The Seventh Circuit recently reversed a $2.7 million damages award against a mortgage company accused of lying in applications for federal loan guarantees. See United States v. Anchor Mortg. Corp., 2013 WL 1150213 (7th Cir. Mar. 21, 2013) ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan's new website went live on 1 March 2013. As a result, previously sent links to downloadable publications are no longer accessible. Below are a few updated links: Client Alert: SEC requires tax identification number for foreign investorsLegal Bulletin: Technology, Media & Telecoms (Jan ...
CONTENTS Some practical advice on the recording of customer phone calls in QuebecEmployment placement agencies : who is responsible for the source deductions?What are your recourses if you believe a contract is about to be, or has been, awarded to another bidder? SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE ON THE RECORDING OF CUSTOMER PHONE CALLS IN QUEBECGuillaume LabergeMany businesses engage in the practice of recording customer calls ...
Information is often the most valuable asset that a business has. Businesses that think strategically about how they create and develop their information assets are able to increase their value, frequently by substantial amounts. For example, data analytics can help a business understand its clients, what they are likely to buy - when and how. Cloud computing offers efficiencies and cost savings ...
The Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion on March 7, 2013 that eliminated an oft-used tool in the defense arsenal by limiting application of the economic loss rule to products liability cases. The DecisionIn a 5-2 decision authored by Justice Jorge Labarga, the court held unequivocally that "the application of the economic loss rule is limited to products liability cases." Tiara Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc., __ So.3d __, 2013 WL 828003, *8 (Fla. Mar. 7, 2013) ...
The U.S. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, advised the Senate Intelligence Committee this week that cyber attacks are the number one threat to national security. “Increasingly, state and non-state actors are gaining and using cyber expertise,” Clapper stated in his remarks to the Committee. “These capabilities put all sectors of our country at risk, from government and private networks to critical infrastructure ...
An increasing number of public companies – particularly banks and financial institutions – are disclosing cybersecurity incidents in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Companies are also replacing boilerplate cyber risk disclosures with more detailed disclosures of specific events or threats ...
A complex system of laws, rules and regulations apply to real estate and real estate transactions in the Philippines. Key prohibitions on the ownership and disposition of lands are found in our organic law (i.e. the 1987 Philippine Constitution) while incentives and other regulatory mechanisms for the sale, purchase, lease and ownership of different types of real estate are scattered in various statutes and regulations ...
Bankruptcy Code § 1129(a)(10) provides that in order for a plan proponent to “cram down” - i.e., force acceptance of - a plan of reorganization on a dissenting class of creditors, at least one impaired class of creditors must vote in favor of the plan. Because a plan is often not accepted by all classes entitled to vote, the ability to procure at least one impaired, accepting class in order to cram down a dissenting class is essential in achieving plan confirmation ...
A recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) could mean trouble for many Community trade marks. There is now a heightened risk that national courts will invalidate these trade marks if they have not been used extensively enough in the European Union. Is broader protection better?A Community trade mark (CTM) confers protection in all 27 EU member states ...
On February 27, 2013, the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 opinion in Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, 568 U.S. ___ (2013), that securities fraud class action plaintiffs need not prove materiality at the class certification stage to invoke the fraud-on-the-market presumption of class-wide reliance ...
The United States Supreme Court yesterday significantly limited the federal government’s ability to bring an action for civil penalties more than five years after the alleged misconduct occurred. In Gabelli v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Court held that the five-year limitations period governing most enforcement actions begins to run when the underlying violation occurred – not when the government discovered the violation ...
There are several TCI legal entities regularly established for carrying out business either internationally or domestically. The registration process of these entities is comparatively straightforward and can usually be completed for a fixed cost and within a short timeframe and are often attractive options in TCI as an offshore financial centre with no corporate or personal income tax ...
Outside the work permit regime, there are two possible types of residency in TCI-a. Permanent residency (which frequently comes with the right to work); b. Shorter term residency. Permanent residency is now available only to those who have lived and worked in TCI for a stipulated period. Previously such residency was available to individuals who made a specific level of investment in TCI: since September 2012, that is no longer the case ...
For the first time, Texas rules permit a motion to dismiss. On February 12, the Texas Supreme Court released the final version of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a, which (1) establishes procedures for dismissal of civil claims, and (2) provides for the mandatory award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party ...
President Obama recently signed an executive order focused on improving the security of the nation’s infrastructure from cyber attack. Borrowing concepts from failed legislative efforts, the executive order (“Order”) calls for increased information sharing between the federal government and the private sector and provides for the development of a voluntary cybersecurity program for owners and operators of critical infrastructure ...
An expansion strategy doesn’t always need to be M&A driven. Hunton & Williams LLP partners Robert Acosta-Lewis and Susan Failla make the case for strategic alliances. When considering expanding into emerging markets, companies often look to traditional M&A oppor tunities or explore possible distribution or sales representation relationships. While both of these avenues may offer potential advantages, they also carry risks and limitations ...
It is still possible to regain property expropriated by the state after the Second World War, and in some cases compensation is awarded instead. Real estate in Poland was expropriated by the state on a massive scale. This was done by operation of law or through administrative orders, which in most cases were issued in violation of the law in force at that time ...
On January 31, 2013, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in In re Indianapolis Downs, LLC1declined to designate the votes of parties to a post-petition restructuring support agreement (i.e., a lock-up agreement), instead confirming the Debtors’ Modified Second Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”) based on the votes of such parties ...
After several years of legislative effort in Mexico, particularly in the area of tax, a structure has been established that now makes it attractive for companies to issue, and investors to acquire, securities based on a beneficial interest in an Infrastructure and Real Estate Trust (known by its Spanish acronym “FIBRA”) ...
Here are select December 2012 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on civil law: Civil Code Damages; When Applicable. It is essential that for damages to be awarded, a claimant must satisfactorily prove during the trial that they have a factual basis, and that the defendant’s acts have a causal connection to them ...
Amendments to Mining Business Regulation The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources recently issued Regulation No. 24 of 2012 (“Regulation 24”) amending his Regulation No. 28 of 2009 on Organizing Coal and Mineral Mining Businesses ...
