Litigation

For Nursing Home Patients, No More Compelled Arbitration

Most divorces involve the transfer of a marital residence between the parties as part of equitable distribution, especially when there are minor children who will continue to reside in the family home.There is a transfer tax payable on the transfer of real estate, including the marital residence, in connection with the implementation of the marital settlement agreement or divorce.

At a 2015 conference jointly sponsored by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), I listened with much interest as attorneys and judges from areas other than New York expressed disbelief, disapproval and dismay regarding New York's extraordinarily atypical positions regarding the copying and electronic transmission of documents, and the limitations on discovery in litigation focused on issues of access to and custody of children.

Part One of a Two-Part Article

This article explores common provisions used in pre-and post-nuptial agreements and suggest how standard language might be modified to protect a client's rights or interests in trusts he or she formed before the marriage, or that family members formed naming him or her in various capacities.

In what appears to be a case of first impression in New York, the court overseeing a couple's divorce has granted the wife's motion seeking to bar her husband from the delivery room when she gives birth to their child.

Data breaches such as the one Yahoo recently revealed (500 million accounts!) get the big headlines. In response, large companies double down on their efforts to protect the security of their data. But small to midsize businesses often fail to appreciate the risk of a data breach to their own business.

As important as software and business method inventions are in the new digital economy, it is often unclear whether they can be patented. This uncertainty is largely due to a legal rule that “abstract ideas” are not eligible for patent protection, which is based on a long line of U.S. Supreme Court cases, with Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank being the most recent and influential.

Compensation provisions in entertainment contracts are in one or two subparagraphs. To simplify drafting and to use “plain English,” the compensation provisions often contain introductory, governing language along the lines of: “In full and complete consideration for entering into and performing all of the terms hereof.” However, is such a “plain English” approach always a “best practice”?