Features

PA Court Rules Against Property Owners Alleging Impermissible Spot Zoning
In a recently published opinion, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rejected an appeal brought by neighboring property owners alleging that a local ordinance constituted impermissible spot zoning. In its analysis, the Commonwealth Court emphasized the heavy burden a challenger must meet to overcome the presumptive validity of a zoning ordinance.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Ninth Circuit Upholds Copyright Infringement Dismissal In 'Jangle Vision Twins' Case
Features

Online Extra: WeWork Creditors Likely to Attempt to Pierce Corporate Veil In Bankruptcy Court
WeWork's Chapter 11 bankruptcy has stayed a Manhattan Commercial Division decision allowing plaintiffs to dig around in 11 years of the tanked company's finances — but observers say it's likely creditors will now try to pierce the corporate veil in the bankruptcy proceeding.
Columns & Departments
Co-ops and Condominiums
Summary Judgment Denied In Trespass and Nuisance Claim Against Upstairs Neighbor
Features

Testimonial Evidence Technology Is Transforming the Litigation Landscape
Managing and presenting testimony are changing a lot these days thanks to new technology. Some of the innovations lawyers are using to handle depositions, witness statements, exhibits and other evidence more efficiently and persuasively will alter the way matters are handled for the foreseeable future.
Features

Is the Receiver or Debtor More Likely to Preserve and Maximize the Value of the Property In a Bankruptcy?
Many clients are not aware that the Bankruptcy Code provides that, upon the filing of a bankruptcy case, the receiver is required to give back possession of the mortgaged property to the debtor unless the lender obtains an order from the Bankruptcy Court excusing the receiver from this requirement.
Features

Federal Circuit Imperils Term-Adjusted Patents
The Federal Circuit recently upheld the Patent Office's decision to reject claims in four separate reexamination cases due to obviousness-type double patenting (ODP).
Features

Evaluating Commercial Leases Post-'Rohrmoos'
Rohrmoos should encourage lawyers drafting leases, and those in lease disputes, to account for some new practical considerations. The drafting attorney should — if they are not already — include a clause in the lease expressly stating the parties' covenants are independent from one another.
Features

Landmines In Bankruptcy Appellate Practice
Pundits are raving about the current increase in business bankruptcy cases. But they rarely, if ever, mention the spike in bankruptcy appeals. A brief survey of recent decisions shows that appellate courts are, among other things, finding ways to (a) avoid making decisions or to (b) avoid litigation delay and uncertainty by expediting appellate review. Practitioners can avoid surprises by grasping what these courts are actually doing.
Features

Appointment of Receiver Under State Law No Assurance Receiver Will Stay If Ch. 11 Filed
Many clients are not aware that the Bankruptcy Code provides that, upon the filing of a bankruptcy case, the receiver is required to give back possession of the mortgaged property to the debtor unless the lender obtains an order from the Bankruptcy Court excusing the receiver from this requirement.
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- 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 ›
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- 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 ›