Features
Balancing Fourth Amendment Expectations in the Electronic Era
As rapid technological changes in the 21st century continue to expand the types and volume of private electronic information, the Fourth Amendment's privacy protections are evolving. The critical question in Fourth Amendment cases is whether a person has a “reasonable expectation of privacy in the information or event.”
Features
The DOJ's Latest Opioid Crime-Fighting Tool: The Civil False Claims Act
<b><i>The U.S. Department of Justice Is Now Using The False Claims Act — Traditionally a Civil Enforcement Tool — to Combat the United States' Sweeping Opioid Epidemic</b></i><p>The use of the FCA is part of a larger DOJ strategy to develop multi-faceted solutions for this public health emergency.
Features
Fifth Circuit Affirms Shareholder Veto of Chapter 11 Petition
“Federal law does not prevent a bona fide shareholder from exercising its right to vote against a bankruptcy petition just because it is also an unsecured creditor,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in <i>In re Franchise Services of North America, Inc.</i> According to the court, applicable Delaware law would not “nullify the shareholder's right to vote against the bankruptcy petition.”
Features
Thinking Outside of the Big-Box: Understanding License Agreements
One critical component to the successful evolution of a shopping center is creating a stronger connection with community through attractions, events and promotions that bring a fresh vibrancy to the centers. These specialty relationships and other short-term relationships are generally memorialized in a license agreement rather than a traditional lease.
Features
The Comprehensive Plan Requirement
Does a local law requiring site plan review satisfy the statutory requirement when a town (or village) has enacted neither a formal comprehensive plan for a zoning ordinance?
Features
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — How It Affects Real Estate
<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p>The Tax Act is the most sweeping change to the U.S. federal income tax laws since 1986. This and future articles discuss the individual tax and business tax provisions that affect real estate investment and investors in real estate.
Features
Affirmation of the Alien Venue Rule
<b><i>In re: HTC Corporation</b></i><p>The Federal Circuit recently addressed motions to transfer and drew a distinction between motions based upon the convenience of parties and witnesses and those for improper venue. It also clarified that the Supreme Court's recent decision in <i>TC Heartland</i> did not supplant the long-standing rule that venue laws do not protect foreign defendants.
Features
State Attorney-Client Privilege Rule Incorporated into Federal Law
<b><i>Delaware Bankruptcy Court Protects Communications with Financial Professionals Originating In Delaware</b></i><p>Because state law applies at the time the transaction is negotiated, the parties might assume — reasonably so — that state privilege law will govern communications with their attorneys and financial professionals. But what happens if, years later, a fraudulent transfer plaintiff files suit in federal court and brings claims under federal law? Does state privilege law still apply?
Features
Loan-Out Corporations after Tax Reform and CA Supreme Court Decision in 'Dynamex'
The tax reform bill signed by President Trump at the end of 2017 has caused us to take a fresh look at many long-held assumptions about how to take into account income taxes in planning for the entertainment industry. At the same time, the California Supreme Court recently decided a case that has the potential to eviscerate loan-out corporations entirely. This article discusses loan-out corporations in light of these two important developments.
Columns & Departments
Development
Developer Had No Vested Right to Subdivision<br>TDR Provision Not Adequately Referred to County Planning Board
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Surveys in Patent Infringement Litigation: The Next FrontierMost experienced intellectual property attorneys understand the significant role surveys play in trademark infringement and other Lanham Act cases, but relatively few are likely to have considered the use of such research in patent infringement matters. That could soon change in light of the recent admission of a survey into evidence in <i>Applera Corporation, et al. v. MJ Research, Inc., et al.</i>, No. 3:98cv1201 (D. Conn. Aug. 26, 2005). The survey evidence, which showed that 96% of the defendant's customers used its products to perform a patented process, was admitted as evidence in support of a claim of inducement to infringe. The court admitted the survey into evidence over various objections by the defendant, who had argued that the inducement claim could not be proven without the survey.Read More ›
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- In the SpotlightOn May 9, 2003, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Bayer Corporation, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, had been sentenced and ordered to pay a criminal fine of $5,590,800 stemming from its earlier plea of guilty to violating the Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act by failing to list with the FDA its drug product, Cipro, that was privately labeled for an HMO. Such listing is required under the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. The Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act, Pub. L. 100-293, enacted on April 22, 1988, as modified on August 26, 1992 by the Prescription Drug Amendments (PDA) Pub. L. 102-353, 106 Stat. 941, amended sections 301, 303, 503, and 801 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, codified at 21 U.S.C. '' 331, 333, 353, 381, to establish requirements for distributing prescription drug samples.Read More ›
