Commercial Law

Many employers believe that since they make the first call as to whether cause exists, that is the final call. However, as demonstrated by the jury verdict in a recent Maryland trial, it is the jury, not the employer, that gets to make the final call as to whether cause exists. Kinsbourne, et al. v. 180's LLC.

Since the Department of Labor's regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 were first issued in 1995, they have caused a degree of consternation for employers navigating some of their more confusing aspects, and grappling with employee abuse. In an effort to add clarity, the DOL published new proposed changes to the regulations on Feb. 11, 2008. The proposed regulations clarify some uncertainties, but many remain.

The apparent downturn of the economy is currently most prevalent in the trucking sector, which saw a dramatic increase in repossessions and liquidations in the past year. This article discusses strategic options for lessors.

This article explains the terms of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 that impact the leasing industry, explains how the terms in the act are likely to affect leasing companies, and explains how leasing companies can benefit from them.

Often, franchisors assume there is a 'one size fits all' termination notice and that their notice will, in fact, terminate the relationship. All too often, however, a poorly drafted or ill-conceived termination notice provides ammunition for a wrongful termination claim, justification for the unenforceability of post-termination provisions, or even rescission of the franchise agreement.

In a battle of fast food restaurants, a local Florida Burger King franchisee sued McDonald's for false advertising, only to have the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rule that the franchisee could not show that it had standing to bring its claim, despite the fact that the franchisee directly competed against McDonald's restaurants. The ruling highlights a split in the circuit courts that may have to be resolved by the Supreme Court, as the ruling differs from the law of other circuits that generally have allowed 'direct competitors' of the advertiser to sue for false advertising as long as they allege they have been injured by the ad.

One U.S. Supreme Court decision this past term brought welcomed news to those labeled 'potentially responsible parties' under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. In United States v. Atlantic Research, the Court unanimously agreed that PRPs that voluntarily clean up contaminated property may bring suit for cost recovery against other PRPs under '107 of CERCLA. The Court's opinion left certain questions unanswered and even raised one or two new questions.

If Microsoft can conquer Yahoo with its blustery takeover bid, there may still be another storm on the horizon over intellectual property. The two companies' views about what should be shared and what should be kept proprietary have been as different as Yahoo's sunny Silicon Valley and Microsoft's dreary Seattle.