Courts have broadly interpreted in favor of record companies the language in agreements with artists that states the label will be able to reproduce the artist's recordings "by any method now or hereafter known." But the Court of Appeals of Tennessee, at Nashville, decided that neither the record company to which the late country legend Hank Williams had signed, nor a company that obtained rights in the physical masters of Williams' 1950s radio performances had the right to exploit those recordings.

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Key decisions for your review.

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National Rulings of interest to you and your practice.

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In many class action cases, plaintiffs seek to certify a class encompassing thousands of employees across multiple facilities and job titles. Fortunately for employers, before such a broad class can be certified, Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires plaintiffs to establish, among other things, that there are common questions of law or fact among the proposed class members (the "commonality test"). This article assesses whether and to what extent employers can defeat class certification based upon the existence of a decentralized, subjective decision-making. After surveying the pertinent case-law in the Second, Third, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits over the past 10 years, we offer practical guidelines that employers may use to avoid the certification of broad classes.

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Employers frequently enter into employment agreements with their employees for a fixed period of time at a stated annual salary. What happens if at the end of such an agreement's term both parties continue to perform under the expired employment agreement as if the agreement were still in effect? As we discuss in this article, in a majority of states, there are certain circumstances in which a court may presume the employment agreement is automatically renewed for an additional term. In such states, courts have recognized such implied renewals and have permitted employees to sue for breach of contract based upon a theory of discharge without cause during the renewal term. We also analyze how courts have addressed the enforceability of noncompetition or arbitration agreements following termination of employment after expiration of the original agreement, but during a period when an impliedly renewed agreement is in effect. Finally, we explore several considerations for drafting employment agreements to avoid unexpected results arising from the presumption of implied renewal.

Everything contained in this issue, for quick reference.

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Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

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Expert commentary on the latest court rulings.