Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

What's New in the Law

By Robert W. Ihne

Ability to Collect Rentals

In re Rafter Seven Ranches L.P. (Rafter Ranches L.P. v. C.H. Brown Company), 2008 WL 4787106 (U.S.Ct.App. 10th Cir. Nov. 4, 2008). A divided Tenth Circuit panel affirms the decisions of a bankruptcy court and bankruptcy appellate panel that a lessee of irrigation sprinkler systems was liable for unpaid rentals on its leases despite the facts that the systems supplied by a company chosen by the lessee did not conform to specifications of the equipment in the leases and, in the case of some of the equipment, was never used after the lessee inspected it and determined it to be “junk.” The primary basis for finding liability with respect to the unused equipment was that the lessee failed to notify the lessor of its rejection of the equipment in a reasonable period of time as required by Article 2A ' letting the equipment sit in the fields for six weeks before notifying the lessor. The dissent argues, to the contrary, that a reasonable opportunity to inspect should include an opportunity to test, which in the case of the “junk” would have been futile. The majority had also noted that the lessee authorized the lessor to pay the supplier before the equipment was delivered and agreed that it would look only to the supplier in the event the equipment was defective. Whether such promises would obligate the lessee to make all lease payments owing under the leases ' under contract law if not under Article 2A finance lease provisions requiring a reasonable opportunity to inspect ' even if prompt notice of nonconformity was given, is not made clear.

Read These Next
The Article 8 Opt In Image

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.

Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With Lawyers Image

There's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.

Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

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.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

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.

When Is a Repair Structural or Nonstructural Under a Commercial Lease? Image

A common question that commercial landlords and tenants face is which of them is responsible for a repair to the subject premises. These disputes often center on whether the repair is "structural" or "nonstructural."