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On April 20, 2005, President Bush signed The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 into law (the "Act"). Although the Act has received much media attention in recent months for its potential impact upon consumers seeking protection under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code (the "Code"), it does contain a number of amendments to the Code that will affect, either directly or indirectly, the ways in which equipment lessors will relate to their liquidating or reorganizing lessees. This article provides a brief overview of some of the new amendments to the Code and explains how they will change the dynamics between lessors and lessees.
Legal standards regarding electronic discovery and document retention have recently undergone a rapid transformation. Increased regulatory oversight of corporations ' and resulting recordkeeping obligations ' coupled with the increasing volume of electronic communication have created new challenges with regard to document retention and production. More than 99% of information is now being created and stored electronically. Anything that can store, transmit, replay or access electronic data may potentially hold useful corporate records and electronic evidence. Recently, courts and regulators have issued a multitude of new obligations requiring document retention that attempt to define and reconcile the duties of parties and counsel with regard to electronic documents as the judiciary struggles to keep pace with technology. In determining whether a document should, or is required to, be kept, the focus should not and cannot be on the media ' <i>ie</i>, whether it is an e-mail, paper copy, facsimile, instant message, text file, or a Web site. Rather, the relevant question is what information is contained in that document.
Features
Federal courts most likely will see an increase in age discrimination cases with so-called disparate impact claims, but employers will be able defend themselves successfully in many of them as a result of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. The High Court on March 30 held that disparate impact claims ' those that allege that a facially neutral policy adversely affects a protected class ' can be brought under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
In the not too distant past, the only way business people could communicate in a real time, convenient and spontaneous way was through face-to-face meetings and telephone conversations. When the all-too-common dispute arose as to who said what to whom, the traditional "my word against your word" battle would play itself out. <br>Fast-forward to the 21st century, where e-mail ' easy, instant, and universally accepted ' has become virtually the default mode of communication. What was once an unverifiable conversation is now a transaction set forth in print. As a result, the "my word against your word" conundrum becomes more of a contest between e-mails, as opposed to a competition between the memories of testifying witnesses.
Forget what you know about the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR) and partnerships. Forget what you know about HSR and LLCs. The rules have changed ' again. The good news is that the rules make more sense, and certain exemptions to the filing requirements have been codified or expanded. The bad news is that a small number of deals that used to slide under the HSR radar may now be caught. More strategically speaking, the rules now provide more opportunities to "choose" whether your next joint venture will be subjected to substantive agency review under the HSR scheme, heightening the value of HSR counselors' advice on structure issues at early planning stages.
Everything contained in this issue in an easy-to-read list.
Features
New York municipalities have often conditioned development approvals on developers' agreements to provide services ordinarily provided by the municipality. These agreements are typically silent on the tax consequences of the municipality's failure to provide services. Under what circumstances, then, can landowners challenge the municipality's power to collect taxes for services the municipality does not provide? Two cases recently decided -- one by the Court of Appeals and one by the Second Department -- shed light on that question.
Features
Analysis of the most recent decisions.
