Drug and Medical Device Manufacturers
July 28, 2005
Following a guilty plea last year by a major pharmaceutical company, Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum declared that "[t]he Department of Justice is committed to rooting out and prosecuting health care fraud. It is of paramount importance that the Department use every legal tool at its disposal to assure the health and safety of the consumers of America's health care system." The tools -- the variety of different criminal statutes and theories used to prosecute drug and device manufacturers -- are so diverse as to defy easy summary.
Restrictive Covenants in Commercial Developments
July 28, 2005
Recorded restrictive covenants in commercial developments present many issues. Two important factors to consider when granting such covenants include: 1) the reoccurring impact that they may have over the life span of a shopping center, and 2) the potential impact of such covenants on the current and future objectives of landlords and tenants who are parties to them.
Are Prisoners Medical Captives?
July 28, 2005
In this article, we focus on prospective living organ donors who face capital punishment. Some of the issues raised may also apply to The use of prisoners as living organ donors raises many ethical concerns. As evidenced by the different decisions that have been reached in the cases cited, there is no clear consensus as to how these cases should be handled. Beyond weighing the motives and mental capacity of the prisoner, it is important to determine whether or not someone on death row is capable of giving truly informed consent to the transplant procedure. The fact that donating an organ could prolong an inmate's life can significantly influence the decision, whether by adding a rational incentive in the inmate's best interest, by creating conflict and mixed motives, or by compromising the inmate's decision-making ability even to the extent of exerting undue influence. Moreover, there needs to be an awareness of various secondary gains for a prisoner in consenting to organ donation. Such secondary gains as expressing genuine remorse or salvaging some sense of pride in the face of certain death by engaging in an altruistic act need not be denied to prisoners in the absence of a psychosis that impairs choice behavior.
Dilemma over Drug Safety
July 28, 2005
There is a newly urgent push from outside the pharmaceutical research and development community to get drug firms and the government to disclose the results of all tests conducted on new drugs and to immediately reveal information about problems that develop after those drugs go on the market. Consumers and health care providers say they're tired of finding out belatedly that negative information has come to light about the drugs they take or prescribe.
The Leasing Hotline
July 28, 2005
Highlights of the latest commercial leasing cases from around the country.
Exclusive Use Clauses in Shopping Center Leases
July 28, 2005
There are few shopping center lease clauses that are more important to a retail tenant than the exclusive use clause. For many retail tenants, the scope of the exclusive use clause represents the essence of the tenant's bargain with the landlord. A tenant's ability to "corner the market" in a retail center for its particular use adds tremendous value to the leasehold estate and can significantly expand the tenant's gross sales at the center.
The Pitfalls for Landlords to Avoid in Leases Involving New Construction
July 28, 2005
New construction always involves myriad unknowns — cost and timing are two of the biggest. However, if you add the complication of negotiating a lease at the same time, the problems quickly multiply. This article addresses some of these issues and provides advice for the landlord's use to avoid ending up in a situation where the lease becomes unprofitable.
In the Spotlight: What Every Tenant Should Know About Negotiating Parking Privileges in Commercial Leases
July 28, 2005
Designated, reserved parking spaces appurtenant to office leases are highly valued by certain types of tenants, especially in the downtown, metropolitan markets. Thus, a tenant's counsel must carefully consider the parking provision when negotiating an office lease. Landlord-oriented form leases often give the landlord the right: 1) to expand or change any parking area, 2) to temporarily close off portions of the parking areas for purposes of expanding, repairing, restoring, constructing or reconstructing the parking decks, and 3) to change, from time-to-time, the rules and regulations with regard to the parking area. The tenant's counsel should always make sure that the lease properly limits these rights so that they cannot be used in a manner that will potentially, adversely affect the tenant's use of its parking rights. All new rules should be limited by a "reasonableness" qualifier, and the landlord should be required to enforce the rules and regulations in a "nondiscriminatory manner as against tenant."
Practice Tip: Experts and the Morass of Mass Tort Litigation
July 28, 2005
An expert retained in mass tort litigation may be required to focus on multiple cases consolidated for discovery and trial, involving thousands of pages of medical records, deposition transcripts, and other discovery material. Expert opinions in mass tort litigation must address both case-specific and generic issues. A statement that is innocuous in one case may be harmful when applied to another. Taken together with the technical sophistication of the issues involved in each case, these issues necessitate a measured approach for dealing with experts.
