Features
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Successful Mediation Tactics and Strategies
A session at the International Franchise Association's 45th Annual Legal Symposium on May 20-22 in Washington, DC, addressed the key issues that franchise attorneys should consider prior to and during a mediation.
Managing 'Perfect Storm' Litigation for a Franchise System
A franchise system may find itself in a no-win situation in which all potential solutions or avenues of escape lead to a result that is tantamount to death of the system: bankruptcy, closure of the system, or a dramatic change in the system's business and sources of revenue. This article provides 10 litigation management measures that outside counsel and the system should take to manage perfect storm litigation.
Individual Tax and Estate Planning for Lawyers
President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 includes a number of provisions that would impact individual taxpayers, especially partners in law firms and other high'net-worth lawyers.
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Intervening Rights Only Arise During Re-examination When a Claim Has Been Amended or Added
In <i>Marine Polymer Tech., Inc. v. HemCon, Inc.</i>, No. 2010-1549, 2012 WL 858700 (Fed. Cir. March 15, 2012), a majority found that intervening rights only arise as a result of re-examination when a claim has been amended or added during the re-examination, even though the issue was not considered below.
Damages Soar from False Advertising About Skydiving
In March 2012, the Ninth Circuit in <i>Skydive Arizona, Inc. v. Quattrocchi, et al.</i> upheld a $6.6 million judgment for trademark infringement, false advertising, and cybersquatting, while overturning the district court's doubling of actual damages. The opinion succinctly outlines appellate review standards while offering insights into how to prove a Lanham Act and cybersquatting case.
Federal Circuit Unravels Aventis' Tangled Web in Affirming Inequitable Conduct Finding
At the time of the <i>Therasense</i> decision there was some question as to just how stringently the Federal Circuit would adhere to the nominal standards for common law fraud. <i>Aventis Pharma S.A. v. Hospira, Inc.</i> appears to answer that question for both patent prosecutors and litigators.
Features
Case Briefs
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Features
From Baby-Sitting to Child Custody: When Is a Person 'In Your Care' for Purposes of Homeowner's Coverage?
In the absence of a definition, courts have divided over whether the phrase "in your care" is ambiguous and should be read in favor of the insured and coverage, or according to its plain meaning as applied to the specific facts at issue.
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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 ›