The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is conducting a criminal investigation into transactions connected to The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) that were arranged by embattled film producer Harvey Weinstein, The New York Times reported. The transactions involved $600,000 raised at a May 2015 auction in Cannes on the French Riviera from a pair of fundraising packages arranged by Weinstein.
A Business Expense?
In negotiating FCA or similar settlements with the government, one key consideration is the tax treatment of any payment. While not in the context of deductibility, the Supreme Court this year, inKokesh v. SEC, analyzed whether disgorgement in an SEC enforcement action was punitive or compensatory.
A New Option for Resource-Strapped Bankruptcy Estates
Despite third-party litigation funding's explosive growth, corporate restructuring/insolvency practitioners in the U.S. are not yet frequent participants in such arrangements. Yet litigation funding could be especially beneficial to provide a new source of capital for otherwise asset-starved estates.
Parties in complex commercial cases that are accused of defaulting on or breaching a contract may invoke the defense of impossibility, arguing that performance of contractual obligations was rendered impossible by an intervening event. But under New York law, those arguments rarely make it past the motion stage.
The Trust Ferri Could Be Better Than the Tooth Fairy
Practitioners should encourage all clients with existing irrevocable trusts to meet to review those trusts. Modifying old irrevocable trusts through decanting (or other means) might make improvements, or as in the Ferri v. Powell-Ferri case, save the trust assets.
Although the current news cycle is a barrage of negative situations, the silver lining is that they offer law firms a wealth of teachable moments about the importance of preparing for and responding to a crisis situation.
The heightened awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace has resulted in a surge of client calls to plaintiffs attorneys who litigate such claims.Meanwhile, defense attorneys, bracing for more litigation, said they are fielding more calls from corporate clients that want training conferences and advice on how to handle internal complaints and internal investigations.
Federal Circuit Resolves Circuit Split, Finds That Venue Is Not Waived Under Rule 12(h)(1)(A) for Cases Brought before TC HeartLand
Federal Circuit Reverses Award of Lost Profits Because Product Sold to a Single Customer Was an Available Non- Infringing Alternative
Discussion of a case in which a restaurant owner planned to demolish the existing building on a leased parcel to build a 5400-square-foot restaurant
