Recent reports indicate that the number of mergers that were challenged by stockholders during the fourth quarter of 2015 dropped significantly, with estimates ranging from 34% to 21%.1 This is a seismic shift from prior years, when almost 95% of public company transactions resulted in litigation. The drop in lawsuits is attributable to a series of rulings by the Delaware Court of Chancery during the second half of last year ...
On December 18, Congress voted to reauthorize the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program without change through September 30, 2016. The EB-5 program was scheduled to sunset on September 30, 2015 but was granted two short-term reprieves while lawmakers debated several changes which would have made investing in the program more difficult, including increases to the minimum investment amount and restrictions on the calculation of indirect job creation ...
On December 24, 2015 Mexico’s Energy Transition Act was published in the Federal Gazette. The Act’s purpose is to regulate: The sustainable use of energy,The obligations of power companies in the area of clean energies, andThe reductions of the polluting emissions of the electric power industry, ensuring the competitiveness of the productive sectors. To read the full alert, click here ...
This week, in Teladoc, Inc. v. Texas Medical Board, 1-15-CV-343 RP, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, in one of the first federal decisions interpreting North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, 135 S. Ct. 1101 (2015), denied the Texas Medical Board immunity from an antitrust claim in a narrow reading of the state-action immunity doctrine. To read the full alert, click here ...
As part of the implementation of the Mexican energy reform, the Mexican government has selected certain fields that will gradually be tendered to foreign and domestic companies for hydrocarbon exploration and production projects. Round One comprises 109 blocks for exploration and 60 blocks for production, and includes new areas of different sizes and types of resources, including: (i) deep-water; (ii) shallow-water; and (iii) on-shore fields ...
On November 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered three decisions on the application of the the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, RSC 1985, c. B-3 (BIA) and its interaction with certain provincial statutes.OVERVIEW OF THE FACTSIn Saskatchewan (Attorney General) v. Lemare Lake Logging Ltd. Ltd ...
Even in a difficult commodity price environment, acquisition transactions can produce lucrative opportunities for buyers of oil and gas interests and creditor relief for sellers. One type of transaction in particular provides an opportunity for distressed sellers not only to avoid bankruptcy, but also eliminate the greatest amount of debt possible that is secured by its oil and gas properties ...
Two recent Labour Court decisions have highlighted the duty of trade unions and their officials to act to prevent unprotected strikes and unlawful actions during the course of a strike. These add to the growing list of decisions in which the court has indicated that it will hold unions accountable for unlawful acts by their members ...
Dozens of North American oil and gas producers have commenced Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases this year, including most recently, Escalara Resources Co., RAAM Global Energy Company, Miller Energy Resources, Inc., and Parallel Energy LP ...
As we continue our series of articles relating to distressed commodity prices in the oil and gas market, we expound on the option to monetize assets that are not included in the calculation of your borrowing base. This topic was briefly discussed in our article, “A Dozen Ways to Stretch Your Borrowing Base.” Under reserve based loans (“RBLs”), producing reserves have always been what one may call the “belle of the ball ...
A number of recently announced initiatives could introduce potentially significant changes to the rules governing the workforce in the UAE. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Labour promulgated Ministerial Resolutions Nos. 764, 765 and 766 of 2015. According to the reports of Ministry of Labour spokesmen that appeared in the local press, the new resolutions were designed to deter a number of undesirable practices ...
LCS has provided a 2015 Taiwan Employment Law Update. 1. Five-Day Workweek to Kick Off Next Year An amendment to the Labor Standards Act (the "LSA") will take effect on January 1, 2016, paving the way for a five-day workweek and for working hours per week to be reduced to 40 hours. The LSA currently sets a ceiling of regular working hours of 84 hours fortnightly. 2 ...
The Philippines section of The Mergers & Acquisitions Review 9th Edition contains an overview of M&A activity in the country, general introduction to the legal framework for M&A, developments in corporate and takeover law and their impact, foreign involvement in M&A transactions, significant transactions, key trends and hot industries, financing of M&A, main sources and developments, employment law, tax law, competition law, and outlook ...
Last October 30, the provincial government announced the creation of 'Passeport Entreprises', an action plan focused on two main points: to facilitate access by businesses to government contracts and make the Quebec government's tendering processes more transparent and rigorous ...
Since the new Chinese government came into power in 2013, it has proposed a host of new strategies to realise the “Chinese Dream”. One of the more significant strategies, led personally by President Xi Jinping, is known as “One Belt, One Road” plan, which will have a huge, undeniable impact on the global economy over the next 10 years. The One Belt, One Road strategy aims to provide a comprehensive roadmap for partnership between China and the rest of the world ...
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Conditions for Secondment of Employees Abroad and their Protection (the “Law”). The Law will be applicable two months following its coming into force, i.e. 13 January 2016. The Law regulates the secondment of employees abroad in a more modern manner compared to the currently applicable Law on Protection of Citizens of FR of Yugoslavia working abroad ...
Modern day company law has largely moved away from the concept of “ultra vires” which sought to limit the ability of a company to enter into transactions outside its stated objects. The British Virgin Islands officially moved away from the concept in 2005 pursuant to provisions under the BVI Business Companies Act ...
Known worldwide for its robust shipping registry, trusts, funds, and corporate law sectors, the British Virgin Islands is emerging as a globally competitive jurisdiction for registering and protecting intellectual property, thanks to the enactment of the highly anticipated Trade Mark Act, 2013. The Act, which clarifies, protects, and streamlines the trademark processes, institutes beneficial legal proceedings and conditions for the welfare of intellectual and industrial properties in the BVI ...
UPDATE: On December 21, 2015, Common Pleas Judge Joseph James struck down the employee sick leave ordinance, ruling that Pittsburgh’s City Council lacked authority to “to enact any ordinance determining any duty, responsibility or requirement of a business or private employer.” The ordinance would have required employers of more than 15 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and smaller employers to offer up to 24 hours of paid sick leave ...
A federal appellate court in the Midwest suggests that while unions do not have blanket approval to inspect an employer’s worksite, the union’s interest in safety generally will outweigh an employer’s interest in confidentiality and property rights. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Caterpillar, Inc. v. NLRB, 803 F.3d 360 (7th Cir ...
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and someone who has seen the challenges that veterans face firsthand, I can attest to the benefits of giving veterans an opportunity to return to work following periods of service and providing families with the opportunity to manage the needs of their servicemembers. At Spilman, we feel that employers should adhere to best practices guidelines and prepare to implement and facilitate such enforcement ...
In October, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) employed a little-used procedural doctrine to issue a consolidated complaint against a parent company of a chain of hospitals located throughout the U.S. The NLRB issued the consolidated complaint, which included 29 unfair labor practice charges, against Community Health Systems, Inc ...
Systemic amendments to Poland’s Bankruptcy & Recovery Law enter into force on 1 January 2016. The main goal of the amendment is to create separate restructuring proceedings governed by the new Restructuring Law. Restructuring proceedings are to replace the former bankruptcy proceedings involving conclusion of an arrangement, as well as recovery proceedings, currently conducted under the Bankruptcy & Recovery Law ...
On 22 September 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California considered whether Warner/Chappel Music, Inc. (Warner) owned the copyright to the infamous Happy Birthday lyrics. U.S. District Judge George H. King held that Warner, which had been receiving c$2million dollars per year in royalties, failed to adduce convincing evidence that it owned the copyright to the Happy Birthday lyrics (as distinct from the melody which is already in the public domain) ...
Quebec mining, oil and gas companies are heceforth subject to the imposing disclosure regime under theact respecting transparency measures in the mining, oil and gas industries(the "act"), which came into force last October 21. This statute echoes theExtractive Sector Transparency Measures Act(Canada),1which took effect on June 1, 2015, and follows a global trend to increase the transparency of mining, oil and gas exploration and development ...
