It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of incredulity. Blazing yellow sun. Lapping blue waves. Tanned beach bods and a palm tree’s silhouette swaying against an orange sky. Once ubiquitous, the California Fitness logo that hints at its fabulous lifestyle offering has vanished from Singapore. In its heyday “Cali”, as its legions of fans called it, was not merely a gym, it was a status symbol ...
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Lamps, et al. v. Varela, No 17-988 (April 24, 2019), holding class-wide arbitration cannot be compelled when the underlying arbitration agreement is ambiguous. In 2016, a hacker tricked a Lamps Plus employee into disclosing tax information of approximately 1,300 other employees. Not long after, a fraudulent tax return was filed in the name of respondent Frank Valera, a Lamps Plus employee ...
Coordinating cross-border due diligence is a key skill that more often than not underpins complex, multi-jurisdictional merger and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity (PE)-led transactions. Where due diligence really adds value is in the early stages of the transaction, when local knowledge and expertise are vital to understanding the context of data room information ...
The presence of a small amount of undeclared sesame in a particular product may seem trivial but, for those who are allergic, it can provoke a major reaction. Such was the predicament faced by Pret a Manger in July 2016, following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse that same month due to the undeclared presence of sesame in a Pret baguette ...
In a recent case involving a health care facility, the NLRB issued a 3-1 decision that significantly changed a successor employer's bargaining obligations before imposing the initial terms and conditions of employment on a unionized workforce. While seemingly favorable to employers, the decision also serves as a reminder to companies that they should act cautiously and consult with counsel before they take over a business with a unionized workforce ...
On 04 April 2019, the Council for Arbitration Development at the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation authorized Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) to administer arbitration disputes with the seat in Russia. By 25 April 2019, the Ministry of Justice is expected to include HKIAC into the list of foreign arbitration institutions with the status of a permanently functioning arbitration institution (“PFAI”) ...
The Indonesia National Board of Arbitration (BANI), otherwise known as the BANI Arbitration Centre, provides a range of services in relation to arbitration, mediation, binding opinions and otherforms of dispute resolution. In 2015 all of the original BANI founders passed away. On 8 September 2016 BANIPembaharuan(ie, the Renewed BANI) was created by way of Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MOLHR) Decision AHU-0064837.AH.01.07.TAHUN 2016 of 20 June 2016 ...
A long-running legal dispute in the USA involving the brand Louis Vuitton is interesting. Not only does it deal with parody as a defence to trade mark infringement, but it also deals with trade mark bullying.What happened here was that Louis Vuitton sued a company called My Other Bag for selling cartoon-style tote bags bearing the name Louis Vuitton, claiming trade mark and copyright infringement. The case failed, with the alleged infringer successfully raising the defence of parody ...
South Africa’s East Coast Radio listeners recently got a great beginners’ class in trade mark law. It would be a shame if all the people who missed the broadcast lost out.The discussion dealt with a dispute involving the fast-food chain Chicken Licken and a small Durban vegan restaurant called Oh My Soul. It featured an interview with the couple who own the restuarant, Tallulah and Richard Duffin, as well as the attorney acting for Chicken Licken ...
The reportable arrangement provisions were established by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) with the objective of obtaining information on certain types of transactions. The circumstances under which a person should report an “arrangement” to SARS, as defined in section 34 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (the “TAA”), are contained in sections 34 to 39 of the TAA ...
A key capability for a successful attorney is effective negotiation skills to resolve conflict and legal disputes. Negotiating over 1000 such disputes for clients and serving as a mediator in over 100 cases, has been a tremendous education on how to successfully resolve conflict ...
“You can’t have confidence unless you are prepared. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” — Coach John Wooden Once you have developed the facts (who, what, when, where, why and how) and the law pertaining to your dispute or conflict, you need to prepare for your negotiation or mediation. Coach John Wooden stated “You can’t have confidence unless you are prepared. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail ...
As part of the #MeToo movement, many new laws, regulations, and workplace policies regarding sexual harassment have been enacted. As a result, we are seeing an increased number of claims involving harassment. Courts and parties are favoring mediation more often with these claims because of the sensitivity of some situations and the desire for confidentiality and a quick resolution. This is especially so with claimants who are minors or who are victims of prior abuse ...
The proverb is true – it does take two to tango. It is equally true in mediation. For adversaries to reach a resolution, they need to come to terms on the merits. To maximize the chances of a successful resolution, they should also be of the correct mindset. I have found that one mindset maximizes the chances of success. “Win/Lose.” By definition, parties come to mediation with a dispute. Frequently, the parties are embroiled in litigation ...
The Regional Labor Court (LAG) of Baden-Württemberg, in its ruling of December 20, 2018 (Ref. 17 Sat 11/18), granted an employee a comprehensive right to information against his employer with regard to all personal data collected about his person. The right to information was explicitly confirmed in relation to personal data resulting from internal investigations and data from potential whistleblowers ...
In a recent decision by the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), Judge Stewart-Smith has clarified the position when determining whether two adjudications are “the same or substantially the same” when a party challenges jurisdiction under Para 9(2) of the Scheme for Construction Contracts. He stated that thedecisionreached in the first adjudication must be considered as well as the disputesreferredto adjudication in each ...
On March 13, the Ninth Circuit issued its highly anticipated opinion in HomeAway.com v. City of Santa Monica, upholding the City's ordinance restricting short-term home rentals on popular websites like Airbnb.com. Background In light of the severe housing crisis currently afflicting California, concerns have arisen over the impact of short-term home rentals on the supply of long-term housing ...
Texas LawyerMarch 14, 2019By Rodrigo Figueroa According to ERCOT, the entity that oversees 90 percent of the State’s grid, as of January 2019 there was nearly 1,500 megawatts of installed utility-scale solar capacity in the ERCOT region, with that number expected to almost triple to 4,300 megawatts by the end of 2020 (one megawatt is enough to power about 200 homes in Texas during times of high-peak demand) ...
On March 4, 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled in Cal Fire Local 2881 et. al. v. California Public Employees' Retirement System that public retirement system members do not have a vested right to purchase "airtime" – nonqualified service credit unrelated to public service ...
Are the two trade marks confusingly similar? It’s the question that’s most commonly asked in trade mark law. The issue of confusion can arise in the context of registration: should the trade mark be registered in the face of the earlier trade mark? It can also arise in the context of use: does the trade mark that’s being used infringe the registered trade mark? The two cases that we will consider here both involve registration ...
Every so often, a judgment is passed that upsets settled ways of doing business. When the hue and cry has hushed, upon closer and sober examination, it is often discovered that the old way of doing business was indeed wrong thus a new era is born.International Development Consultants Ltd -V- Jimmy Muyanja and others Misc. 133 of 2018is one such decision ...
If an employer suspects an employee of committing an act of misconduct, it is possible that the employer will want to place that employee on what is usually referred to as a “precautionary suspension”. The question that arises is whether the employer must give the employee a chance to make representations on why he or she should not to be suspended, prior to a decision being taken in this regard ...
TheBig Maccase has enjoyed considerable publicity – many publications have reported on it, includingWorld IP Review. The decision shines a spotlight on some important aspects of trade mark law. In this case, an Irish company called Supermac’s applied for the cancellation of the EU trade mark registration for Big Mac (belonging to McDonald’s) on the basis of non-use ...
Public bodies in the UK (government departments, regulators, local authorities etc.) are legally accountable for the decisions that they make. But what does that mean in practical terms to someone looking to raise a legal challenge to a particular decision? This short blog post provides some very high level guidance in FAQ form. Q. If I think a decision is wrong, am I able to raise a legal challenge against it? A. Maybe ...
On December 29, 2018, Government Emergency Ordinance No. 114/2018 on the establishment of measures in the field of public investments and of fiscal – budgetary measures, the amendment and completion of certain normative acts and the extension of certain deadlines (“GEO 114/2018”) was published in the Official Gazette ...
