Las Vegas Legal Blog

Being a landlord can be difficult. You want to remain accessible and friendly to your tenants, but you also don't want to be a pushover.

To avoid conflicts with their tenants (that could easily evolve into legal disputes), here are some of the things landlords can do:

1. Be clear and consistent about the limits. Written policies are your friend. If there's a written policy on an issue, let your tenants know that you can't grant exceptions so that you discourage any attempt to get special treatment that could cause problems with your other tenants.
2. Understand your leases. Using a "boilerplate" lease that you found online may be convenient but it could also backfire once you encounter a problem. A lease that is tailored to your situation is always more protective for you and your tenants.
3. Show empathy when your tenants have a problem. If you give you tenants a voice and try to work with them whenever possible, you may foster good will that could serve you in the future. (And, even if you can't help you tenant out, knowing that they were heard and understanding your reasons for denying their request can sometimes soothe ruffled feelings.)
4. Keep records. Whether you have one unit or 20, it can be difficult to keep everything straight. Write down any complaints, keep records of any communications and take photos of the property both at the beginning and the end of the rental.

Pressure cookers, especially the "Instant Pot," have been a hot-ticket gift item for a couple of years now. Some people love them. But pressure cookers can be somewhat delicate pieces of equipment -- and they can be dangerous.

Experts in the culinary field have offered a warning that anyone with a pressure cooker should heed, "Read the directions." Before you start using a pressure cooker of any kind, you need to know a few things:

• In order to function, the pot produces steam that could exceed 300 degrees -- which is more than enough to cause serious or fatal burns.
• Knowing how to properly handle the pot's valve and what signs to look for if trouble starts to develop are essential.
• It's wise to keep everyone who isn't cooking away from the pressure cooker so that they don't get in your way when you're handling the pot. This includes children and pets.

A business partnership is somewhat like a marriage. When the two partners are on the same page about business decisions and other important matters, it can be a good and lucrative union.

But when the two have wildly disparate and divergent ideas and plans for their enterprise, the partnership can go south in a New York minute. Below are four of the most common business disputes that lead to big problems.

If you're like most of America, you do a lot of shopping on Amazon. After all, there are few things that you can't find there -- often at a better price than you can purchase locally. The one- and two-day free shipping offers make these consumer goods even more attractive, especially if you don't relish the idea of actually getting dressed and getting in the car to buy what you want in the stores. When a product isn't as-described or is just plain bad, Amazon also makes it easy to return them.

What happens, though, when a product is outright dangerous and defective? If you're injured because of a defective product sold by Amazon, who is responsible for your losses?