Aggregator Deals With Online Music Services
In Part One, the author discussed the emergence of content aggregators and began listing the issues to watch out for when contracting with one. Part Two continues that list of the major points of an aggregator agreement.
The Effects of Terminating a Pension Plan in Bankruptcy
Oftentimes, one of the largest commitments of a company is its ongoing funding obligations under its pension plan. Contribution obligations to a company-sponsored pension plan will often influence the timing of a financially troubled company's bankruptcy filing. An example of this is the Chapter 11 case of United Air Lines (United) and its affiliates. United viewed its obligations to make significant contributions to its pension plans as somewhat incompatible with its need to create a fiscally strong enterprise so as to effectively compete with low- cost carriers that do not have the same economic burdens.
The Retail Debtor's 'Year in Review'
Welcome to the most magical time of a retailer's year -- the Holiday Selling Season. It seems fitting as retailers enter this "make-it-or-break-it" period that we examine the Retail Debtors' Year in Review. After all, if Santa is kind to bankruptcy professionals, a few retailers currently holding on will go down the ... chimney. If 2004 provides any indication as to how some courts are approaching issues affecting retailers, various courts were anti-vendor in special relief; pro-contract party regarding assumption and assignment issues; and, when it comes to the asset-disposition auction process, it is anybody's game!
Asbestos and Mass Tort Claims
Asbestos-related bankruptcies are prevalent for various reasons, including expense of traditional tort litigation, lack of either state or federal procedures to handle mass litigation, disputes between insurer and insured, and need for many companies' creditors and shareholders to achieve certainty with large current and contingent asbestos liabilities. Bankruptcy remains an attractive alternative and sometimes last resort because section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code provides a mechanism for companies faced with overwhelming asbestos liability to resolve current and future asbestos claims by channeling them to a trust, thereby allowing the effected company to avoid what could result in an inevitable liquidation. One necessary component of this channeling mechanism is section 524(g)(4)(B)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code which requires the Bankruptcy Court appoint "a legal representative for the purpose of protecting the rights of persons that might subsequently assert [asbestos claims] ..." 11 U.S.C. ' 524(g)(4)(B)(i), commonly referred to as a future claimants' representative (FCR).
Protecting Against Common Pitfalls Encountered By Landlords in Bankruptcy Cases
Since its enactment in 1978, the Bankruptcy Code has provided a means for debtors either to reorganize their financial affairs or to liquidate their assets. Within this framework, bankrupt tenants have often utilized the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code to the detriment of landlords, and landlords have increasingly become either involuntary creditors or financiers during a bankruptcy case or have suffered some type of unexpected loss.
Bankruptcy Lease Sales: Four Basic Rules to Play By
Bankruptcy presents a unique forum for a cash-strapped debtor to sell otherwise unassignable and unprofitable leases to third parties, for immediate cash, and free of liens, certain contract restrictions, certain transaction costs, and future liability. While the bankruptcy arena offers unique opportunities, it poses special risks. The primary players in a bankruptcy lease sale scenario are the debtor, the prospective buyers, and the landlord. A debtor's goal is getting as much value as fast as possible for its creditors. A prospective buyer wants to pay as little as possible, with sufficient due diligence, and have an unassailable sale with whatever lease modifications are necessary for it to remodel and reopen. A landlord's objective is timely lease compliance and a financially and operationally sound buyer. Each party can benefit from following these four basic rules of bankruptcy lease sales.
2004 e-Discovery Rulings Recap
The courts in 2004 issued a plethora of important rulings on e-discovery, most of which were not good for businesses. The rulings generally require companies to make greater efforts to protect potentially discoverable records, allow these records to be more easily obtained through discovery, and restrict the format in which these records must be produced.
Ethical Considerations in e-Discovery: 2004 and Beyond
During the last several years, courts and regulatory agencies have been hard at work issuing new standards, rules and court decisions in an attempt to clarify the obligations of counsel with regard to e-data. <br>But despite having its share of the limelight, e-discovery still poses difficult questions. In the past, the focal point of e-discovery consistently dealt with how to handle and manage information ' leaving attorneys to figure out the more ambiguous areas. Among the "untouched" areas of e-discovery are certain ethical considerations.
