Features

Recreational Marijuana in New Jersey
<b><i>Real Estate and Other Issues Will Need Consideration</b></i><p>Given NJ Governor Phil Murphy's campaign pledge to legalize marijuana for recreational use in his first 100 days, the state is on the cusp of a major new revenue stream-recreational marijuana.
Features

Even the Value of the Smallest Salable Unit Must Be Apportioned
<i><b>Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Sys., Inc.</b></i><p>The Federal Circuit ruled that basing a reasonable royalty calculation on the “smallest salable unit” does not obviate the need to apportion damages to the patented contribution within that unit.
Features

What Retailers Can Learn from Recent Bankruptcies
Understanding the factors leading up to these bankruptcies, as well as the strategies used by retailers to emerge from bankruptcy, can give retailers significant knowledge about trends in consumer spending and how retailers can improve their overall positions going forward.
Features

Monk Estate Suit Against Beer Co. Moves Forward
A Northern California craft brewery lost an early attempt to knock out a lawsuit brought by the son of jazz legend Thelonious Monk, who claims the brewery uses Monk's name and likeness without permission.
Columns & Departments
Development
Failure to Require SEIS Not Arbitrary<br>Board of Fire Commissioners Lacks Standing to Challenge SEQRA Determination<br>Challenge to Pilot Agreement Reinstated<br>Statute of Limitations Bars Challenge to Excessive Height<br>Billboard Regulation Upheld
Features

Wells Fargo, Ending Its Appeal, Settles Whistleblower's $577K Retaliation Case
Wells Fargo & Co. has reached a settlement with a former branch manager who claimed she was fired for blowing the whistle on employees who had been opening accounts without permission, the sales-pressure conduct at issue in a scandal that erupted in 2016.
Features

<i>e-Discovery:</i> Four Cases Highlighting e-Discovery Trends in the Second Half of 2017
In the second half of 2017, case law served to clarify what does and does not constitute reasonable policies and procedures for preserving information subject to discovery — as well as the risks you run if you fail to follow through on those policies.
Features

Serving Two Masters: When 'Bankruptcy Remote' Meets Public Policy
<i><b>How Lenders to BREs Can Reduce the Risk of Debtor Bankruptcy Without Compromising Public Policies</b></i><p>Structured financing transactions, including those pertaining to commercial real estate, make extensive use of entities formed for the specific purpose of reducing the likelihood that assets will be involved in a potential bankruptcy proceeding. Known as “bankruptcy-remote entities,” or “BREs,” these entities are subject to structures and covenants in financing documents and their own formation documents, which are designed to reduce the likelihood that the BRE will file for bankruptcy protection.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
“Dead Man Statute” No Bar to Testimony About Alleged Oral Contract for Share of Royalties from Ben E. King Songs<br>Eleventh Circuit Sees No Personal Jurisdiction in Malpractice Lawsuit Against Law Firm that Handled Concert Industry Litigation<br>Tax Court Finds No Profit Motive in Music Club Operation
Features

Takeaways from the Swift End to <i>Waymo v. Uber</i>
The details might not be quite as dramatic as they were in <i>Waymo v. Uber</i>, but lawyers expect trade secrets to continue to be a fertile source for litigation.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
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- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›