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California Federal Court Decides It Lacks Diversity Jurisdiction over Company that Garth Brooks Started in Tennessee<br>Depositions of NBC Defendants in <i>Dream Machines</i> Case in Louisiana Occur in New York and Los Angeles<br>Platters Case in Nevada Ended by Sanction Against Defendant
Features
Earn-Out Payments In <i>Rock Band</i> Video Game at Issue in Delaware Case
Attorneys for Viacom International Inc. told the Delaware Supreme Court in oral arguments in July that their client did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it failed to renegotiate an agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) to distribute the video game <i>Rock Band</i>, thereby reducing the earn-out payments to shareholders of the game's developer, Harmonix Music Systems Inc., which merged with the Viacom entertainment conglomerate in 2006.
Columns & Departments
Cameo Clips
Elton John Song "Nikita" Not Substantially Similar to Plaintiff's Composition "Natasha" <br>Use of Faulkner Quote in Woody Allen Film Isn't Copyright Infringement
Immigration Reform
Business owners wear many hats, often including that of human resource manager. Although savvy about sales, marketing and running their operations, entrepreneurs often struggle with employment eligibility requirements, non-discriminatory hiring practices and immigration issues. Examining potential immigration-related liabilities will help franchisees reduce their risk of non-compliance and develop sound employment practices and effective hiring policies.
What Remains of CE-Style Insurance Neutrality After GIT?
Among the most hard-fought battles involving insurers, policyholders, and asbestos claimants are those that have played out in bankruptcy courts, district courts and courts of appeals called upon to review orders confirming plans of reorganization in asbestos bankruptcies.
Features
Rader's Olive Branch: <i>Ultramercial II</i> Resolves the Judicial Deadlock of <i>CLS Bank</i>
The Federal Circuit's <i>en banc</i> decision in <i>CLS Bank Int'l v. Alice Corp.</i> was roundly criticized as a "nightmare," further cementing the impression that the court was confused and in conflict over the requirements of patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C '101.
Columns & Departments
Court Watch
Supreme Court Ruling Makes It More Difficult To Arbitrate Claims
Features
Supreme Court Weighs in on Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements
On June 17, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held in <i>Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc.</i> that so-called "reverse payment" settlement agreements should be analyzed under a rule-of-reason analysis under which the court weighs the pro- and anti-competitive effects of such agreements on a case-by-case basis.
Features
Federal Healthcare Employer Mandate Delayed: Now What?
With a one-year reprieve from the implementation of the employer mandate under the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA), announced by the Obama Administration in early July, franchisees and small franchisors can breathe a sigh of relief.
Features
Second Circuit Won't Rehear <i>Aereo</i> Case
Aereo, the online service that captures over-the-air broadcasts of copyrighted TV programming and sells them to subscribers for a monthly fee, notched another victory at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- 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 ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.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 ›