<table border="0" width="780" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p>To date, under Panama law (and ever since 1917<a name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="wsg_admin14 ...
Starting tomorrow, organizations may start submitting applications for new gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains). The application window will close on April 12, 2012. The new gTLDs move well beyond the core group of generic top level domains of .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .edu. Specifically, they can consist of any combination of three or more letters that an applicant chooses ...
On December 10, 2011, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin issued a proclamation calling for a special session of the Legislature for the purpose of considering and acting upon legislation regarding horizontal natural gas well operations. The bill presented by the governor (SB 4001; HB 401) drew heavily from the draft legislation developed by the Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale ...
There has been considerable activity at the state and federal level over the past few months regarding when companies must “aggregate” emissions from operations to determine whether they are subject to the more stringent “major source” permitting requirements under the New Source Review (“NSR”) and Title V provisions of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) ...
Subsidiary guaranties, also commonly known as upstream guaranties, are instruments used for the benefit of lenders and borrowers alike. Upstream guaranties benefit borrowers and lenders because they enable borrowers to obtain more favorable terms and enable lenders to lend based upon a larger asset pool to secure debt ...
Unfortunately, as we all know, foreclosures are necessary. But foreclosures, by their nature, involve a certain degree of unpleasantness and challenges. A particularly thorny set of challenges arises when the foreclosure involves income producing property, especially residential rental property. The Problem. Imagine this all too familiar real world scenario: as security for a loan, the borrower grants the bank a deed of trust lien against the borrower’s apartment building ...
In its judgment in the case of Banque Nationale Du Canada v. Agence Du Revenu Du Quebec, 2011 QCCA 1943, issues on October 21, 2011, the Court of Apperal of Quebec discussed two grounds of dispute that might be of interest to the hypothecary creditors of tax debtors when the tax authorities rely on provincial statutory provisions pertaining to deemed trusts, namely: 1. The limits of the scope of the deemed trust; and 2. The Estoppel ...
In its judgement in the case of Banque Nationale Du Canada v. Agence Du Revenu Du Quebec, 2011 QCCA 1943, issues on October 21, 2011, the Court of Appeal of Quabec discussed two grounds of dispute that might be of interest to the hypothecary creditors of tax debtors when the tax authorities rely on provincial statutory provisions pertaining to deemed trusts, NAMELY: 1. THE LIMITS OF THE SCOPE OF THE DEEMED TRUST; AND 2. THE ESTOPPEL ...
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC, formerly known as the Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA)) is a self-regulatory organization recognized by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), which mainly deals with disciplinary complaints against its members. For this purpose, the IIROC has supervisory and investigative powers as well as the power to impose disciplinary sanctions. It can impose various penalties on its members, including fines ...
Last quarter, we focused on the available defenses to West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, W. Va. Code § 46A-1-101 et seq. (“WVCCPA”) claims. This article, we will focus on the potential damages that a consumer can recover - actual damages, statutory penalties, and attorney’s fees. First, a consumer would be entitled to actual damages – physical and/or emotional – that a creditor’s or debt collector’s alleged violations of the WVCCPA may have caused the consumer ...
Defined Benefit Pension Plans: i) The Temporary Funding Relief Measures Will Likely Be Extended! ii) A New Statutory Framework for Federal Not-For-Profit Organizations iii) Conversion of Debt Into Shares By a Corporation in Financial Difficulty; Pay Attention to the Tax Consequences! iv) Conflicting Rights of Hypothecary Creditors and Tenants DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS: THE TEMPORARY FUNDING RELIEF MEASURES WILL LIKELY BE EXTENDED! François Parent fparent@lavery ...
A creation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. Law 111-203 ("Dodd-Frank Act"), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") is charged with regulating consumer lending activities of financial institutions and, in partnership with state attorneys general, enforcing numerous federal consumer protection laws ...
On October 28, 2011, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld a judgment of the Superior Court (1) allowing for clauses of a loan agreement to be modified by The Court so as to reflect the common intention of the parties after it was proved that there was a discrepancy between the real intention of the parties, as stated in a letter of intent, and the wording of the document drawn up to implement the letter of intent, namely a loan agreement ...
On November 15, 2011, the Supreme Court of Yukon released its decision in Ross River Dena Council v. Government of Yukon, 2011 YKSC 84. 1 The case is important as it is the first court decision to consider the issue of whether the Government of Yukon has a duty to consult with First Nations when recording quartz mineral claims under the Quartz Mining Act (the “Act”) ...
The use of social media, discussion forums and other websites for business purposes, as a means of communicating with the public, raises increasingly significant compliance issues for regulated entities of the financial sector. Such use may expose registered or certified representatives and, consequently, their firms, to previously unheard of but nonetheless real non compliance and reputational risks ...
On Friday, December 2, 2011, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association ("ISDA") and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") jointly filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") and a petition for review in the U.S ...
On November 8, 2011, three municipalities in western Pennsylvania put direct democracy to the test with referendums that would essentially ban natural gas drilling in their communities. Two of the referendums were overwhelmingly defeated while one succeeded with overwhelming support ...
On November 15, 2011, the Pennsylvania Senate passed S.B. 1100, a fairly comprehensive legislative effort aimed at increasing governmental oversight of the development and production of Marcellus Shale resources ...
I- Major Innovation - The new framework Law on Crude Oil Refining, Storage, Transport, Distribution and Trade of Petroleum Products was approved (“LCOR”) was enacted by Law no. 28/11, of 1 September 2011. This law was preceded by the Strategy for liberalisation of the fuel sector and the schedule for its implementation set forth in 2009 by means of the Council of Ministers’ Resolution no. 105/09, of 19 November ...
The cost of energy—particularly the cost of electricity—comprises a significant portion of the total cost of production for industrial and manufacturing companies ...
If your trademarks and business names contain letters with accents and you are the owner of domain names linked with them, it is important to familiarize yourself with the following. With a view to offering owners the possibility of registering domain names that comply with French spelling, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (the « CIRA »), the organization that manages the register of ...
At its open meeting on October 18, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) adopted final rules (the “Position Limit Rules”) to establish speculative position limits for 28 physical commodity futures and options contracts (“Core Referenced Futures Contracts”) and futures, options, swap, or swaption contracts that are economically equivalent to such Core Referenced Futures Contracts (together with the Core Referenced Futures Contracts, collectively, “Referen
On November 7, 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it will provide financial companies and individuals who are the subject of potential enforcement actions with an “Early Warning Notice Letter.” The CFPB’s letter and process is similar to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Wells Notice” where companies and individuals typically receive written notice that the staff intends to recommend enforcement action against them ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) recently adopted new rules (the “Rules”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”), and the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) that will require registered investment advisers with at least $150 million in private fund assets under management to file Form PF with the SEC ...
