LJN Newsletters

Two types of contract clauses are commonly cited when a buyer or financing source desires not to make good on its commitment. These clauses are material adverse change clauses and termination fee clauses. Several recent cases show that good draftsmanship and a clear understanding of their intended effect are essential in heading off disputes when implementing these provisions.

Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.

With the number of mass/complex cases in state courts on the rise, state court litigants and jurists are recognizing the need to treat these cases differently from garden variety torts and are turning to established, but heretofore little used, state law coordination rules and procedures to manage this growing area of litigation.

The Appellate Court of Illinois decided that a license to use the trademark 'March Madness' 'to advertise, promote, and sell publications, videos, and media broadcasts' included the right to deliver on-demand video content to mobile wireless devices.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act of 2007 is yet another example of a worldwide trend toward criminalizing the law of product liability. While the idea of establishing criminal corporate manslaughter has been discussed in the United States, it has not gained much momentum. The recent reform in the United Kingdom, however, may rekindle the efforts to criminalize product liability, especially during the course of this election year.

Artist Consultant/Unfair-Competition Claim
Insurance/Intra-Band Litigation
Royalty Complaint/Ringtone and Download Licenses
TV-Affiliation Agreements/Promotional Payments

CHARACTER RIGHTS/COPYRIGHT TERMINATION
FILM PRODUCTION/COPYRIGHT CLAIMS
FILM PRODUCTION/RIGHT-OF-PUBLICITY
RIGHTS IN BAND NAMES/TRADEMARK CLAIMS

A founding partner of one of L.A.'s few remaining litigation boutiques has jumped to Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton's Century City office. Entertainment litigator James Curry took his name off the door of White O'Connor Curry, a Century City firm that spun off of what is now Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro in an acrimonious split more than a decade ago.