Equipment Lessors, Beware
November 30, 2015
On Dec. 31, 2015, amendments to the conflict of laws provisions under the Ontario Personal Property Security Act (PPSA) will be active. Lessors should ensure that they search in the right jurisdictions and register their security interests in accordance with the new rules.
Trans-Jurisdictional Transactions
November 30, 2015
When company transactions and legal issues cross borders ' so-called trans-jurisdictional transactions ' companies begin facing expansive and complex legal issues related to those transactions.
Second Circuit Rules That Lien Is Extinguished Under Chapter 11 Only if Secured Creditor Participates in Case
November 30, 2015
A hornbook principle of U.S. bankruptcy jurisprudence is that valid liens pass through bankruptcy unaffected. This longstanding tenet, however, is at odds with section 1141(c) of the Bankruptcy Code, which provides that, under certain circumstances, "the property dealt with by [a Chapter 11] plan is free and clear of all claims and interests of creditors," except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan.
The Equitable Mootness Doctrine
November 02, 2015
Over time, equitable mootness, a court-created doctrine, had been consistently applied and embraced by appellate courts. The doctrine, as it has been applied, provides that appeals from orders confirming Chapter 11 plans will be considered moot ' and thus not subject to appellate review ' if: 1) a plan has been substantially consummated; and 2) granting appellate relief would unravel the plan or be inequitable to third parties relying on the order confirming the plan. Based on, and consistent with, decisions such as that of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in In re Chateaugay , 94 F.3d 772, 776 (2d Cir. 1996), and the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in In re Continental Airlines , 91 F.3d 553, 560 (3d Cir. 1996) ( en banc ), the equitable mootness doctrine has been read broadly to create a presumption that if a plan has been substantially consummated, appeals of the confirmation order are equitably moot.
Arbitration: Rethinking the Pitfalls
November 02, 2015
Much has been written about the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to address equipment leasing disputes, some of it positive and much of it negative. For a variety of reasons, the equipment lessor legal community has historically been reluctant to embrace alternative methods of avoiding protracted litigation.
State, Federal Law Differ on Franchisors As Joint Employers
November 02, 2015
It seems that the definition of employer under state law is becoming more restrictive but the definition under federal statutes has become more flexible. The reason is a federal political agenda to empower the National Labor Relations Act to encourage collective bargaining of employees of franchises.
Leasing and Finance Industry Economic Outlook
November 02, 2015
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's Q4 update to its 2015 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook reports that investment in equipment and software is expected to grow 4.1% in 2015, which is down from the 5% growth forecast in its Q3 Update to the 2015 Annual Outlook released in July.
