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The Basics When Reviewing a Real Estate Tax Provision
There are several clauses that rarely find their way into a landlord's initial draft of the lease that may be beneficial to a tenant. In addition, certain real estate tax provisions that are typically included in a landlord's standard lease form need to be carefully reviewed to make sure they are fair to both the landlord and the tenant.
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Use of the Blockchain to Contract Digitally
Smart contracts are self-executing agreements written in code on the blockchain. Parties contract digitally using distributed ledger technology. This article offers a layperson's, non-technical summary of the underlying technology and consideration of certain legal implications for smart-contracting and contract management.
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Case Notes
Trial Required to Disprove Malice<br>Court Upholds Conditions Imposed on Zoning Variance<br>Lease Identified<br>Notice of Termination Not Defective for Being Sent By Attorney<br>Hearing Required to Determine Whether Lease Denied for Unconstitutional Reasons
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Negotiating Key Points in Literary Agent-Author Relationships
Several of the same concepts that are in agreements between performing artists and managers also apply to agreements between authors and literary representatives.
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'Standard' Terms Won't Be Read Into Dykstra Settlement With Ghost Writer
In a case brought against former baseball player Lenny Dykstra by a social media ghost writer, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has offered the additional lesson that a writing other than a formal settlement agreement may constitute an enforceable agreement — even if one of the parties expects that additional "standard" provisions will be added to the agreement.
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Stick to the 'Plain Meaning'
<b><I>Interpreting Lease Contract Terms</I></b><p>The complications that can and do arise in the field of commercial leasing come in all shapes and sizes, and not all can be anticipated. However, with careful planning, and if the stars align, lease terms sometimes cover even an abnormal future event, preserving the agreement that the parties undoubtedly contemplated at signing
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When Actions Speak Louder Than Words
<b><I>Written Agreements Are Not the Final Word</I></b><p>Recently, an Ohio appellate court held that the parties' actual conduct — and not the express written provisions in their lease to the contrary — controlled in interpreting the intentions of the parties in contracting. This case serves as a good reminder for legal practitioners that our written agreements are often not the final word.
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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.
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Effective Contract Management
<i><b>Three Goals</i></b><p>A recent report laid bare one of the most pressing problems of today's companies — and their GCs. Simply put, the report found that businesses of all types do a poor job of contract management.
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Non-Compete Clauses In California
Non-compete clauses in employment contracts typically seek to preclude employees from working for a competitor for a specific period of time and within a specific geographic area. Most states allow non-competition agreements, provided they are reasonable in scope and justified by the employer's legitimate business interests. California, however, generally prohibits covenants not to compete, subject to limited exceptions.
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