Features

The Chapter 9 Crucible
Any bankruptcy practitioner, upon first contact with a municipal bankruptcy case, may be shocked by the lack of substantive law to be found in Chapter 9. The dearth of detail has long caused bankruptcy lawyers and courts to turn to the far more substantive provisions of Chapter 11 for practical guidance.
Columns & Departments
In the Marketplace
Debra P. Goldberg has joined the law firm of Cullen and Dykman LLP as a partner in the firm's Banking Practice Group. Practicing from the firm's Garden…
Features

Work Letter 'What Ifs'
<b><i>Part Two of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p>Landlords and tenants enter into agreements, known as "Work Letters," delineating their respective rights and obligations with regard to tenant and landlord improvements. As with any other portion of the lease, complications can develop, so addressing potential Work Letter issues within the contract can pay dividends down the road.
Features

Court Rules That Professional Fees May Not Be Capped by Standard Carve-Out Provisions
Secured creditors and debtor-in-possession (DIP) lenders that rely on standard carve-out provisions to limit the impact of bankruptcy professional fees on their collateral would be well-advised to take notice of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court decision from earlier this year.
Features

Challenges in Drafting a Restaurant Exclusive Use Clause
The reasonable and typical middle ground in the struggle between the parties regarding the scope of the "exclusive" is to protect only a tenant's "core" or "primary" business. Using such an approach, if properly drafted, will allow the tenant to avoid the two-coffee-shop situation, but will still permit the landlord to lease to multiple tenants with overlapping but not fundamentally competing uses.
Features

The Clock Is Ticking
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, government regulatory agencies, such as the SEC, have aggressively pursued civil enforcement actions to combat financial fraud. However, their efforts to extend their ability to seek monetary penalties and fines outside of relevant limitations periods have been recently rebuffed by the courts.
Features

The Battle over the Scope of Rule 17(c) Subpoenas
Before considering the competing, less restrictive, interpretation of Rule 17(c), we briefly pause to explain how we got here. The restrictive interpretation of Rule 17(c) has its genesis in two Supreme Court decisions.
Features

Creditor Exclusion<br><b><i><font="-1">The Perils of D&O Coverage</b></i></font>
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that a Creditor Exclusion provision in D&O insurance policies may result in significant limitations on the coverage provided to the D&Os when the underlying dispute is with a creditor acting in its creditor capacity.
Features

Landlord Harassment of Commercial Tenants<font="-1"><b><i>What Can Be Done?</b></i></font>
<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article</b></i><br>Landlord harassment of tenants is a common problem, not only in the housing arena, but also in the commercial leasing sector. Certainly, landlords often have good reasons to be angry with their tenants. However, a landlord that resorts to bullying tactics does so at its own risk.
Features

Chapter 13<br><b><i><font="-1">Best Practices in Credit Reporting</b></i></font>
There is a new trend emerging in FCRA litigation involving Chapter 13 bankruptcy, under which debtors propose a repayment plan to make installment payments to creditors over three to five years. Increasingly, plaintiffs are filing suit based on certain credit-reporting actions taken (or not taken) during a pending Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, after plan confirmation but prior to the entry of the discharge — when a debtor has met all requirements set by the court.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- 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.Read More ›
- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere 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.Read More ›
- Do FL and CA Talent Agency Law Cover Social Media Influencers and Esports Talent?If the definition for "artist" under Florida's Talent Agencies Act applies to influencers and esports players, then likely a lot of unlicensed representatives are in violation of the state's statute — and the penalties are pretty serious.Read More ›
- Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About ItWhy 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?Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›