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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Development
New York Real Estate Law Reporter Staff
Specific Performance Available for Breach of Contract to Convey Air Rights
Challenge to Site Plan Approval Dismissed for Failure to Join a Necessary Party
NYU’s Challenge to Zoning Amendment Dismissed for Lack of Standing
Town’s Construction of Its Ordinance Was Irrational
Condition on Special Permit Renewal Invalidated As Unreasonable
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Florida’s New Data Privacy Bill Is an Outlier, Going Both Broad and Narrow
Cassandre Coyer
The Florida law, which will go into effect on July 1, 2024, positions itself as an outlier among other state data privacy regulations.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Should There Be A Title Theft Statute?
Stewart E. Sterk
Recent years have seen numerous reports of what has colloquially been called “property theft” or “deed theft.” To fight deed theft in New York, the state Attorney General has championed a statute making “Property Theft” a crime.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Do We Need A Title Theft Statute?
Stewart E. Sterk
Recent years have seen numerous reports of what has colloquially been called “property theft” or “deed theft” in New York. The state Attorney General has championed a statute, now introduced in the state legislature, making “Property Theft” a crime. Would the statute be helpful?
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
ChatGPT, Generative AI and IP Considerations
Dan Felz, Wim Nauwelaerts, Paul Greaves and Josh Fox
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
Part One of this article briefly detailed what “generative AI” tools like ChatGPT are and provided an overview of key legal considerations. Part Two looks at upcoming AI-specific legislation and the path forward for firms wanting to use AI in practice.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Data Minimization Meets Defensible Disposition: Just Say No to ROT and Over-Retention of Personal Information
Martin Tully and Nick Snavely
Like a good diet and regular exercise for the body, data minimization and routine, defensible purging of outmoded documents are essential to maintaining healthy organizational information hygiene.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
District Court Rules on Ripeness of Claim Under RLUIPA
Stewart E. Sterk
When does a RLUIPA claim become ripe? A federal district court in the Southern District of New York dismissed a RLUIPA claim as unripe, borrowing ripeness doctrine from the takings context and declining to apply a “futility exception” to the requirement that a landowner obtain a final decision before proceeding to federal court.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
EU Releases Attempt At Comprehensive Cybersecurity Legislation
Cassandre Coyer
The European Union released its first attempt at a comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, the Cyber Resilience Act — and its impact on the technology market could be far-reaching.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
The Regulators Are at the Gates: Significant New AML Legislation Nears Passage
Patrick T. Campbell, Jonathan B. New and Francesca A. Rogo
Over the past few years, Congress and law enforcement have notably increased their scrutiny of companies’ anti-money laundering compliance, and it appears that Congress is not yet finished with its drive for additional legislation and regulation.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Congress and the Evolving SECURE Act
Lawrence L. Bell
The SECURE Act aims to encourage Americans to save more for retirement, in part by making that process easier. SECURE 2.0, recently passed by the House of Representatives would continue to tweak the rules for contributing to and withdrawing from retirement savings vehicles. It’s on its way to the Senate.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
State Law Requiring Offer to License Conflicts With Copyright Act
Allison Dunn
A federal judge has sided with the Association of American Publishers (AAP), finding in June that a recently enacted Maryland library e-book law conflicts with federal copyright laws.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
California ‘Right to Know Act’ Sets Off Alarm Bells Ring for Privacy Experts
Isha Marathe
While state data privacy legislation is picking up across the U.S., a California bill that recently passed the State Senate and has remained largely under the radar, has some privacy experts raising alarm bells.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Tax Implications of Budget Reconciliation Bill
Lawrence L. Bell
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
This installment discusses how to use benefit laws that have been on the books for over 30 years to fund not only death benefits but also alternatives to deferred compensation for business and estate planning purposes for pass-through entities.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Tax Implications of Budget Reconciliation Bill
Lawrence L. Bell
In this two-part article, we look at the proposed tax law changes in the budget reconciliation bill — the major legislation in 2021.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Analyzing the Impact of the Many New Rules of Cybersecurity
Kenya Parrish-Dixon
New cybersecurity and data protection federal regulations, directives and guidelines as well as new case law, industry-specific guidelines and new state laws that, when taken together, form an industry standard applicable to almost all business sectors
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
State Attorneys General Issue Support for Bankruptcy Venue Reform Legislation
P.J. D’Annunzio
Attorneys general from 41 states, along with Puerto Rico and Guam, have issued a statement in support of legislation before Congress geared toward stopping corporations from venue-shopping bankruptcy cases.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
New State Statutes and Federal Guidelines Create Basket Weave of Cybersecurity Compliance
Kenya Parrish-Dixon
The U.S. doesn’t have a federal cybersecurity law, but that doesn’t mean there is no cybersecurity industry standard. There are regulations, case law, guidelines and state laws that, when combined, create an industry standard applicable to almost all business sectors.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Smoke & Mirrors: The New York Cannabis Law’s Illusory Lease Mandate
Marjorie J. Peerce, Michael P. Robotti and Kamera Boyd
New York’s recently enacted cannabis law, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation of 2021 (MRTA), created a maze of new legal requirements. These provisions affect not only cannabis companies, but also the companies that conduct business with them.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Congress Seeks to Restrict Nondebtor Releases in New Bankruptcy Reform Bill
Thomas R. Califano and Anna Gumport
Members of Congress recently introduced the Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act, which proposes to amend the Bankruptcy Code to, among other things, restrict courts’ ability to approve third-party releases of nondebtors and related injunctions under plans of reorganization or otherwise in Chapter 11 cases.
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New York Real Estate Law Reporter
Legislature Modifies HSTPA to Assist Co-ops
Jeffrey Schwartz and Mark Hakim
In June, New York’s lawmakers approved amendments to the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, exempting cooperative corporations from some of the most onerous provisions, and clarifying others. Once signed, the new legislation will not only be a huge victory for the thousands of cooperative apartment buildings but also for many potential purchasers who were unable to purchase in those buildings as a result of the Act.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Is a Federal Insider Trading Law Coming?
David L. Axelrod and Hannah L. Welsh
For decades the SEC and the Department of Justice, with the endorsement of federal judges, have used the general securities fraud statutes to patch together a complex and problematic insider trading common law. After years of criticism, however, that could now be changing.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
There Is No Post-Confirmation True-Up of Projected Disposable Income In Subchapter V
Jonathan P. Friedland, Mark Melickian & Hajar Jouglaf
A large number of reported decisions interpreting Sub V have mostly addressed the eligibility threshold for a debtor to proceed under the new law. And legitimate questions will continue to present themselves. Such is the nature of most new (and even not-so-new) statutes.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Foreclosure Statute of Limitations
Stewart E. Sterk
In a set of foreclosure cases decided in late February, the Court of Appeals resolved some of the questions that have plagued New York’s court system in the aftermath of last decade’s mortgage crisis.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
New COVID Relief Bill Brings Changes to Trademark and Copyright Practice
Eugene Y. Mar, Nate A. Garhart and Ashleigh Nickerson
The new, more than 5,000-page spending bill, which includes the latest COVID-19 relief, had a few surprises under its cover. Two of those surprises focus directly on intellectual property and amount to sea changes in the trademark and copyright infringement realms.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Winter 2021 Privacy Alert Roundup
Rebecca Perry
In this Privacy Alert Roundup, we’ll take a look at Virginia’s new proposed data protection law, a new proposed federal banking rule regarding cybersecurity incidents, and how lackadaisical vendor risk management can come back to bite you in court.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Unforeseen Consequences for Bankruptcy Practice In CARES Act
Sourav Chaudhuri and Gregory Plotko
This article highlights several of these outcomes and discrepancies of the CARES Act stimulus package, including how accepting crisis funding could lead to a company becoming more distressed, how bankruptcy courts are inconsistently ruling on the ability for Chapter 11 debtors to receive PPP loans and how changes to the Bankruptcy Code altered the rights of equity holders and debtholders.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
The Potential for Fraud or Misbehavior In the Time of COVID-19
A roundtable discussion on the topic of government investigations, corporate compliance efforts, and the potential for fraud or misbehavior in the time of COVID-19.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
NYC Law Providing Relief for Commercial Tenants Faces Constitutional Scrutiny
Ian Steinberg
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered another striking blow to property owners when he signed into law N.Y.C. Council Int. No. 1932-A (2020) on May 26, 2020. The new legislation prohibits landlords from enforcing personal guaranties on certain commercial leases for defaults occurring between March 7, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2020.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
The SECURE and CARES Acts Change Required Minimum Distributions
Sidney Kess
A key aspect of saving for retirement through qualified retirement plans and IRAs is deferring taxes until required minimum distributions (RMD) begin. Even with Roth IRAs, beneficiaries who inherit them must also follow RMD rules despite the tax-free treatment of the distributions. The SECURE Act and the CARES Act made dramatic changes in RMD rules for 2020 and beyond.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Is an ‘Official Act’ An Element of Public and Private Corruption?
Elkan Abramowitz and Jonathan S. Sack
This article discusses cases that have begun to address whether “official act” is an element in a private honest services fraud prosecution.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Lessons from the Insider Trading Prohibition Act After Its Likely Demise In the Senate
Telemachus P. Kasulis
For a moment there, it really looked like it was going to happen. After a long and winding road, insider trading reform had reached the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. The Insider Trading Prohibition Act (ITPA) had support on both sides of the aisle and on Dec. 5, 2019, the House voted to pass the ITPA. Then the bill went to the Senate and vanished. We should take this opportunity to learn what lessons we can from the successes and failures of the ITPA as a bill with an eye toward fashioning the best possible legislation next time — whenever that may be.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
An Ounce of Prevention: Preparing for CARES Act Fraud Investigations
Nekia Hackworth Jones
The government appears to be fulfilling its commitment to rooting out PPP fraud, even when the amount at issue falls below the $2 million threshold. No matter the size of the loan, a company that obtained PPP funds is not immune from a possible government investigation or audit. Borrowers have already started to submit loan forgiveness applications, and many more will be submitted in the weeks ahead, and both lenders and the government will be scouring these submissions for red flags.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Recent Decisions Clarify Scope of Illinois Biometric Privacy Law
Frank Nolan and Andrew Weiner
For users of biometric information subject to BIPA’s rigorous requirements, the last two years have brought mostly bad news, most notably a smattering of unfavorable decisions on the question of whether plaintiffs must suffer an injury in order to avail themselves of BIPA. Against this backdrop, however, courts have issued decisions on other aspects of BIPA
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Agreement to Amend CA’s AB5 Helps Music Industry
Sidney S. Fohrman and Ariel D. Shpigel
After over a year-and-a-half of lobbying efforts by the music industry and negotiations with lawmakers, it was recently announced that AB5 would be amended to accommodate musicians’ unique niche in the California economy.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Defending FCA Actions Related to Pandemic Programs
Steve Sozio, Rebecca Martin, Rajeev Muttreja and Mark Rotatori
With the federal government appropriating more than $2 trillion for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, plaintiffs’ lawyers, regulators and politicians have trumpeted the search for whistleblowers — many of whom will try to cash in on perceived fraud in the funding programs created by the CARES Act and other enactments.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
CARES Act Puts Inspectors General Back in the Spotlight
Daniel R. Alonso, Preston Burton and Meredith Leeson
IGs have been part of the federal landscape for more than 40 years, so why all the fuss now? The answer is that they are a key element of the government’s built-in mechanisms for protecting the nation’s public treasury, and a relief package of this scope strongly indicates that the IGs and the new oversight bodies will spend many years scrutinizing funds spent under it.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Prosecuting PPP Fraud May Be Harder Than It Seems
Christopher M. Ferguson
This article discusses what tools the government has for pursuing seemingly undeserving PPP borrowers, the obstacles to bringing such cases, and the factors that may influence the government’s decision in pursuing criminal or civil cases.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
New Jersey’s Latest Effort on the Privacy Front
Kenneth K. Dort and Mitchell S. Noordyke
New Jersey legislators are joining a growing line of states in proposing a bill to strengthen data privacy protections, following in the footsteps of privacy laws enacted in Europe and California.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Asset Protection, Pre-Bankruptcy Planning and Code §727(a)(2)(A)
Carlos J. Cuevas
This article examines asset protection and pre-bankruptcy planning and its impact on a debtor’s discharge through Bankruptcy Code §727(a)(2)(A).
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Florida Lawmakers Introduce Online Privacy Legislation
David M. Stauss and Malia Rogers
Florida lawmakers have introduced companion bills in the Florida House (HB 963) and Senate (SB 1670) that would create limited online privacy rights and obligations in the state. The legislation appears to be very similar to the Nevada Online Privacy Protection Act, which was amended last year to add a right to opt-out of sales of covered information.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
A Look Behind, A Look Ahead: Part 1 - Cybersecurity
Steve Salkin
Cybersecurity Law & Strategy partnered with our ALM sibling Legaltech News to ask cybersecurity and e-discovery experts what they thought the key trends were in 2019 and what they expect to see in 2020.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Data Privacy: Building Compliant and Adaptable Systems
Tomas Suros
Rather than trying to institute changes to comply with every new privacy law as it emerges, a better approach is to view data privacy as an overall framework and adopt a holistic response to compliance with the built-in flexibility to constantly adapt to an ever-changing legal landscape.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
Recent Investigation, Prosecution and Legislation Regarding Fraudulent Deeds
Carol A. Sigmond
New York City is seeing an upsurge of deed theft. Attorneys, architects, title companies, real estate brokers, agents, contractors, developers and construction managers need to be alert to this potential issue when blocks of properties are assembled for development in these neighborhoods.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
GDPR Had Some Bite in 2019
Victoria Hudgins
Although no company was hit with the maximum GDPR fine of 4% of the company’s worldwide annual revenue, GDPR fines issued in 2019 were still a force to be reckoned with.
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Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy
What is the Difference Between Flexible Space Models and Traditional Office Leasing?
Elizabeth Kluger Cooper and Zach Boroson
Market forces — such as workplace design, demographics and urbanization, capital flow and technology — are driving the growth of flexible space.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
A Survey of Proposed Federal Privacy Legislation and the Year Ahead
Jeffrey Atteberry
The social, economic, and political forces pushing for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s privacy regime are numerous, and many see 2019 as presenting the best opportunity yet for passage of federal data privacy legislation.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
The DTSA’s Jurisdictional Nexus, Three Years In
Conor Tucker
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) requires pleading a connection between a trade secret, a product or service, and interstate commerce. But failure to prove such a connection divests the district court of subject matter jurisdiction. This article summarizes the first three years of cases discussing the jurisdictional element and explores implications.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Federal Data Privacy Legislation Is Likely Next Year, Tech Lawyers Say
Dan Clark
For Years, Federal Legislators Have Attempted to Pass Comprehensive Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Legislation. With More Support Than Ever from the Public, Industry and Both Sides of the Political Spectrum, 2019 May Be the Year When Such Legislation Is Enacted.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Second Circuit Rejects Arbitration of Debtor’s Asserted Discharge Violation
Michael L. Cook
A bankruptcy court properly denied a bank’s motion to compel arbitration of a debtor’s asserted violation of the court’s discharge injunction, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Georgia Gov. Deals a Blow to Controversial Cybersecurity Bill
Gabrielle Orum Hernández
Gov. Nathan Deal opted to veto a cybersecurity bill criticized by technology groups that would have made “unauthorized computer access” a crime.
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