Litigation

  • Fourth Circuit Affirms Chapter 11 Dismissal

    The Fourth Circuit, on June 15, 2007, affirmed the dismissal of a Chapter 11 reorganization petition filed by a tenant debtor in a commercial lease dispute. Maryland Port Administration v. Premier Automotive Services, Incorporated (In re Premier Automotive Services, Incorporated). As the Court of Appeals explained, the tenant had filed its Chapter 11 petition 'in order to forestall eviction on an obviously expired lease ' to prevent the [lessor] from evicting the debtor from the [lessor's] property,' seeking to tie up the landlord 'in endless, fruitless litigation.' According to the court, the Chapter 11 filing here 'demonstrate[s], unfortunately, how the good and useful ends of the bankruptcy process can be badly abused.'

    July 30, 2007Michael L. Cook

  • The Smoking e-Mail

    Many articles talk about the new e-discovery rules, but few address how to use electronic information in examining witnesses. Electronic discovery has changed not just the rules of document production, but also how to use these materials when questioning and preparing witnesses. Here are some ideas on preparing for witness questioning.

    July 30, 2007David K. Bissinger

  • RAM Ruling Portends a New e-Discovery Brawl

    A federal magistrate's order that stops a Web site from routinely tossing relevant data could, if replicated, carry broad e-discovery implications. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian's ruling in late spring required TorrentSpy, a widely used indexing Web site that provides users with forums for comment and operates on a peer-to-peer protocol, to turn over customer data only ephemerally kept in its computers' random access memory, or 'RAM.' The ruling could result in floods of similar requests in other civil cases.

    July 30, 2007Jessie Seyfer and Michael Lear-Olimpi

  • Class Certification In Property Insurance Disputes

    The 2005 hurricane season, including the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, caused estimated losses of $75 billion. The insured property damage from the five major hurricanes in 2005 reached $52.7 billion. Hurricane Katrina alone caused more property loss than had occurred in the entire prior year, posting $27.3 billion. See http://insurancenews net.com/article.asp?a=top_news&id=73930. In light of these unprecedented losses, a record number of lawsuits have been filed stemming from damage caused by the 2005 storms. Predictably, an equally high number of class action suits have been filed, purportedly on behalf of those affected by the storms. Despite this flurry of class action suits, the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and its state counterparts clearly limit the use of class action suits to very specific, enumerated circumstances that simply do not include first-party insurance disputes, widespread property damage claims, or claims for bad faith and/or unfair trade practices in the adjustment of insurance claims, even where the damage was due to a common weather event.

    June 29, 2007Rachel A. Meese

  • Verdicts

    Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.

    June 28, 2007ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Med Mal News

    The latest news for your review.

    June 28, 2007ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Litigation

    Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

    June 28, 2007ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Bit Parts

    DVD Distribution/Product Labeling
    Film-Payroll Services/Completion-Bond Reinsurers
    Recording Agreements/Fiduciary Obligation
    Songwriting/No Partnership Found

    June 28, 2007Stan Soocher

  • Clause & Effect

    Production of Agreements/Motion Picture and Screenplay Rights
    Recording Agreements/Non-Exclusivity

    June 28, 2007ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |