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The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005: The Defense Discusses Benefits and Minefields
We were there at the beginning. Members of Shook, Hardy & Bacon's Public Policy Group were seated at the table with others in the business community when plans were first discussed to create a law that would change the jurisdiction of the federal courts so that cases that were truly interstate in nature were resolved in those courts, and not in what has been referred to as state “Judicial Hellholes”'. (A full explanation and description of Judicial Hellholes is located at www.atra.org.)
In that regard, as General Counsel to the American Tort Reform Association, we helped develop the Judicial Hellholes project, which annually names places in the United States where defendants simply cannot obtain a fair trial.
Judicial Hellholes were magnets for class actions in cases that really did not belong in those courts. For example, plaintiffs would bring a class action against an out-of-state defendant in Madison County, IL, and simply add a nominal in-state defendant ' a retailer or an agent of the company. The sole purpose of this exercise was to deprive federal courts of jurisdiction. The only weaponry to stop this practice ' federal rules against fraudulent claims ' was toothless and useless.
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.