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What's New in the Law
Recent high-profile cases of interest to you and your practice.
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Taming the Tenant's Form of Lease
Accustomed to manning the ramparts in defense of its landlord client's form of lease, it is always a bit unsettling for a landlord's lawyer to be advised by its client that "for this national tenant, we must work from the tenant's form of lease." Suddenly, instead of engaging in the familiar determination of which of the tenant's requested lease revisions are acceptable to the landlord, the lawyer is faced with determining which essential provisions of a lease from landlord's perspective are either entirely or substantially missing from the tenant's form of lease and then negotiating to include such provisions.
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New York's Labor Law
Both Labor Law '240(1) and '241(6) impose a nondelegable duty on property owners to provide specified protections to workers. This duty exists regardless of whether or not the owner controlled, directed, or supervised the work. As the courts have repeatedly observed, the imposition of this duty protects workers, by placing ultimate responsibility for their safety upon owners and contractors, instead of on the workers themselves.
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Consent to Sublease
Substantial portions of commercial space are commonly available via sublease. In comparison with a direct lease (which customarily becomes effective upon execution and delivery by the Landlord and the Tenant), a sublease usually only becomes effective if and when the Sublandlord and Subtenant execute and deliver the Sublease and the Master Landlord executes and delivers a Consent to Sublease.
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Supreme Court Speaks Again on Punitive Damages
On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court decided <i>Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker</i>, a ruling likely to fortify the view that an award of punitive damages should not exceed the amount of the compensatory award. To be sure, some will argue that there are, may be, or ought to be, exceptions; some will argue that the Court was only deciding federal common law in a maritime case and not the limits of state common law; and some may say there is still support for accepting punitive awards that exceed a 1:1 ratio.
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Yogi and Casey and Due Diligence
Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel remain icons in the lore of baseball. As attorneys, little did the authros realize that Yogi and Casey, in making their baseball remarks, were actually intending to guide us through the due diligence process that counsel deals with on a regular basis.
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LLC Interests May Constitute 'Securities'
Recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in affirming convictions for securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud, ruled in <i>U.S. v. Leonard</i>, that interests in various limited liability companies ("LLCs") onstituted "securities" for purposes of the federal securities laws. The Leonard analysis is instructive of the process that a court will follow in considering the status of non-traditional securities, such as LLC interests, under the federal securities laws.
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Realization ' Another View
For many managing partners, the practice of law is easy compared with the challenges associated with "realization": an 11-letter word that is the bane of all managing partners everywhere. And 100% realization? Well, that's the Holy Grail of law firm management. Given the choice of winning a Supreme Court case or solving the riddle of meeting their firm's realization goals, many managing partners might just tell the Chief Justices to take a hike.
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Production Lawyer's Guide to Obtaining E&O Insurance, Preventing Litigation
Previous installments of this article discussed errors and omissions insurance coverage and clearance guidelines for vetting dramatic works. This final segment will wrap up the clearance guidelines discussion, including music and film clips.
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