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If you are pursuing litigation involving any "self-propelled vehicle," you can find useful information on the Web site of The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) www.sae.org.
Features
Europe's approach to civil liability law and litigation is changing. As part of the European Union's (EU) move toward a common economic culture, virtually every aspect of EU civil justice law and procedure is under review. Thus far, the laws governing product safety and commercial dealings between businesses and consumers have begun tilting toward greater liability for businesses. Whether it is strict product liability, class actions, lawyer advertising, or variations on the contingent fee, many of these changes have been seen in the United States and are starting to migrate across the Atlantic.
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A listing of upcoming events.
Highlights of the lastest equipment leasing news from around the country.
After three consecutive quarters of failing to show any portfolio growth, the equipment leasing industry came through at year's end to close 2003 with only a slight net loss in portfolio size. According to the Equipment Leasing Association's Quarterly Performance Indicators Report (PIR), total net portfolio growth decreased by a total of only 0.4% in 2003. While 2003 marked the second consecutive year in which the leasing industry failed to recognize any net portfolio growth for a calendar year, based on how 2003 was shaping up after the third quarter, the modest overall drop-off was not such bad news. In fact, 2003 was not as bad a year for the leasing industry as one might have expected given the many challenges that have been presented over the past few years. New business volume and credit approvals were up, and charge-offs and actual delinquencies were down. Employment remains a concern, but overall, it appears that the leasing industry is weathering the storm.
Is the equipment really worth the cost of litigation? Before advising clients to pursue problem accounts legally, it pays to determine the true market value of the equipment in question.
Equipment lessors bargain for a very different set of legal rights than secured creditors. These bargained-for rights are often subject to attack, particularly in the Chapter 11 context where it is common for interested parties to challenge the characterization of a Chapter 11 debtor's obligations under an agreement styled as a lease. <i>See In re APB Online, Inc.</i>, 259 B.R. 812, 815 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2001). As the recent decision by the Third Circuit in <i>Duke Energy Royal, LLC v. Pillowtex Corp. (In re Pillowtex, Inc.)</i>, 349 F.3d 711 (3d Cir. 2003) illustrates, when faced with the question of whether a transaction constitutes a "true" lease or a secured financing, Bankruptcy Courts will look through the cosmetics of the deal to its substance. To avoid the re-characterization of an equipment lease by a Bankruptcy Court, an equipment lessor must structure its transactions to retain an economically meaningful "residual value" in the leased property.
National news of importance to you and your practice.
Features
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP), an organization that, among other things, operates MEDMARX, the national, Internet-accessible anonymous reporting database that hospitals and health care systems may voluntarily use to track and trend medication errors, last month published 10 recommendations for cutting down medication errors in hospitals and health care facilities.
Features
Earlier this year, the federal government lost an attempt to deny insurance coverage to doctors who -- in their capacity as sole owners of their own corporations -- signed contracts with the United States to provide health care to patients at a non-profit clinic. When the government attempted to tell the doctors -- after the doctors had been sued for malpractice -- that they were not eligible for coverage, the doctors fought back in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.