Plan Ahead: Third Circuit Denies Tax Exemption for Asset Sales Made Before Chapter 11 Plan
September 01, 2003
It has been often said that Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code can be summarized as the "Three Rs," precisely "reorganize, restructure, and rehabilitate." In practicality, this includes steps such as "reducing headcount," (firing people, without the euphemism), streamlining operations, reordering debt, and so on. One of the most critical components of such lifesaving steps is the divestiture of assets, in plain English, selling off assets that are either unprofitable and unwanted burdens or those items that can fetch high prices that can add quickly to the cash reserves of a troubled company.
In the Marketplace
September 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
A Practical Guide to Software Leasing
September 01, 2003
Although the demand for software financing and leasing continues to grow at a tremendous rate, software financing and leasing remains one of the most challenging and least understood areas of leasing. The focus of this article is on the financing and leasing of 100% software, although there is some discussion of mixed leases of equipment and software. The goal is to provide lessors with a practical guide to the issues arising in a typical software financing or leasing transaction. The emphasis is on direct leases between a lessor and a lessee, as opposed to a vendor finance arrangement where the software licensor is also a party.
Uneven, But Positive Net Results for Leasing Industry at Midyear
September 01, 2003
Consistent with the turbulent and uneven economy as a whole, the up and down results contained in the Equipment Leasing Association's Quarterly Performance Indicators Report (PIR) for the second quarter of 2003 should not come as much of a surprise. In the final analysis, industry members should take solace in the fact that while it has been a fairly wild past 12 months, there has been a net gain in two of the most important indicators: Total Net Portfolio and Total New Business. Certain other indicators, however, produced more mixed results. Specifically, employment in the industry is down while charge-offs are up when compared with the figures from the second quarter of 2002.
<b><i>Clause & Effect</b></i>Challenges in Drafting Clauses to Arbitrate
September 01, 2003
Parties to entertainment industry agreements often include a provision for the arbitration of contract disputes. This may be motivated by the lower cost and less formality than court proceedings that arbitration can offer, as well as the ability to keep arbitrated disputes out of public view. But the simple language of an arbitration clause can lead to challenges over whether the arbitration process was proper.
Courthouse Steps
September 01, 2003
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Inside the Taco Bell Case
September 01, 2003
Competition in all aspects of the entertainment world - from television to movies, to the record industry, to the Internet, to the video game industry - has grown quite fierce over the past decade. The stakes are higher than ever. So is the demand for successful, breakthrough ideas. Consequently, cases alleging the theft of creative ideas are becoming more and more common. A recent case in which this writer served as plaintiffs' co-counsel demonstrates how substantial damages can be in lawsuits over ideas.
Bit Parts
September 01, 2003
Items of interest in entertainment law.
The Most Feared Battle Waged in Litigation
September 01, 2003
The following is a primer on the "leniency" standard for FLSA actions, and its interplay with Rule 23 guidelines. Why do we need a primer? Well, if one were so disposed as to survey a sufficient number of well-regarded class action practitioners, the result of that inquiry would most assuredly be a virtual consensus that the quest for class certification is, to a targeted defendant, the most feared battle waged in litigation.
