trade them in after delaying purchases during the economic downturn.

As drivers replace their aging cars, new car sales are expected to grow through at least the start of 2012. At the same time, used vehicle prices have jumped compared to new car prices, which could drive car buyers to purchase a new car over a used one. Ford economist Jenny Lin said low interest rates as well as stable gasoline prices are also supporting vehicle sales.

So far, the annualized sales rate for January, traditionally a tepid month for auto sales, is tracking at 13.8 million vehicles, JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said in a research note. This surpasses the 13.5 million sales rate that analysts had expected and is slightly higher than the nearly 13.6 million sales rate reached in December.

GM was expected to show a decline in sales compared to last January, when the automaker offered consumer incentives to jump-start sales. It has since pulled back from this approach.

?The old days of going blindly after market share are over, and most manufacturers are now concentrating on what really matters, which is profitability,? said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com analyst.

GM sales totaled 167,962 vehicles in January. The carmaker predicted that light vehicle sales in 2012 would range from 13.5 million to 14 million.

Some analysts had expected GM to report a 9 percent drop.

?In 2012, we will strengthen our position with more new products, an even better dealership experience and reinforce the disciplined ?go to market? strategy that helped us grow profitably in the United States in 2011,? GM?s U.S. sales chief Don Johnson said in a statement.

Volkswagen and Nissan reported sales gains for January. VW sales rose 48 percent to 27,209 vehicles, buoyed by the introduction of its Passat sedan. It was the German automaker?s best sales month in decades. Nissan?s U.S. sales rose 10.4 percent to 79,313.

During a call with reporters, Jonathan Browning, chief executive of VW in America, said U.S. consumer confidence was growing, but not a swift rate.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/01/10290531-automakers-start-year-with-strong-sales

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Logitech's new Lifesize CEO targets growth pickup (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Logitech's video conferencing unit LifeSize expects new products and a bigger sales team to boost revenue growth starting this quarter, after it reported only a 6 percent rise for October-to-December.

"Last quarter was a transition quarter for LifeSize. Our expectation is to get back to growth rates we have had, starting this quarter," Colin Buechler, the unit's new chief told Reuters in an interview.

LifeSize, a distant No.3 in a $3 billion market dominated by Cisco and Polycom, was growing at rates of 19 percent and 35 percent over the previous two quarters, winning market share and catching up with the two frontrunners.

In addition to weaker economies, flagged in last week's quarterly report, Buechler said heavy investments into emerging markets and transitions to new products hampered performance in the quarter.

On Tuesday LifeSize unveiled its new UVC software platform for enterprises, which integrates a company's existing video conferencing technology and uses idle equipment from anywhere in its network, similar to other "virtualized" IT functions.

It expects the platform, which expands its offering and competes most directly with hardware offerings from more established rivals, to be one of the growth drivers for the company.

Logitech, maker of computer mice, speakers, webcams and keyboards, bought Lifesize for $405 million in 2009. Wider take-up of videoconferencing could also boost sales of its webcams.

Buechler, the former sales and marketing chief at LifeSize who took over from founder Craig Malloy earlier this month, said he will focus on international growth as chief of the business.

"My number one priority is global expansion," he said, adding this included expanding the market with mobile and cloud-based offerings and further simplifying usage of video conferencing, as well as growing the footprint of the firm.

The growing market has spurred a wave of acquisitions in the sector, with Cisco splashing more than $3 billion on Norwegian firm Tandberg, and Polycom buying HP's video conferencing unit.

(Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/tc_nm/us_logitech_lifesize

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Fukushima pets in no-go zone face harsh winter (Reuters)

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) ? Dogs and cats that were abandoned in the Fukushima exclusion zone after last year's nuclear crisis have had to survive high radiation and a lack of food, and they are now struggling with the region's freezing winter weather.

"If left alone, tens of them will die everyday. Unlike well-fed animals that can keep themselves warm with their own body fat, starving ones will just shrivel up and die," said Yasunori Hoso, who runs a shelter for about 350 dogs and cats rescued from the 20-km evacuation zone around the crippled nuclear plant.

The government let animal welfare groups enter the evacuation zone temporarily in December to rescue surviving pets before the severe winter weather set in, but Hoso said there were still many more dogs and cats left in the area.

"If we cannot go in to take them out, I hope the government will at least let us go there and leave food for them," he said.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami on March 11 triggered the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years and forced residents around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to flee, with many of them having to leave behind their pets.

More than 150,000 people from Fukushima prefecture still cannot return to their homes, with nearly half of them from the exclusion zone.

While Japan focuses on containing the nuclear accident and protecting people from radiation, Hoso, representative director of United Kennel Club Japan, has been trying to save as many dogs and cats from the no-go zone as possible, or keep pets for those who are living in shelters where pets are not allowed.

Toru Akama, an engineer working at the Fukushima nuclear plant, asked Hoso to look after his 14 dogs when an entry ban was imposed on his town.

"I was really happy for my dogs. They are part of my family. There was no way I could abandon them," Akama said.

Hoso said he aims to carry on until the last dog in his shelter is returned to its owner or finds a new home.

"When dogs are returned, many owners are really grateful and a limited few are not so grateful. But when it comes to dogs, all of them, without exception, become really ecstatic when they get reunited with their owners," Hoso said.

"That is what keeps me going, what makes me determined that I have to push ahead until the last one goes back to its owner."

(Reporting by Issei Kato and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/lf_nm_life/us_japan_nuclear_pets

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