Features
Meals and Entertainment Expenses
Meals and entertainment expenses are generally only 50% deductible, and provided the expenses are ordinary and necessary, have a business purpose and have proper documentation, there should be no issues surviving an IRS audit.
Features
Relearning the Learned Intermediary Doctrine
In typical product liability cases, the manufacturer owes a duty to the eventual consumer to warn of any risks associated with the product. However, in the context of prescription drug cases, courts have recognized that the prescribing doctors, and not their patients, are in the best position to weigh the risks and benefits of a given drug for a particular patient.
Features
FTC Seeks New Privacy Authority
The FTC is about to turn 100, and agency leaders have some gift suggestions for Congress ' new privacy legislation plus a statutory change that would position the FTC as the net neutrality cop.
Features
<i>LifeScan v. Shasta Tech </i>
The Federal Circuit panel discussed patent exhaustion in light of product claims, citing precedent where "the Supreme Court [has] repeatedly held, in addressing device patents, that the sale of a patented device exhausted the patent-holder's right to exclude, and that an infringement suit would not lie with respect to the subsequent sale or use of the device."
Features
Will Fracking Become the Next Mass Tort?
Opponents of fracking have presented some concerns about potential health effects from fracking and its byproducts. Whether those health concerns are legitimate and who would be responsible for adverse health effects is of interest to the plaintiffs' bar.
Features
Dancing on the Cliff Edge
In the last five years, we have heard increasing chatter about the failed business model of law firms, new technology that is erasing the need for lawyers and other information interpreters, and enhanced cognitive systems that mine and interpret data. Let's look at some examples of trends that are leading the way.
Features
Updated Guidelines For Forensic Psychologists
A year ago this month, the American Psychological Association (APA) published a revised and updated set of guidelines for the practice of forensic psychology. This document represents a substantial and long-awaited improvement over the prior set of guidelines, especially with respect to its breadth and clarity.
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Not All Hedges Are <i>De Minimis</i> for Adverse Possession Purposes <br>Adverse Possession of Mapped Streets<br>No Punitive Damages Against Title Insurer
Features
The Pitfalls of Arbitration Administrator Rules
Picking the applicable rules, without more, does not identify the administrator that will oversee the arbitration process. An "expertly drafted" clause must identify the rules and the organization or person who will administer the rules.
Privacy a Sticking Point for Deals
Privacy compliance is increasingly a sticking point between targets and acquirers. Lawyers say they're seeing closes delayed, offering prices reduced, and some transactions scuttled altogether as regulatory scrutiny intensifies and buyers become skittish about privacy risks.
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- 'Insurable Interest' and the Scope of First-Party CoverageThis article reviews the fundamental underpinnings of the concept of insurable interest, and certain recent cases that have grappled with the scope of insurable interest and have articulated a more meaningful application of the concept to claims under first-party property policies.Read More ›
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- The Powerful Impact of The Non-Foreclosure Notice of PendencyRPAPL ' 1331 and RPAPL ' 1403 Notices of Pendency are requisite elements for foreclosing a mortgage. <i>See, Chiarelli v. Kotsifos</i>, 5 A.D.3d 345 (a notice of pendency is a prerequisite to obtaining a judgment in a mortgage foreclosure action); <i>Campbell v. Smith</i>, 309 A.D.2d 581, 582 (a notice of pendency is required in a foreclosure action under RPAPL Article 13). In contrast, an ex parte CPLR Article 65 Notice of Pendency (the "Notice") is not required but it is a significant tool in an action claiming title to, or an interest in or the use or enjoyment of, another's land. The filer does not have to make a meritorious showing or post a bond. Article 65 provides mechanisms for the defendant-owner to vacate the Notice that caused an unilaterally imposed restraint on its realty. But, recent case law establishes the near futility of such efforts if the plaintiff has satisfied the minimal statutory requisites for filing the Notice.Read More ›