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Cooperatives & Condominiums
The latest cases for your review.
Features
Is the Statute of Frauds Still Absolute?
If Cervantes were to say today, 'An honest man's word is as good as his bond' (Don Quixote, Book IV, Ch. 34), both knowledgeable real estate professionals and their counsel would probably respond, 'except for real property transactions.' While in many areas of the law, unwritten agreements are more readily enforced, it remains accepted as axiomatic that under the principles of the statute of frauds, only a 'writing' will create obligations in connection with real property interests.
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Decisions of Interest
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
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Divorce and the Military Member
Normally, the death of a military retiree terminates all pension payments. The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is an annuity that allows retired military members from both active duty and the reserves to provide continued income to specified beneficiaries when the retiree dies. The SBP is funded by premium payments from the retiree's paycheck and reduces the amount of the Disposable Retired Pay. With it, the designated survivor receives a lifetime annuity of up to 55% of the retired member's pay. In addition to spouses and former spouses, coverage is also available for a child, so long as the child is from the marriage of the service member and the former spouse.
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After Counselng Fails, Many Sue Therapists
The growing popularity of therapy for everything from marriage troubles to drinking problems has the mental health care community paranoid about lawsuits. Legal and health care experts say that therapists today face a greater risk of being sued than ever before, particularly given the 55% divorce rate and the breakdown of the family. …
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Wrongful Adoption Suits and Damages
Would-be adoptive parents generally look for a child they think will fit comfortably into their families. The child that will make the 'best fit' is not the same for each family, so potential adoptive parents want a say in who will become a part of their lives. In order to make these choices, those considering adoption usually ask about ' and are told ' any available information on the social and health histories of the child and of his or her family. When this information is withheld, a claim for 'wrongful adoption' may follow.
Med Mal News
Recent happenings of interest to you and your practice.
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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 ›