Aggregate Limits: Addressing Arguments Advanced by Policyholders in Asbestos Claims
August 01, 2003
Now entering its third decade, asbestos exposures threaten the financial stability of numerous commercial entities. Asbestos manufacturers, distributors and installers have been forced to declare bankruptcy because of these exposures. RAND Institute for Civil Justice, "Asbestos Litigation in the U.S.A.: A New Look at an Old Issue" (Aug. 2001). Even companies with only a peripheral connection to asbestos — <i>eg</i>, car manufacturers that used asbestos-lined brakes — have been sued. Asbestos claimants continue to aggressively pursue any entity that had any involvement with asbestos. Indeed, the backlog of asbestos suits in the federal and state courts doubled from about 100,000 in 1990 to 200,000 in 1999. Asbestos Compensation Act of 2000, H.R. Rep. No. 106-782, at 18 (2000). Quite simply, absent federal legislative relief, asbestos cases will continue to clog U.S. courts. Moreover, asbestos litigation has and will continue to bog down a large segment of the U.S. economy. Studies are now projecting that asbestos lawsuits will continue until at least 2030.
Case Briefs
August 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from across the country.
Use and Misuse of Insurance Experts: Surviving the Admissibility Challenge
August 01, 2003
The use of expert testimony has dramatically increased over the past two decades, and insurance litigation has not been an exception. Experts have long been used in insurance cases to help the jury determine the facts surrounding the loss, such as in arson cases. But use of experts specializing in the field of insurance itself is becoming commonplace, as are challenges to the admissibility of their testimony.
Court Watch
August 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from across the country.
Love Thy Canadian Neighbor: Ontario Court of Appeal Addresses Franchisor's Duty of Good Faith Part Two of a Two-Part Series
August 01, 2003
The first installment of this series dealt principally with one of the issues before the Ontario Court of Appeal in <i>Shelanu v. Print Three</i>; namely, the unsuccessful attempt of the franchisor to exclude from enforceability an oral agreement made subsequent to a franchise agreement containing a comprehensive "entire agreement" clause. The other principal issue before the court was whether there was, at common law, a duty of good faith owed by a franchisor to its franchisee.
News Briefs
August 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest franchising news from across the country.
What's in a Name? Name Disputes in the Geographical Expansion of Franchises
August 01, 2003
The goal of most franchised businesses is to achieve household name recognition on a nationwide basis. Achieving that goal through nationwide expansion, however, is easier said than done. Expansion raises a number of significant issues, not the least of which is whether the name of the franchised concept is identical or confusingly similar to the name of a similar business in the geographic areas under consideration and/or in other remote areas where the franchisor is not currently operating, but may be so doing in the future.
Excuses, Excuses: FTC's Top Franchise Enforcer Has Heard It All
August 01, 2003
Steven Toporoff is the Franchise Program Coordinator at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and one of the key people working on Franchise Rule enforcement. At the International Franchise Association (IFA) Legal Symposium in May 2003, Mr. Toporoff provided an update on federal regulatory developments and shared insights about how franchise enforcers go about their work. He also compiled the following list of excuses that he and fellow examiners hear from franchisors and their legal representatives. As Mr. Toporoff observed, "franchise attorneys should know better.
A Tale of Two Cases: Mobile Goods Require Uniformity of State Statutes
August 01, 2003
Nationwide uniformity of commercial laws has always been a fundamental goal of the drafters of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. One area, though, that has continually eluded standardization is perfection of liens on mobile goods. Financiers of mobile goods, including vehicles, vessels, trailer homes and modular offices, must grapple with arcane certificate of title statutes that vary widely from state to state. Other state statutes that regulate title and lien interests in mobile goods can become a trap for the unwary. The nature of mobile goods makes uniformity among state statutes a compelling issue for financiers.
Debtor May Assume License as Executory Contract Despite Anti-Assignment Language
August 01, 2003
In a recent decision of interest to the leasing community, the U.S. District Court of Maryland has held that a Chapter 11 debtor could assume a software license agreement (SLA), as an executory contract, although the agreement contained a clause that the debtor could not "assume or assign" the agreement, and even though the assignability of the SLA was clearly precluded by federal copyright law.
