Features
Economic Abuse May Be Recognized By New York Courts
In a little-noticed paragraph of the significant decision in <i>Wissink v. Wissink</i>, 301 AD2d 36 (2d Dept. 2002), the court held that evidence of certain economically abusive behavior was relevant in a custody case and should not be excluded. This is a very important holding that should be examined by judges and attorneys and applied in other cases.
Features
Hearsay Evidence in Custody Cases
An admission ' an act or declaration of a party or his agent that constitutes evidence against the party at trial ' is an exception to the rule against hearsay. As a general rule, any declaration or conduct of a party or his agent, oral or written, that is inconsistent with that party's position at trial is admissible at trial as an admission.
Features
New Foreign Drug Trial Rule Coming
A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration final rule governing clinical trials held in foreign countries will spark painstaking legal review of pharmaceutical companies' protocols for trials.
Features
NY Case Unwittingly Creates Community Property State?
A recent decision by a New York appellate court may have converted New York into a community property state. <i>Johnson v. Chapin</i>, 350749/01, NYLJ March 17, 2008, p. 25 col. 1.
Features
Should Attorneys Have Access to Psychological Test Data?
Justice is served best when both parties have all the information they need to support their position. Consequently, in the author's opinion, attorneys should be able to review psychological test data. He supports that right for several reasons discussed in the article.
Features
The Federal Arbitration Act
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in <i>Hall Street Associates, L. L. C. v. Mattel, Inc.</i> had long been anticipated by the litigation and arbitration communities and has been the subject of extensive commentary and debate in the brief period since it was rendered. This article explains why.
Features
A Creative Screening of Electronically Stored Information May Determine the Victor
Electronically stored information ('ESI') is not an issue that can be put on the back burner and dealt with in a piecemeal fashion after litigation ensues. The painful results of such an approach were the subject of Magistrate Judge Grimm's recent decision in <i>Victor Stanley, Inc. v. Creative Pipe, Inc., et al.</i>
Features
Practice Tip: The Learned Intermediary Doctrine
The court's refusal in <i>Johnson & Johnson v. Karl</i>, to recognize the learned intermediary doctrine and rejection of it wholesale lacks a sound basis. It is a legal aberration that warrants a prompt legislative response to codify the learned intermediary doctrine in West Virginia.
Features
Q&A with Sean Kelly, Franchise Blogger
Franchisees complain about the imbalance of power between themselves and franchisors, especially when franchisor-franchisee relationships go awry. The Web has changed that dynamic significantly by giving franchisees an easy way to voice their complaints widely and anonymously. Sean Kelly is providing one of the most popular forums for franchisees to vent about franchisors ' whether fairly or unfairly. A 20-year veteran of the franchising industry who participated in the startup of more than 100 franchises concepts, Kelly started a series of franchise-related blogs in November 2006 that have quickly become must-reads for franchisors, franchisees, franchise counsel, and consumers.
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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 ›
- 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 ›