The Deductibility of FCA Payments in Light of <b><i>Kokesh</i></b>
<b><i>A Business Expense?</i></b><p>In negotiating FCA or similar settlements with the government, one key consideration is the tax treatment of any payment. While not in the context of deductibility, the Supreme Court this year, in<i>Kokesh v. SEC</i>, analyzed whether disgorgement in an SEC enforcement action was punitive or compensatory.
Third-Party Litigation Funding
<b><i>A New Option for Resource-Strapped Bankruptcy Estates</i></b><p>Despite third-party litigation funding's explosive growth, corporate restructuring/insolvency practitioners in the U.S. are not yet frequent participants in such arrangements. Yet litigation funding could be especially beneficial to provide a new source of capital for otherwise asset-starved estates.
Defenses of Impossibility of Performance and Frustration of Purpose
Parties in complex commercial cases that are accused of defaulting on or breaching a contract may invoke the defense of impossibility, arguing that performance of contractual obligations was rendered impossible by an intervening event. But under New York law, those arguments rarely make it past the motion stage.
<b><i>Ferri v. Powell-Ferri</i></b>: A Critical Planning Case for Practitioners
<b><i>The Trust Ferri Could Be Better Than the Tooth Fairy</i></b><p>Practitioners should encourage all clients with existing irrevocable trusts to meet to review those trusts. Modifying old irrevocable trusts through decanting (or other means) might make improvements, or as in the<i> Ferri v. Powell-Ferri</i> case, save the trust assets.
Employment Attorneys See Business Gains Amid Weinstein Scandal
The heightened awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace has resulted in a surge of client calls to plaintiffs attorneys who litigate such claims.Meanwhile, defense attorneys, bracing for more litigation, said they are fielding more calls from corporate clients that want training conferences and advice on how to handle internal complaints and internal investigations.
IP News
Federal Circuit Resolves Circuit Split, Finds That Venue Is Not Waived Under Rule 12(h)(1)(A) for Cases Brought before <i>TC HeartLand</i><br>Federal Circuit Reverses Award of Lost Profits Because Product Sold to a Single Customer Was an Available Non- Infringing Alternative
Development
Discussion of a case in which a restaurant owner planned to demolish the existing building on a leased parcel to build a 5400-square-foot restaurant
In the Courts
A rare ruling provides insight into the narrow scope that the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product privilege are afforded in criminal investigations.
