Features
The Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act
Part One of this article described the genesis of the uniform acts ' UPMAA and UPAA ' and compared New York law with the Acts. Part Two reviewed other differences between New York law and the UPMAA and UPAA. The third and final part herein discusses variations in the acts.
Court Watch
Unauthorized Use of Registered Mark <br>Claims in Curves Franchisee Dispute
Lessons from the $148M Fraud by Dole's GC and CEO
Last month, we discussed the fact that the Delaware Chancery Court ordered Dole Food Co. Inc. CEO David Murdock and COO and General Counsel C. Michael Carter to pay Dole shareholders $148 million for fraud in connection with the company's 2013 take-private deal. The Aug. 27 decision is one of the largest awards ever to shareholders in a deal-related lawsuit. We conclude this discussion herein.
Features
'Ambiguous' Franchise Agreement Sinks Franchisor
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a judgment entered in favor of a group of franchisees who sued for breach of contract when the franchisor charged them royalties and fees that the parties negotiated specifically to exclude from their franchise agreements.
Five Critical Questions Every Client Should Ask Law Firms About Budgets
Although dramatic changes in law's economic landscape have conferred far greater bargaining leverage and purchasing power on clients, in budget discussions with outside law firms, many in-house counsel just aren't asking the right questions.
Features
<b><i>Practice Tip:</i></b> Insurance Issues in M&A Transactions
Product liability insurance is one of the few coverages that is written on either an occurrence or claims-made basis, depending on the extent of the insured's risk and financial ability to pay the premium. This article explores some of the 'insurance issues arising out of M&A transactions.
Yates Memo Could Bring Balance to Prosecutions
On Sept. 9, the DOJ issued "the Yates Memorandum," detailing how officials expect prosecutors to hold individuals accountable for criminal wrongdoing. The memo may have result in a potential reduction in the number of corporate settlements when there is no clear evidence of criminal conduct.
Assessing Director Independence
A recent opinion by the Delaware Supreme Court emphasizes the need for boards of directors to be aware of close interpersonal relationships between their directors and any party with a financial stake in a contemplated transaction.
Features
Controversy from Talent Lawyer's Article on JAMS
Arbitration provider JAMS is staying neutral, sort of, on an entertainment litigator's claim that it favors big studios in arbitrations and mediations. The claim, made by Bird Marella partner Ronald Nessim in a law review this summer, is essentially that JAMS has a lock on studio business, with the overwhelming majority of studio contracts reviewed by Nessim naming JAMS as the dispute resolution provider.
How Much Investigation Is Enough?
Employers have frequently questioned the adequacy of the EEOC's pre-suit investigations. To their consternation, in September 2015, the Second Circuit held that courts do not have authority to review the extent or sufficiency of the EEOC's investigation of charges.
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- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
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- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›