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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.
In Parts One and Two of this article, we discussed the strategies involved in deciding when to question the opposing party's expert; during preliminary <i>voir dire</i> or during cross examination. We noted that, in a jury trial, it is usually prudent to wait until cross-examination to attack the expert, so that the jury can see where the holes in the witness's qualifications and conclusions are. But sometimes, questioning during <i>voir dire</i> is preferable, especially when the result is likely to be the witness disqualification to testify as an expert.
Recently, the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) issued a decision that confirms and clarifies the broad scope of trial court authority under California Evidence Code section 801 to exclude expert testimony that lacks adequate foundation. (<i>Jennings v. Palomar Pomerado Health Systems, Inc.</i> (2004) 114 Cal.App.4th 1108 [8 Cal. Rptr.3d 363].)
Features
Particularly during the past 2 years, the onerous task of filtering e-mail messages has grown to become a business and operational necessity - largely because of the influx of spam, as well as regulations and legislation that mandate the retention of e-communications such as e-mail and, increasingly, instant messages. Coupled with the traditional reasons for filtering ' malicious code attached to or embedded within the message, and inappropriate or sensitive message content ' filtering technologies and the market are undergoing radical change. This makes purchasing and implementation decisions difficult. Best practices for effective e-mail filtering can ease the decision-making process.
Features
As the legal industry leverages IT to deliver enhanced services and improve overall business operations, Internet threats are increasing. According to the latest Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most significant threats today is malicious code that exposes confidential data such as passwords, decryption keys, keystrokes and more. Moreover, this malicious code is entering businesses from a widening array of sources. One of the most common delivery vehicles is spyware. According to security experts, millions of PCs in homes and businesses across the world are already infested with spyware. Yet, for all its ubiquity, it remains a relatively misunderstood threat.
Features
Like it or not, in order to produce and collaborate on documents, the legal community is dependent on more and more software products which are increasingly sophisticated and interdependent. To maximize the financial investment in these products, it's optimal to leverage the integration opportunities that they offer. Firms have the option to take on custom development to achieve this goal, or to invest in a third-party product where the software vendor is responsible for keeping their product updated to integrate with new versions of other programs on the desktop. Innova, developed by SoftWise Corporation, is an example of a comprehensive, feature-rich, template program that standardizes and simplifies the document creation process. It integrates with a variety of contact management, document management and fax server programs typically found on a legal desktop.
