Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
First Circuit Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
Two federal courts have recently taken action in significant cases affecting the marriage rights of same-sex couples. One of these cases deals with an issue that is unlikely to affect New York citizens: In Perry v. Brown, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit left in place a February 2012 decision of a panel of that court denying the legality of California's Proposition 8 (which, by voter referendum, stripped same-sex couples of the right they had previously enjoyed in that state to marry.) In the other, the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 1 U.S.C. ' 7, is in question, and the ultimate outcome could affect the rights of New York same-sex married couples to be treated equally with opposite-sex couples by the federal government. On May 31, the First Circuit, in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Office of Personnel Management, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 10950 (1st Cir., 5/31/12), declared DOMA unconstitutional. (In pertinent part, DOMA defines “marriage,” for all federal law purposes, to be a legal union only between a man and a woman, and defines a “spouse” as a person married to a husband or wife of the opposite sex.)
Both these rulings are adding to the drive toward a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court between social conservatives and liberals. If the Supreme Court takes them up, many questions that now surround gay marriage could be significantly cleared up.
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.
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?
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.