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No RICO Violation Seen in Alleged Use of TV Show Idea Image

No RICO Violation Seen in Alleged Use of TV Show Idea

Stan Soocher

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed a federal RICO claim that alleged the defendants took the basis for their TV program The Great American Road Trip from a TV show idea created by the plaintiffs.

Features

When the Virtual Storefront Is the Home Front Image

When the Virtual Storefront Is the Home Front

Stanley P. Jaskiewicz

One of the virtues of e-commerce has always been its low barrier to entry. For little investment of time or money, anyone can set up shop online, whether selling advice or widgets. But can something so easily accomplished really be a business? Will an entrepreneur run something out of her spare bedroom the same way as if she had venture capitalists peering over her shoulders, demanding a business plan, financial statements, budgets, marketing plans and everything that a bricks-and-mortar retailer has (except the expense of leasing space)? If not, she may treat it as just another hobby, something to handle in her free time.

Features

How Private Is Facebook Under the SCA? Image

How Private Is Facebook Under the SCA?

Mark S. Sidoti, Philip J. Duffy & Paul E. Asfendis

Despite huge technological advancements in the 25 years since passage of the SCA, and the ever-increasing prominence of electronic communication in our society, Congress has not amended the SCA to keep pace with changing technology. Rather, courts have had to lead the charge in applying the decades-old statute to modern Internet technology and electronic communication disclosure issues.

Features

Employer Accounting for Post-Retiree Health Care Image

Employer Accounting for Post-Retiree Health Care

Larry Bell

The regulatory frenzy swirling about health care and employer plan accounting, coupled with our aging population and demographic shifts has created a perfect storm. We are besieged with commentary that Medicare is bankrupt, and the new accounting standards for employers require transparency to market and present value calculations of long-term liabilities, which creates havoc for employers for tax-planning and compliance purposes.

Features

The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 Image

The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010

Stephen M. (Pete) Peterson

This article briefly summarizes tax provisions of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 that the author believes will be of most interest to law firms.

Features

In the Spotlight: A 'Down-and-Dirty' Guide to Drafting Basic Landlord's Work Provisions Image

In the Spotlight: A 'Down-and-Dirty' Guide to Drafting Basic Landlord's Work Provisions

Mark Morfopoulos

If a tenant fails to specify where installations should be placed, a landlord may install them in a manner that will minimize its costs even if such installations make little sense from an operational point of view. Savvy tenants will not let this happen.

Features

Court Watch Image

Court Watch

Michael W. Tyler

Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.

Features

The Use of 'Use' Clauses in Restaurant Leases Image

The Use of 'Use' Clauses in Restaurant Leases

William V. McRae, III

This article covers one important issue that can be problematic for both landlord and restaurant tenant if not thoughtfully addressed within the lease: the "use" clause.

Features

In the Marketplace Image

In the Marketplace

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.

Features

Civil Liability of Rating Agencies Image

Civil Liability of Rating Agencies

Jonathan S. Sack & Kefira R. Wilderman

The Dodd-Frank Act greatly increases rating agencies' potential liability under the securities laws. One impact is almost certain: In the future, rating agencies are unlikely to fare as well in the courts as they have in the past.

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  • 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.
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  • Private Equity Valuation: A Significant Decision
    Insiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.
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