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In The Marketplace
Cobra Capital wins major initial victory in its trademark infringement suit against LaSalle: The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has denied the motion of defendant, LaSalle Bank Corporation and its affiliates to dismiss a trademark infringement case filed by Cobra Capital, a small finance and equipment leasing company. The court didn't simply deny the defendant's motion to dismiss, however; the judge also ordered LaSalle to pay Cobra Capital's attorneys' fees, finding that the defendant had wasted the time of both the court and plaintiff's counsel. “Under the circumstances,” the court stated, “at least after being warned, not to have withdrawn its motion is a violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11.” Cobra Capital LLC v. LaSalle Bank Corporation, LaSalle Bank N.A., and LaSalle National Leasing Corporation, No. 1:05-cv-02419 (Dec. 6, 2005).
Cobra Capital, a small Oak Brook, IL based company which competes in similar markets as LaSalle and its affiliates filed a trademark infringement lawsuit alleging that LaSalle infringed on Cobra Capital's registered trademark, “Making impossible possible” with LaSalle's subsequent use of a nearly identical new global tagline, “Making more possible.” The complaint alleges that Cobra Capital's trademark was awarded to its founder, Dale R. Kluga by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, almost 2 years before LaSalle released its global tagline. Kluga and his partner, Dexter Tong, are both former ABN LaSalle employees as Kluga was senior vice president and founder of LaSalle Bank's leasing company before leaving to start his first finance company 9 years earlier in 1996. Tong was formerly senior vice president and assistant treasurer of ABN AMRO, Inc. until 2001 when he received his final equity payout from ABN AMRO's acquisition of The Chicago Corporation.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.