Features

'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.
Features

The Alien Tort Statute
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide the long-awaited issue of whether corporations can be liable under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), enacted by the First Congress more than 225 years ago.
Features

Is This Really Patentable?
<b><i>Strategies to Defend Against Patent Claims by Raising Lack of Patentable Subject Matter in District Court Litigation</b></i><p>With the Supreme Court's decision in <i>Alice</i>, parties defending against a claim of patent infringement gained a potential way to find an early resolution to patent litigation.
Features

Copyright Royalty Board Gets E-Filing System
The Library of Congress' Copyright Royalty Board, the panel of three judges who set copyright royalty rates and settle related disputes, announced the launch of an electronic filing and case management system in an effort to streamline its manual and cumbersome case management processes.
Columns & Departments
In the Courts
A look at a case in which the first trader charged and convicted under Dodd-Frank's anti-"spoofing" provision lost his appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Features

The Uses of Prior Conduct in Copyright Cases
<b><i>The Lessons of History</b></i><p>In the context of a copyright case, a defendant's prior bad acts and prior conduct are more useful to a plaintiff than is typical in civil litigation.
Features

The Interminable 'Insured vs. Insured' Battle
<b><i>A New Obstacle to D&O Recoveries for Creditors</i></b><p>No matter how meritorious a claim may be, its ultimate value to creditors depends upon one thing — whether there is a viable source to satisfy any judgment obtained, since many D&Os do not have sufficient personal assets to satisfy any significant damages that may be awarded.
Features

Understanding NY's Economic Loss Rule
New York's Economic Loss Rule is purportedly a simple common law principle. However, its evolution and application have proven to be quite the opposite. It can significantly minimize exposure in many cases, and in some instances result in the complete dismissal of a claim.
Columns & Departments
Case Notes
Discussion of a pelvic mesh verdict.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Boots Litigation Involving John Wayne's Persona To Be Heard in California, Instead of Texas<br>Distinguishing Between Burden of Proof for California Statutory and Common Law "Likeness" Violation Claims<br>Interpreting Jury Verdict in Quincy Jones' Music Royalty Case
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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 ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- 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 ›