Commercial Law

Automakers Chrysler and General Motors changed the history of dealer relations when they stepped through dozens of state laws and regulations and terminated thousands of long-standing dealers through the power of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Now that they have emerged from bankruptcy, history remains to be written on the intriguing issues of whether GM will be able to make its new, bold agreement, heavily weighted in GM's favor, stick in the face of state dealer laws.

When financial problems affect the ability of a retail landlord or tenant to perform its lease obligations, both parties can be mutually benefited by working out a solution that keeps the tenant operating and paying rent.

This article highlights some (but certainly not all) of the leasing and loan issues that should be taken into account when negotiating leasing documents and loan documents, respectively.

The article herein examines the issues involved when a tax-exempt organization owns a tract of vacant land that it wishes to develop and lease, so as to realize a stream of income from the land greater than would be realized by a simple sale or lease of the unimproved property.

A federal judge recently concluded in a widely reported option backdating case that the California law firm Irell & Manella had "compromised ' important principles" involving the "fair administration of justice."

The Madoff detention litigation has revived longstanding questions about whether pretrial detention can ever be based solely on economic dangerousness. This article discusses the issue in depth.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held on May 5, 2009, that two secured lenders were fully secured, "entitled to a full recovery" from the debtor despite the bankruptcy court's improper valuation of the collateral (improved airport terminal space) securing the lenders' underlying $60 million loan. In re United Air Lines, Inc.

In 2005, Congress added Code ' 503(b)(9) and created a new administrative claim which, in effect, creates a class of "critical" pre-petition creditors that debtors can pay without court authority. The creditors in this entitled class did nothing more than deliver goods to the debtor within 20 days prior to the petition date. Interestingly, the section provides no similar relief to providers of services or any class of lender.