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Congoleum Corp. v. ACE American Ins. Co.: No Coverage When Cooperation and Consent Obligations Are Violated
Coverage litigation in the case of Congoleum Corp. v. ACE American Ins. Co. ('Congoleum'), Dkt. No. MID-L-8908-01 (N.J. Super. Ct. May 18, 2007), provides a cautionary tale for insureds tempted to attempt a strategy to foist financial responsibility for asbestos or other mass tort liabilities upon their insurers.
Congoleum, a manufacturer of flooring products that once contained encapsulated asbestos, made a business decision to enter into a global agreement with asbestos plaintiffs' counsel that essentially had Congoleum paying very little money of its own, but generated thousands of asbestos claims, many of them more than dubious, against Congoleum. The global settlement was part of Congoleum's larger plan to use '524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code and a so-called prepackaged bankruptcy or 'pre-pack' to rid itself of current and future asbestos liabilities. The deal sounded too good to be true, and it was. The business decision was a legal disaster for Congoleum.
Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office
A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.
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.
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes
“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.
Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.