Features

COVID-19 Related Governmental Shut Down Order Triggers Force Majeure Provision In Restaurant Leases
As we all expected, cases are being brought and decided on the issue of whether the COVID-19 pandemic and related governmental shut down orders trigger force majeure clauses in commercial leases and operate to excuse the performance of commercial tenants. While force majeure clauses vary widely, a recent decision from an Illinois Bankruptcy Court may provide guidance to help resolve disputes without resorting to the courts.
Features

The Russian Vodka Saga
Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport v. Spirits International BV What do the fall of the Soviet Union, a heist of trademark rights, and Stolichnaya vodka have in common? They are all key components of the Russian Federation's efforts to reclaim its trademarks in Stolichnaya vodka.
Features

Ticket Refund Suits Against StubHub to Get MDL Treatment
Online ticket reseller StubHub faces lawsuits over allegedly unrefunded event tickets in California, after a federal judicial panel ordered that similar cases from jurisdictions in multiple states be coordinated.
Features

NYC Law Providing Relief for Commercial Tenants Faces Constitutional Scrutiny
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered another striking blow to property owners when he signed into law N.Y.C. Council Int. No. 1932-A (2020) on May 26, 2020. The new legislation prohibits landlords from enforcing personal guaranties on certain commercial leases for defaults occurring between March 7, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2020.
Features

Bankruptcy Code Section 502(d) Claim Disallowance Issues 'Travel With' the Claim
In a recent decision, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that claim disallowance issues under Section 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code "travel with" the claim, and not with the claimant.
Features

FIFA Decision Confirms Long Arm of Honest Services Fraud
United States v. Napout The U.S. government's lead role in the prosecution of corruption within the Zurich-based FIFA may be a paradigmatic example of U.S. law enforcement acting as the world's policeman. If corruption is based on foreign executives violating their duties of loyalty to foreign private entities, how does that translate into a violation of U.S. criminal law? Does it matter that the conduct in which the foreign executive engaged — commercial bribery — may not be illegal under the law of the executive's home country?
Features

Which Method Is for You? Not All Surveys Are Made the Same
As survey evidence has become increasingly common in litigation, it is important to remember that not all surveys are made the same. It's important to be able to identify the right survey methodology for the matter at hand. Third in a series
Columns & Departments
Players on the Move
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Features

10th Circuit Looks At Nuances of Challenging Fraudulent Conveyance
Under the Bankruptcy Code, not only can the initial recipient of a fraudulent conveyance be held liable, but so too can a subsequent transferee. However, there can be important nuances in the challenged transaction that may provide a subsequent transferee with a substantial defense.
Features

Legal Tech: Summer 2020's Most Interesting E-Discovery Cases
Social Media & Cell Phones Still Represent an E-Discovery Battleground
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
- 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 ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- 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 ›