Features

Personal Guaranty of Commercial Lease Held Discharged in Guarantor's Bankruptcy
As we prepare for the anticipated increase in bankruptcy filings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the economy, many practitioners are trying to compare this to the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s. One of the issues that keeps coming up cycle after cycle is whether a personal guaranty of a commercial lease is discharged in the bankruptcy of the individual guarantor. Court decisions have split on this issue for years.
Features

Judge Warns Facebook in Approving Record $5B Fine for Alleged Privacy Violations
The Judge Pointed Out that Some FTC Commissioners Wanted to Specifically Sanction Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg for the Company Sharing Private User Data With Outside Parties A federal judge in Washington, DC, signed off on a record $5 billion fine imposed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Facebook for allegedly violating federal law and a previous order with its privacy practices.
Features

Challenge to Property Tax Rejected
No one disputes that the property tax system in New York City is byzantine. In Tax Equity Now LLC v. City of New York, the First Department confronted what it viewed as a very different question: is it illegal. The court concluded that it is not, rejecting a variety of claims and leaving any reform to the legislature.
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Equitable Mortgage Enjoys Priority over Mortgage Recorded After Filing of Notice of Pendency Purchaser from Church Not Entitled to Specific Performance Questions of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment on Prescriptive Easement Claims Hearing Necessary to Determine Whether Mortgagee De-Accelerated Mortgage
Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant Law
Loft Board Lacks Authority to Supervise Legalization Once Tenants Withdraw Application Tenant Entitled to Relief from Failure to Timely Exercise Renewal Option
Columns & Departments
Development
Neighbor Has Standing to Seek Damages for Violation of Zoning Ordinance
Features

Attorney's Fees After Octane: More Chances for Defendants to Even the Playing Field
With fewer restraints after Octane, district courts now have broader discretion to grant motions for attorney's fees. But understanding the circumstances under which exceptionality has been found is critical. Recent decisions by the Federal Circuit post-Octane provide some important guidance on when attorney's fees may be available under Section 285.
Features

Swedish Music Industry Views: Part Two
Part Two of a Two Part Article This article discusses, among other things, the Swedish music industry perspective on the European Union's Copyright Directive, the growth of multi-country music licensing hubs and the impact of Brexit.
Features

Kozinski Angle In 9th Circuit's Led Zeppelin Ruling
Defendants Led Zeppelin and its music labels were the winners in the copyright decision by the Ninth Circuit over the song "Stairway to Heaven." But the estate of songwriter Randy Wolfe (p/k/a California) wasn't the only one who got the short end. Among the collateral damage from the ruling was a 2002 precedent written by former Chief Judge Alex Kozinski that endorsed the so-called "inverse-ratio" rule.
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