Legal Tech: How to Streamline Your eDiscovery and Plan for the Future
July 01, 2020
At law firms, attorneys will need to sustain the high quality of work they do in normal times, albeit with reduced budgets. The good news is that with ediscovery — an essential but expensive part of the litigation process — advances in technology since America's last recession have made it possible to save money and time by adopting a more modernized and comprehensive approach.
New York Court Allows J.Crew to Shutter Under Terms of Mall Lease Despite Continuous Operations Provision
July 01, 2020
Malls across America, long suffering even before the rise of COVID-19, are now forced to confront a wave of store closures. Troubled retailers will, without doubt, seek to close their failing mall locations. To stem these efforts, landlords have applied to courts for injunctive relief to force stores to remain open and operating, despite lagging sales, through the enforcement of the "continuous operations provision" found in mall leases.
Recent Court Views on "Making Available" Controversy in Copyright Infringement
July 01, 2020
Federal courts have long disagreed over whether the unauthorized "making available" of a plaintiff's works to the public is sufficient to constitute copyright infringement under the U.S. Copyright Act. Two June District Court decisions demonstrated the differences between the views of the Fourth and Ninth Circuits.
Does Insurance Policy Cover Media Office COVID-19 Closure?
July 01, 2020
According to news reports, and judging from the plethora of lawsuits filed seeking insurance coverage for lost income incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, insurance companies are for the most part denying claims for business interruption losses. The type of insurance claim at issue may make a difference.
Real Property Law
July 01, 2020
Insufficient Hostility to Establish Title By Adverse Possession or Prescriptive Easement
Adverse Possession Claim Against Governmental Land Upheld When Land Not Held for Governmental Purposes
No Preliminary Injunction in Action to Declare Sale Contract Void
New York Court Allows J.Crew to Shutter Under Terms of Mall Lease Despite Continuous Operations Provision
July 01, 2020
Malls across America, long suffering even before the rise of COVID-19, are now forced to confront a wave of store closures. Troubled retailers will, without doubt, seek to close their failing mall locations. To stem these efforts, landlords have applied to courts for injunctive relief to force stores to remain open and operating, despite lagging sales, through the enforcement of the "continuous operations provision" found in mall leases.
What You Need to Know About the USPTO's Proposed Rule Changes to PTAB Trials
July 01, 2020
On May 27, 2020 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proposed rule changes to govern inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), and covered business method (CBM) review proceedings at the PTAB. This article provides a summary of each proposed rule change and its potential impact on PTAB practice.
Preparing for the LIBOR Phase Out: Contract Remediation Starts with Contract Intelligence
July 01, 2020
The London Interbank Offered Rate has long been the global basis for agreements that include a variable interest rate component. However, LIBOR would be replaced by other benchmarks by the end of 2021. Key to assessing risk of exposure, quantifying the financial impact, developing remediation plans and communicating material information to stakeholders will be the identification, analysis and remediation of LIBOR-based contracts.
Supreme Court Reins in Broad Reading of Fraud Statutes with 'Bridgegate' Case Ruling
July 01, 2020
When federal prosecutors focus their attention on high profile misconduct that is not an obvious violation of federal criminal law, they often cannot resist the attractions of broadly worded "catch-all" fraud statutes. From time to time, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has pushed back on efforts to further expand the boundaries of these statutes, leading to reversals of some well-publicized criminal convictions.
Statute of Limitations In Copyright Ownership Disputes: Questions from the Everly Brothers Case
July 01, 2020
Don and Phil Everly's flawless harmonies that resulted in a string of hits in the 1950s and '60s regrettably ended in acrimony. The Sixth Circuit recently issued a decision in a dispute between Phil's heirs and Don over copyright ownership of the No. 1 hit "Cathy's Clown," in which concurring Judge Eric E. Murphy raised important questions about when the statute of limitations should begin to run in copyright cases and whether courts have been correctly applying the law.
