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Insuring Against Disaster: Coverage for Product Recalls
In recent months, it has seemed that barely a week has gone by without the announcement of a major product recall, whether it be of pet food (tainted with a wheat gluten additive), toothpaste (containing poisonous diethylene glycol, a solvent used in antifreeze that imparts a sweet taste), millions of children's toys (the subject of four major recalls, several of which involved lead paint), almost half a million light truck tires (lacking a safety feature that guards against tread separation), or 3.6 million Ford cars, trucks, and SUVs (containing a cruise control switch linked to vehicle fires). Recalls have become so common of late that satirical magazine The Onion 'reported' in late July that shares of Constitution Solutions, LLC ('COSO') 'fell sharply Tuesday after several Eastern bloc constitutions written by COSO were recalled due to loopholes that allowed Vladimir Putin to re-form the Soviet Union.' Stockwatch, The Onion, July 26-Aug. 1, 2007, at 2.
Product recalls have, of course, been with us for many years. The Department of Transportation, for example, acquired the statutory authority to order recalls some 40 years ago. Since that time, more than 390 million cars and other vehicles have been recalled, as have 46 million tires, 66 million pieces of motor vehicle equipment, and 42 million child safety seats. See National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Motor Vehicle Defects and Recall Campaigns (undated) (document available on the Administration's Web site, www.nhtsa.gov).
Recalls are not new, but they are becoming more frequent. In 1990, there were 208 auto recalls. Thirteen years later, in 2003, there were 529, or more than twice as many. See Carolyn Aldred & Bradford Wernle, 'Suppliers Face Rising Risk Without Recall Insurance,' Automotive News, May 31, 2004, at 38F. Moreover, businesses and the public are paying increased attention to recalls, as illustrated by the extensive press coverage in recent months concerning various products imported from China.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?