license disputes – Foldenauer

Carvana Settles Lawsuit with Four California Counties

September 22, 2021 by foldenauer.law

Paying for the licenses necessary to operate a business is expensive, especially in industries where you must obtain a separate license in every county in which you operate. Paying for the licenses is better than the alternative, though. The fines and judgments you must pay if you get caught operating without the required licenses will cost you even more. Even that is not the worst-case scenario. The lawsuits that result from property damage and personal injuries caused by unlicensed companies cost millions upon millions. If your company is facing a lawsuit because you expanded your business into California or from one California county to another without first obtaining all the required licenses, contact a San Diego business dispute lawyer.

Carvana and the Licensing Disputes

Carvana started in Tempe, Arizona, where it opened its first car vending machine in 2013. In its first few years of operation, a new generation of drivers came of age that associated convenient shopping not with coin-operated vending machines but with clicking on a touch screen phone and making purchases from Amazon and similar ecommerce companies. Recently, Carvana has boasted that it is the Amazon of used car sales. Today, Carvana offers next-day delivery of used cars in more than 300 metropolitan areas throughout the United States.

It appears, though, that Carvana was a little too hasty in expanding into so many markets. In at least four of the counties where it does business, it began delivering cars to customers without first obtaining all the required licenses. Carvana obtained dealer’s and transporters’ licenses to deliver cars to customers with California addresses in 2019, but Carvana vehicles had been shipped into the Golden State for several years by that time. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division began an investigation and discovered that Carvana had been delivering cars to California since 2015.

Later, the District Attorneys of Santa Clara, San Diego, and Ventura Counties joined the Los Angeles DA in prosecuting the case. In August 2021, Carvana agreed to settle the case without admitting that it had done anything wrong. It will pay a total of $850,000 in damages, pursuant to the settlement agreement. $600,000 is in the form of civil penalties, with each of the four counties receiving $150,000. Carvana must also pay $50,000 in administrative costs to each of the participating counties, for a total of $200,000. Finally, Carvana will pay $50,000 in restitution; this money will go to a nonprofit organization, to be chosen by the participating counties, which supports public interests.

Contact Foldenauer Law Group About License Disputes Between Businesses and Public Entities

The desire to grow a company quickly often motivates businesses to cut corners when it comes to obtaining licenses. A California business dispute lawyer can help you settle disputes over licenses, so you can continue to operate your business in lucrative markets. Contact Foldenauer Law Group, APLC in San Diego, California to discuss your case.

Community Rallies Around Hawkins House of Burgers in Dispute with California Department of Transportation and Scores a Victory

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 by foldenauer.law

Everyone on the East Coast knows the look of shock you see on a Californian’s face when you tell them that you have never been to In-N-Out Burger, but the absolute best burgers come not from the big regional chains but from the local restaurants, where people in the know remember not just the food, but the décor, the longtime employees, and even the route to get there by car or on foot. Hawkins House of Burgers is one such restaurant, and after it survived a pandemic that caused many thousands of family-owned businesses to close permanently, even if they had been operating for decades, it found the California Department of Transportation threatening to knock down the restaurant over a quibble. Understandably, the community rallied around Hawkins as it faced such an unreasonable request, and now it seems that Hawkins House of Burgers is here to stay in its original location. If your company is facing demands from the state about the land on which your business is located, contact a San Diego real estate dispute lawyer.

After 80 Years, Caltrans Lays Claim to Tiny Corner of Hawkins House of Burgers Kitchen

In 1939, James Henry Hawkins and his father moved from Arkansas to Watts in South Los Angeles, and they opened Hawkins House of Burgers, a hamburger stand which soon developed into a burger restaurant with indoor seating. The restaurant has prospered throughout the decades and overcome obstacles such as in the 1970s, when the state of California tried to buy the land where the restaurant operated to build Highway 105, but Hawkins refused until the state gave up. Today, James’ Hawkins’ youngest daughter Cynthia operates the restaurant with her daughters and grandchildren, meaning that the restaurant has been in the family for five generations.

Hawkins House of Burgers stayed afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic by selling burgers for take-out and delivery orders, and by the summer of 2021, things seemed to be going in the right direction. In June 2021, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) notified Cynthia Hawkins that part of the restaurant, specifically a corner of the kitchen, was infringing on public land, and she would have to modify the building to avoid the area of land within 60 days. Hawkins was incredulous, and the news spread quickly that Caltrans would demand the removal of part of the restaurant, when its location had never been a problem for 82 years. Watts residents, the Black Chamber of Commerce, state legislators, and local radio personalities rallied in support of Hawkins, and this month Caltrans announced that it will negotiate a solution that will allow Hawkins House of Burgers to stay in its present location.

Contact Foldenauer Law Group About License Disputes Between Businesses and the State

A California business dispute lawyer can help you stand up for your rights when public entities attempt to shut down your business. Contact Foldenauer Law Group, APLC in San Diego, California to discuss your case.

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