News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Features
Inside the New GM Dealer Agreements
Automakers Chrysler and General Motors changed the history of dealer relations when they stepped through dozens of state laws and regulations and terminated thousands of long-standing dealers through the power of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Now that they have emerged from bankruptcy, history remains to be written on the intriguing issues of whether GM will be able to make its new, bold agreement, heavily weighted in GM's favor, stick in the face of state dealer laws.
GA Supreme Court Strikes Down In-term Non-competition Covenant
In a June 29, 2009 opinion relevant to all franchise businesses in Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court held that a covenant in a franchise agreement prohibiting a franchisee from competing with the franchisor during the term of the agreement is judged under the same standards as a post-termination covenant not to compete, and is unenforceable under Georgia law unless it is reasonably limited in territory and in scope of restricted activities. By contrast, earlier in the year, the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill which, if enacted through passage of a proposed Georgia constitutional amendment in 2010, would make it easier to enforce a restrictive covenant in Georgia and would specifically permit enforcement of in-term restrictive covenants without limitations on scope of activity, duration, or territory.
Features
Organizational Risk in an Economic Downturn
During turbulent economic times, organizations need to be especially vigilant to minimize potential risks that could ultimately affect the bottom line or shareholder ROI.
Features
Shareholders to Gain Access to Company Proxy Statements for Director Nominations
On May 20, 2009, the SEC proposed amendments to the existing proxy rules that would, among other things, allow shareholders to nominate directors in a company's proxy materials. Chairman Mary Schapiro strongly encourages interested parties to participate in the Commission's comment process that will end on Aug. 17, 2009.
Features
The Leasing Hotline
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Features
Trouble in Lease Land
When financial problems affect the ability of a retail landlord or tenant to perform its lease obligations, both parties can be mutually benefited by working out a solution that keeps the tenant operating and paying rent.
Features
Bridging the Gap Between Leasing and Loan Transactions
This article highlights some (but certainly not all) of the leasing and loan issues that should be taken into account when negotiating leasing documents and loan documents, respectively.
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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 ›