This is the conclusion of an interview with Steven Toporoff, Franchise Program Coordinator, Federal Trade Commission ('FTC') about the revisions to the Franchise Rule. Toporoff continues his remarks about earnings information contained in the New Rule, and he discusses how the FTC is reaching out to the franchise community and consumers in order to explain the provisions of the New Rule.
Editor-in-Chief Stan Soocher tells you what's going on in the industry.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas decided that it lacked personal jurisdiction over comedian Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, in a suit filed over a segment in which a Texas resident appeared. Busch v. Viacom International Inc., 3:06-CV-0493-L. The Daily Show broadcast a parody of a dietary drink that TV evangelist Pat Robertson promoted. The Daily Show segment included a clip from Robertson's show The 700 Club in which plaintiff Phillip Busch, a user of the dietary drink, shook Robertson's hand. Busch filed claiming defamation and misappropriation of image in the Daily Show piece.
Review of recent cases with expert commentary.
The California Supreme Court, in its recent 6-1 decision in Vineyard Area Citizens for Responsible Growth Inc. v. City of Rancho Cordova, 2/1/2007, concerning the Sunrise Douglas Community Plan, raised the number of hoops developers must leap through to ensure that their large-scale developments' future water needs will be met without too great an impact on the environment. The decision in Vineyard Area Citizens not only put a hold on a huge development planned for Rancho Cordova, but also placed other developers in the state on notice that certain shortcuts in water-use planning will not be accepted by the courts when challenged.
Despite no seeming fundamental economic differences, there have been occasions where divorce courts in different states have reached different conclusions of value for the same type of business. These states reach such different conclusions as to what constitutes marital property because they have different views as to the meaning of the term 'value.' This article represents a summary of some of our findings concerning the application of the premises and standards of value in divorce matters.
