Facial Challenge to HSTPA Rejected
November 01, 2020
In Community Housing Improvement Program v. City of New York, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York confronted the most recent challenge to the constitutionality of New York's Rent Stabilization Law. The court rejected all facial challenges to the statute, but allowed some as-applied challenges to proceed at least to the summary judgment stage.
Back to Basics In Times of Uncertainty
November 01, 2020
One of the keys to success in competitive intelligence is communication. Effective communication builds rapport with your clients, which, in turn, builds trust and instills confidence that you will be able to get what they need to achieve their goals. In the last few months, this element of trust and rapport has never been more important.
COVID-19 Dispels Long-Held Law Firm Operations Myths
November 01, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, law firms have learned that a large number of "essential" services and Standard Operating Procedure rules and assumptions about how an office works are 1950's myths that need to be identified, examined and re-engineered or discarded.
Marking, Notice and Knowledge: What Patent Licensors Need to Know
November 01, 2020
A patentee should consider patent marking issues when negotiating a patent license, as well as during the term of the license. Otherwise, the patentee may find that its damages for patent infringement are limited due to its licensee's failure to mark.
ESports Streaming Deal Part of Law Firm Practice Aims
November 01, 2020
It's a deal that provides a potential look into a future where esports, like traditional sports before them, provide a potentially lucrative practice area for firms that want to plant a flag in that plot.
The 'Right to Control' Wire Fraud Theory Should Be Eliminated
November 01, 2020
In recent decades, federal fraud prosecutions have relied on the theory that a defendant can fraudulently deprive a victim of the intangible "right to control" its assets, even if the victim is not deprived of any tangible money or property. While this theory has been repeatedly affirmed by the Second Circuit, it is incompatible with a series of recent Supreme Court cases in which the Court has narrowed the scope of federal white-collar criminal statutes by adopting narrow definitions of the term "property."
Treatment of Straddle Year Federal Taxes in Bankruptcy Cases
November 01, 2020
When does a tax liability claim arise in a bankruptcy case? The issue was recently addressed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware which ruled that federal income taxes for the year in which a debtor files for bankruptcy are entitled to priority treatment as administrative expenses when the end of the taxable year occurred after the bankruptcy petition date.
Lease Default Provisions Face Scrutiny During COVID-19
November 01, 2020
As rent defaults skyrocket in 2020, practitioners reviewing the default provisions in their clients' commercial leases must ask themselves a crucial question: Does the provision set out a conditional limitation or a condition subsequent?
Real Property Law
November 01, 2020
Servient Owner May Not Alter Easement Located By Terms of the Grant
Referee Must Be Appointed Before Partition
Sale of Shares In Corporate Owner Did Not Trigger Right of First Refusal