Features
  Local Law Banning Music Festival Is Not Unconstitutional Restraint of Speech
A landowner challenged local zoning that banned holding a three-day music festival, arguing that the law was an unconstitutional violation of free speech and void for vagueness.
Features
  Legal Perspective On Major League Baseball Scandal
Two Major League Baseball in-house lawyers, both former prosecutors, led the investigation into the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
Features
  Second Circuit Upholds Title 18 Insider-Trading Conviction Where Title 15 Elements Not Established
Will Prosecutors Take Advantage? The recent decision in United States v. Blaszczak may signal a change in how prosecutors in the Second Circuit, and perhaps in other jurisdictions, pursue insider-trading cases.
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Mechanic's Lien Not Invalid on Its Face Temporary Flooding Not a De Facto Taking
Features
  Tips to Minimize Landlord's Exposure When a Commercial Tenant Files Bankruptcy
Because bankruptcy can add significant expenses and increase the time it takes to remove a delinquent tenant, landlords should not allow tenants to fall far behind on rental payments. Here are some tips on how to address the issues raised by a bankrupt tenant.
Features
  Bankruptcy Court Denies Motion for Fee Enhancement Under 'Common Fund Doctrine'
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia recently denied creditors' counsel's motion for a fee enhancement under the "common fund doctrine," finding it could not award the requested fees absent statutory authority.
Features
  U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms the American Rule In De Novo Challenges to the PTO
In 2013, the PTO adopted a new policy under which any party commencing a de novo proceeding challenging a PTO decision would be responsible to pay a pro rata share of the salaries of the government attorneys working on the matter. On Dec. 11, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the PTO's new interpretation of the Patent Act and held that the American Rule, a centuries-old principle under which each party bears its own attorneys' fees, does apply to this statute.
Features
  The Trademark That Got His Goat
In a recent trademark cancellation case that has drawn "human interest" attention in the news, the plaintiff appealed an adverse decision to the Federal Circuit. The plaintiff was not "kidding" when he expressed his opinion that the registered mark, described as "goats on a roof of grass," is demeaning to goats which, in turn, is offensive to him.
Columns & Departments
Co-ops and Condominiums
Business Judgment Rule Protects Parking Fee Determination
Features
  Examining the Interplay Between Exculpation Clause and Fiduciary Duty
In the case of In re Solutions Liquidation, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware adjudicated a motion to dismiss filed by the debtors' former managers and officers in connection with the breach of fiduciary duty complaint filed against them by the trustee of the debtors' liquidating trust.
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