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Licensing, written contracts, permits, change orders, damages, and mechanic’s liens: how a D.C. construction dispute is decided, for owners and contractors.

Registering an LLC or trade name in D.C. does not give you rights in the name. Where trademark rights come from, which names can be protected, and how to clear one.

When a D.C. business owner dies, the LLC survives but nobody has authority to run it. What heirs inherit, the 90-day clock for single-member LLCs, and how to plan.

How a D.C. liquor license is decided: choosing the right license class, the appropriateness standard, who can protest, settlement agreements that bind you for years, and what to check before you sign a lease.

How to file in D.C. small claims court: the $10,000 limit, money-only claims, naming the right defendant, the new security deposit notice rule, what persuades at the hearing, and collecting after you win.

What the D.C. LLC Act imposes when two equal owners split with no operating agreement: equal control, equal distributions regardless of contributions, deadlock, no buyout, and the limits of judicial dissolution.

Why D.C. tenants pay rent into the court registry during an eviction case, how Bell v. Tsintolas and Rule 12-I limit those orders, how to contest the amount, and what a missed payment costs.

Served with a petition for a civil protection order in D.C.? How the temporary order, the good cause hearing, and a consent order work, and what consenting can cost you later.

Appointed personal representative of a D.C. estate? The inventory is due in three months, creditors have six, claims must be paid in statutory order, and the liability for mistakes can be yours.

How probate works in D.C. Superior Court, the $80,000 small estate route and $40,000 affidavit, what skips probate entirely, and when a will alone is enough for a District homeowner.