LJN Newsletters

Over the past 10 years, e-mail has replaced the telephone as the favored method of communication within Fortune 500 companies. The typical employee might send or receive dozens of e-mails per day, with the amount of e-mail traffic growing exponentially the higher up the employee sits on the corporate ladder. In a large company, the CEO might receive hundreds of e-mails daily, leaving to an assistant the task of 'screening' them. This explosive growth in e-mail has not been lost on prosecutors. In case after case, prosecutors are securing convictions with carelessly written e-mail.

It is generally understood that materialmen, contractors, subcontractors and others (collectively called 'contractors') who perform labor or furnish materials on construction projects are entitled under state law to assert a mechanics' lien against real property for the value of the labor or materials they provide. What is less clear is the effect of a bankruptcy petition that is filed before the contractor has taken the necessary steps to create or perfect its rights.

Much to the relief of many in the Third Circuit, its long-awaited en banc ruling in the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Cybergenics Corp. v. Chinery, (en banc) No. 01-3805 (May 29, 2003) disagreed with the decision of one of its panels and upheld the right of parties other than a debtor or trustee to pursue avoidance actions under the Bankruptcy Code on a derivative basis. In doing so, the court supported the well-established practice allowing these derivative actions, and eschewed a slavish plain-language interpretation of Section 544(b) in favor of a broader, multi-section reading.

Highlights of the latest commercial leasing cases from around the country.

All lawyers dealing with transactions involving transfers, assignments or amendments of long-term leases entered into prior to 1934 need to be aware of the possible ramifications of a 'gold clause' in the original lease.

It is happening more and more — anchor stores going dark and landlords scrambling to fill the void. Unfortunately, in their zeal to relet, often landlords offer their empty spaces to prospective tenants who will change the structure of the center and compete with existing tenants. This article will discuss several bases upon which tenants may be able to rely to prevent a competitor from moving in, quite literally, next door.

Lease provisions that provide for the tenant to make periodic payments to the landlord for parking privileges are often unclear as to whether the tenant is required to pay for the availability of such spaces, whether or not the tenant utilizes them.

Given the age-old maxim of retailers that what matters is 'Location, Location and Location,' it is often difficult for an in-line retail tenant to confront the fact that its landlord can require it to relocate its store to other space in a mall or shopping center. On the other hand, owners of malls and shopping centers must retain the right to expand, to add new anchors and to remerchandise their properties from time to time — thus, the 'Relocation' provision found in virtually all forms of in-line retail leases. This article explores the major issues that a relocation provision creates for a retail tenant and how some of those issues might be addressed in the lease.