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Case Briefs
New York Supreme Court Bars Discovery of Extrinsic Evidence Without Allegation Of Contract Ambiguity
One of the issues driving the cost and length of insurance coverage litigation is whether policyholders may pursue discovery of other policies and policyholders to establish a coverage claim. Disputes over such discovery have brought more and more third parties into these cases and have led to increasingly protracted and expensive discovery-related litigation. On Dec. 10, 2008, in a long-running New York insurance coverage case, Mt. McKinley Insurance Co., et al. v. Corning, Inc., et al., No. 02-602454 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County), Justice Eileen Bransten gave helpful guidance about the outer bounds of such discovery. Justice Bransten denied discovery of extrinsic evidence, reiterating the scope of the long-established New York rule that extrinsic and parole evidence is not admissible to create an ambiguity in a written agreement that is complete, clear and unambiguous on its face. The court ruled that to obtain such third-party discovery, the threshold question is whether the requesting party has alleged an ambiguity; if not, then discovery of extrinsic evidence is impermissible.
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.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?