In a small victory for landlords of bankrupt tenants, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has ruled that the Chuck E. Cheese parent company may not use its bankruptcy filing to avoid paying its rent. The COVID-19 pandemic and related stay-at-home orders have prompted numerous retailers and restaurants to seek bankruptcy protection. Many of those companies successfully used the bankruptcy process to obtain relief from their rental obligations ...
Over the past several months, many disputes have arisen over whether the COVID19 pandemic or government responses to it provide, depending on the jurisdiction, an impossibility or impracticability defense for nonperformance under a contract. Now, we are beginning to see a flood of decisions addressing that defense. We previously wrote about two recent decisions from New York that are instructive on the defense of impossibility — the relevant standard under New York law ...
At Lavery, we spend a lot of time searching patent databases on behalf of our clients. Occasionally, we come across certain patents / applications whose cleverness and creativity make a lasting impression. At this time of year, our attention is naturally drawn to those that are holiday themed. And so, in the spirit of the holidays, we thought it would be nice to share some of them with you ...
As Seen in Law360 Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan issued its opinion in Roseman v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers Of America.[1] ruling in favor of the employer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC, and the union, known as United Auto Workers, or UAW ...
Set-off is a common defence in adjudication. When money is sought it is likely that any available deductions or cross-claims will be used to prevent payment. But does an adjudicator have jurisdiction to consider them? This point was recently re-examined in Global Switch Estates 1 Limited v Sudlows Limited [2020] EWHC 3314 (TCC). Global Switch Global Switch employed Sudlows to fit out and upgrade its data centre in London under a contract based on the JCT Design and Build 2011 ...
In Canada, as elsewhere in the world, intellectual property owners have made numerous attempts to control their distribution channels through trademark law, copyright law, or exclusive contracts, without much success. However, in a recent decision ( Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. v. Simms Sigal & Co. Ltd ...
In November, California voters narrowly passed Proposition 19, which makes significant changes to existing real property tax reassessment rules. Effective after Feb. 15, 2021, Proposition 19 significantly restricts property owners' ability to preserve the current assessed value of California real property transferred between parents and children. Effective Apr ...
Did you know? After more than a decade of discussion, China finally published the 4th amendment to the Patent Law on 17 October 2020. The amendments will come into effect on 1 June 2021. Why does this matter to you? Patent enforcement in China has long been criticised for being ineffective at deterring infringers. The new law enhances the enforcement of patent rights. The amendments introduces punitive damages in patent infringement cases ...
All eyes were on health care in 2020, as the industry faced unprecedented challenges presented by the global coronavirus pandemic. Stories and images of overburdened frontline health care workers dominated the news cycle for most of the year, and the rapid development of one or more seemingly effective vaccines has engendered a cautious optimism for a return to normalcy in 2021 ...
In the recent case of A v D, HCCT 52/2020, the court dismissed the Applicants’ application for an extension of time to set aside an arbitral award. It held that bearing in mind the objectives of the Arbitration Ordinance (Ordinance) there should be finality in an award and the short period of three months to apply to set aside an award in Article 34 (3) of the Model Law (adopted by s ...
In Rushbond Plc v The JS Design Partnership LLP, England’s Technology and Construction Court held that the Defendant firm of architects was not liable for damage to the Claimant’s property caused by a fire started by intruders, when one of its architects left the door to the property open while inspecting it for a potential purchaser ...
In the recent case, Wong Wai Yin v Buildings Department, HCAL 1722/2020, the Court dismissed the Applicant’s application for leave to apply for judicial review against a decision made by the Director of Buildings (Director) of the Buildings Department (BD) to prosecute her for failing to comply with an order to demolish unauthorized building works (UBW) ...
On 27 November 2020, the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng SC, and the Vice-President of the Supreme People’s Court, Mr Yang Wanming, signed the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between Mainland China and the HKSAR (Supplemental Arrangement) ...
In the recent case of T v W, HCA 366/2020, the Plaintiff had commenced court proceedings against the Defendant for HK$5 million plus interest payable under a post-dated cheque drawn by the Defendant. The Defendant applied to stay the proceedings to arbitration, relying on the arbitration clause in the Loan Agreement that referred to the cheque ...
AELEX POWER SECTOR GUIDE - % ǼLEX Legal .avada-select-parent .select-arrow{background-color:#ffffff}.select-arrow{background-color:#ffffff} With the country proceeding to fundamentally restructure the industry to secure the supply of reliable, affordable and, ultimately, sustainable energy, the Nigerian government has introduced some new policies to curb some of these fundamental limitations ...
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently released a draft final rule (Final Rule) that establishes a binding administrative dispute resolution (ADR) process concerning drug costs under the Federal 340B Drug Discount Program (340B Program). As per its terms, the Final Rule will be formally published on Dec. 13, 2020 and will take effect on Jan. 13, 2021 ...
As we informed you previously, on 19th June 2020, Federal Law No. 171-FZ, dated 8th June 2020, (“Law”) introducing some critical amendments, aimed at protection of the Russian-sanctioned entities, entered into force. These amendments were made to the Russian Arbitrazh Procedure Code, which governs litigation in state commercial courts. Please find a brief summary and analysis of this novel legislation at the following link ...
In recent months, the European courts have again decided numerous state aid cases. The following decisions deal with the criteria for determining a secondary activity required for a SGEI, the classification of an enterprise as an SME in case of control by public authorities, the point of time when de minimis aid is granted as well as the prerequisites for funds being considered as state resources ...
It's that time of year again – CLE Compliance season! With the impact of COVID-19, we know many of our clients have found it challenging to meet their annual CLE requirements. Bradley is pleased to offer you a complimentary, online CLE addressing key topics with thought-leading speakers from inside and outside of Bradley. This CLE program includes 1 ethics hour and 2 general hours ...
In a recent Malaya High Court decision, the owner of the vessel My Ferry 2 made a claimed based on a maritime lien pursuant to Section 21(3) of the UK Supreme Court Act 1981, which applies in Malaysia pursuant to Section 24(b) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.(1) The plaintiff alleged that the first defendant (tug KKD000132-T which had towed the second defendant's dumb barge Wantas 17) had collided into the plaintiff's vessel, the My Ferry 2 ...
In this report, you will find a summary of two important resolutions published in the Official Gazette. Resolution No. 191/2020 Today, Resolution No. 191/2020 of the National Institute of Industrial Property was published in the Official Gazette, by means of which it was established that all communication deadlines made by the National Patent Administration and published in the Patents Bulletin will begin to run as from thirty (30) calendar days from said publication ...
