Business Valuation in Divorce
The question of how to value private companies in marital dissolution proceedings has been wrestled with for many years. Several valuation methods have been used, although some that are commonly used, and perhaps favored, for other valuation purposes are effectively banned from use in divorce cases due to interpretations of existing case law. Two significant valuation methods, the Guideline Public Company Method (GPC method) and the Discounted Cash Flow Method (DCF method), have been largely excluded from use in divorce cases in some states. This article addresses the GPC method, and when it would be appropriate to use. At a later date, Part Two of this article will address the DCF method.
Domestic Partner Wins Share of Child's 9/11 Benefits
A New York State appellate panel upheld a Workers' Compensation claim that will result in a domestic partner sharing benefits deriving from 9/11 with the decedent's child. The consequence of the decision is that Paul Innella's 6-year-old daughter will lose some Workers' Compensation death benefits to a woman who says she was engaged to Mr. Innella. The woman is not the child's mother. "[O]ne certainly could debate the equities of the statute," Justice Crew wrote for a unanimous panel. Nonetheless, the justices said, the provision survives constitutional scrutiny.
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Features
Winds of Regulatory and Legislative Change in Canada
The impetus for greater international harmonization in the law of pre-sale franchise disclosure is about to get a boost in Ontario, Canada. At press time, financial statements to be attached to compliant disclosure documents under Ontario's Arthur Wishart Act ("Franchise Disclosure"), 2000 ("The Wishart Act") are required to be prepared only in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards ("GAAS") — if audited — or, if not audited, then prepared under the review engagement standards in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") set out in the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants' Handbook ("CICA Handbook"). No other standards are currently acceptable.
How 7-Eleven Developed a New System-Wide Franchise Agreement
In 2004, 7-Eleven, Inc. offered its entire U.S. franchise network a new franchise agreement. More than 96% of the franchisees representing its 3400 franchised stores signed the new agreement. The plans, process, and activities that were a part of this endeavor and the experiences developing and implementing this new agreement offer insight to both franchisors and franchisees when planning system-wide changes and/or new franchise agreements.
Features
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Features
In The Courts
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Features
Evasion of Foreign Tax Can Be Mail Fraud
The Supreme Court has decided that the Federal mail and wire fraud statutes can be used in prosecutions involving schemes to defraud a foreign government of tax revenue. The April 26 decision, written by Justice Thomas, expansively interpreted the words of 18 U.S.C. '' 1341 and 1343 and narrowly interpreted the common law "revenue rule," which some courts had viewed as limiting the reach of these statutes in cases involving foreign tax evasion. <i>Pasquantino v. United States</i>, 125 S.Ct. 1766 (2005).
Supreme Court Overturns Arthur Andersen Conviction
The ruling was swift and unanimous. On May 31, 2005, the Supreme Court reversed the conviction of the late accounting firm, Arthur Andersen LLP (Andersen), under the federal witness tampering statute, 18 U.S.C. ' 1512(b)(2), in a key case arising from one of the most significant corporate scandals in American history. <i>Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States</i>, 544 U.S. -- (2005) (full text of the opinion can be downloaded at www.supremecourtus. gov/opinions/04pdf/04-368.pdf). The result was unsurprising given the antagonistic questions the Justices posed to the government at oral argument. The Court overturned Andersen's conviction on the narrow grounds that the jury instructions failed to convey properly the elements of a crime under ' 1512(b)(2), and remanded for a possible new trial. The decision clarified the limits of ' 1512(b)(2) while leaving at least one important question unresolved. Perhaps more importantly, it may force a more narrow reading of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with respect to document retention.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.Read More ›
- Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTsA federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.Read More ›
- Compliance Officers and Law Enforcement: Friends or Foes?<b><i>Part Two of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p>As we saw in Part One, regulators have recently shown a tendency to focus on compliance officers who they deem to have failed to ensure that the compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) programs that they oversee adequately prevented corporate wrongdoing, and there are several indications that regulators will continue to target compliance officers in 2018 in actions focused on Bank Secrecy Act/AML compliance.Read More ›
- Structuring Strategies for Off-Balance-Sheet Treatment of Real Property LeasesThe Financial Accounting Standards Board released a new set of lease accounting standards, ASC 842, which went into effect earlier this year. Most significantly, publicly traded companies are now obligated to list all leases of 12 months or longer on their balance sheets as both assets and liabilities. Large private companies will follow suit in 2020.Read More ›
- Artist Challenges Copyright Office Refusal to Register Award-Winning AI-Assisted WorkCopyright law has long struggled to keep pace with advances in technology, and the debate around the copyrightability of AI-assisted works is no exception. At issue is the human authorship requirement: the principle that a work must have a human author to be eligible for copyright protection. While the Copyright Office has previously cited this "bedrock requirement of copyright" to reject registrations, recent decisions have focused on the role of human authorship in the context of AI.Read More ›