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Court Watch
Franchisor's Decision Not to Renew Franchisee's Lease
A U.S. District Court in New Jersey has held that if a franchisor, as sublessor of the lease of the franchised location, elects not to renew its master lease, it may terminate a Franchise Agreement denominated as a Commission Marketer Agreement (“CMA”) that was coterminous with the lease. In Luso Fuel Inc. v. BP Products North America, Inc. CCH Bus. Franchise Guide '14,166 (D. N.J., June 29, 2009), the plaintiff became a gasoline station franchise in July 2007 as the transferee of a prior owner. Since 1970, the defendant franchisor and its predecessor had a ground lease on the station premises that it subleased to its franchisee. The ground lease was to expire in December 2008, unless the defendant renewed it, which it had the right to do “at its election.” The CMA stated that the term of the franchise was subject to the term of the ground lease. In June 2008, the plaintiff was notified by the defendant that the defendant had lost its right to continue its tenancy, and, therefore, the CMA would terminate at the end of 2008. The plaintiff spent a considerable sum of money on the location based, it claimed, on the defendant's assurance that the lease would be renewed.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls
With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.