Features

Litigation Funders Planning a New Role: Law Firm Ownership
Since litigation finance hit the scene just a couple decades ago, the business has evolved from investing in single lawsuits to groups of claims to purchasing judgments at bankruptcy auctions. Now, some litigation finance firms are preparing for an even bigger change to their business model: Injecting cash directly into law firms in the form of an equity stake that isn't tied to any specific case.
Features

Post-Petition Interest in a Solvent Case
<b><i>What Interest Rate Controls?</b></i><p><p>In today's low-interest rate environment, the difference between a contractual interest rate and the federal judgment rate can be quite significant. It is not surprising, therefore, that this issue has become hotly litigated in cases involving solvent Chapter 11 debtors.
Features

Food Courts and Their Leasing Issues
Although the concept has been very successful in the retail industry, a collection of tenants serving food and beverages in one location presents several issues and problems for both landlords and tenants. Those issues suggest certain aspects of food-court tenancy that should be discussed and addressed during lease negotiations, so that both landlords and tenants end up receiving what they expect to receive from the food court experience.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
No Sanctions Against Plaintiffs' Counsel for Frivolous Copyright Claim<br>
Features

Vendor's Reclamation Rights Survive Lien of Post-Petition DIP Loan
In <i>In re Reichhold Holdings US</i>, bankruptcy judge Mary F. Walrath upheld the validity of a vendor's administrative claim for its reclamation rights under Section 546(c) of the Bankruptcy Code as against a post-petition DIP lender. In doing so, Judge Walrath declined to follow cases from the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York that held otherwise.
In the Courts
U.S. District Court Judge Refuses to 'Rubber-Stamp' CFTC Settlement AgreementOn Sept. 22, 2016, Judge William H. Pauley III of the United States…
Columns & Departments
Business Crimes Hotline
SEC Settles First Stand-Alone Whistleblower Retaliation CaseOn Sept. 29, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that International…
Columns & Departments
On the Move
Burr & Forman LLP has opened an office in Wilmington, DE. Rick Robinson, who is joining the firm as a partner in the firm's Creditors' Rights and…
Features

Restrictive Covenants and Whistleblowing
<b><i>Warning from the SEC</b></i><p>In two recent orders, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled that it is paying particular attention to attempts by companies to prevent former employees from whistleblowing through restrictive covenants contained in severance agreements.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Fed. Cir.: Patent Application Provided Sufficient Written Description to Provide Priority Date<br>Fed Cir: Patent Trial Appeals Board's Decision on Assignor Estoppel is Not Reviewable<br>Fed. Cir.: Automatic Method for Lip Synchronization and Facial Expressions of Animated Characters is Patentable Subject Matter
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- 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 ›
- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.Read More ›
- 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 ›