When a business owner has entered into a confidentiality agreement and a letter of intent (“LOI”) and has provided a potential buyer with requested due diligence materials, it is time to document the sale of the business with the transaction documents, including a purchase agreement, a bill of sale, and many other items (often the transaction documents are negotiated on a parallel basis while the due diligence process is underway) ...
The TCEQ will hold an informational meeting today (August 31) from 9:30 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. (CST) to discuss the proposed changes to the air quality permit by rule and standard permit for oil and gas production facilities. TCEQ has proposed significant changes to both of these expedited air quality permitting authorizations that will make it more difficult to qualify for, and more complicated to comply with, the authorization ...
Companies are now required to grant proxy access to director nominees submitted by shareholders pursuant to new rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on August 25, 2010. The series of amendments to the federal proxy access rules, passed by a 3-2 vote, is designed to facilitate shareholders' rights to nominate directors by requiring a company to include shareholder nominees in the company's proxy materials ...
In two actions released last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) signaled its new focus on credit rating agencies and foretold the seriousness with which it will approach the expanded regulatory authority granted to the SEC by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”). On August 31, 2010, the SEC released a Section 21(a) report on its investigation of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc ...
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed changes to the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR”) and to the Premerger Notification and Report Form (“Form”) required to be filed by companies with the FTC or Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“Agencies”) for their review of certain proposed transactions with a value in excess of $63.4 million (the current size of the transaction threshold) ...
Although the Obama administration and Senator Reid (D-NV) have not altered their position to keep used nuclear fuel out of Yucca Mountain and the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission continues to meet to develop a nuclear waste strategy (even though a coherent strategy was enacted in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has reaffirmed its confidence in the ability of licensees to be able to safely store high-level nuclear waste ...
Once a company files a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition (to sell its assets, reorganize or liquidate), Bankruptcy Code § 1114 sets forth a detailed procedure for the employer to follow to modify or terminate certain retiree benefits. Among other things, § 1114 imposes on the employer the burden of showing that the elimination or modification of benefits is necessary to permit reorganization ...
On October 4, 2010, less than six weeks after approving new rules to facilitate shareholders’ rights to nominate directors, the SEC postponed the effectiveness of the rules. As a result of this postponement, in the upcoming proxy season companies most likely will not have to address the new shareholder proxy access rules. In the Order granting the postponement, the SEC granted a request by the Business Roundtable and the U.S ...
Charitable fundraising activities in multiple states—and even in multiple cities, municipalities, and counties within Texas—can potentially create a compliance risk. Although not regulated by the IRS, many state and/or local authorities have adopted charitable solicitation registration and reporting requirements. In addition, the revised Form 990 requires a disclosure regarding compliance with state rules ...
On Monday, in Versata Enterprises, Inc. and Trilogy, Inc. v. Selectica, Inc ...
On August 27, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued its long-awaited decision in United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local Union No. 1506, 355 NLRB No. 159 (2010) – a case that had been pending before the Board since March 2004 - holding that bannering at a secondary employer’s place of business was not an unfair labor practice. The Facts Four non-union employers, Eliason & Knuth, Delta/United Specialties, Enterprise Interiors, Inc ...
On October 5, 2010, Judge Bruce Black of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the “Bankruptcy Court”) issued a ruling in the River Road Hotel Partner LLC, et. al. (the “Debtors”) bankruptcy cases denying the Debtors’ bid procedures motion incident to plan confirmation. The bid procedures motion, among other things, sought the denial of secured creditor’s right to credit bid ...
Before heading into the pre-election recess, the Senate passed the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010 on September 28, 2010. See H.R. 3219, 111th Cong. (2d Sess. 2010). The Act, which passed in the House over one year ago, is a compromise measure between the House and the Senate and encompasses several veterans’ benefits bills. Of notable importance to employers is the Act’s expansion of employee protection under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) ...
On September 30, 2010, in In re American Safety Razor, LLC, et al., Case No. 10-12351 (MFW), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware ruled that the debtors’ proposed bid procedures for the sale of the business were unfair and unreasonable. The bid procedures, among other things, provided too much discretion to the debtors in the auction process. 363 Sales in General Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code provides authority to sell a debtor’s assets ...
As part of the ongoing rulemaking initiatives contemplated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently released a proposed rule defining “family offices” for purposes of an exemption from registration under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) ...
The concurring opinion in a recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals case1 suggests that trademark licensees may be able to retain their rights in bankruptcy cases, even if licensors reject the license agreements. The majority did not consider whether the licensee could retain its rights. Instead, the majority held that the trademark license was not an executory contract; therefore, it could not be rejected under the Bankruptcy Code ...
The Obama-appointed NLRB has now issued its first significant batch of decisions1 serving notice, as is typical in the transition from one administration to the next, of a shift in the interpretation of the labor laws. The decisions include a new standard regarding secondary boycotts and union bannering; potential reconsideration of prior precedent; and a differing application of the law to facts than the predecessor NLRB ...
The new filing fees announced by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) earlier this year will go into effect on November 23, 2010. Anticipating these changes, which include fee increases and reductions, is important not only to budget planning for sponsors but also for ensuring that your petition is not rejected by the USCIS mailroom as “improperly filed ...
Recent Federal Circuit Decision on Section viii Carve Outs and Inducement By C. Kyle Musgrove, Partner On November 1, 2010, a divided 2-1 panel of the Federal Circuit issued a decision in AstraZeneca LP v. Apotex, Inc. that addresses inducement of infringement in the context of a Section viii "carve out" under 21 U.S.C. § 355(j)(2)(A)(viii) and 21 C.F.R. § 314.92(a)(1) ...
Underscoring that PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) is a system of bright-line rules that leave little, if any, opportunity to correct errors once an application is filed, the Department of Labor (DOL) held on October 27, 2010 that the failure to include the business name on the Notice of Filing (Notice) is fatal to the entire PERM labor certification application ...
In response to the current state of the economy, Congress has passed some tax legislation amending the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Although it is up for debate, some would say that Congress has not been busy enough. As we near the end of the year, many taxpayers and their advisers are going through their usual year-end tax planning checklist ...
On October 15, 2010, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (“BOEMRE”) issued a final rule that makes mandatory and expands API RP 75, a voluntary industry standard initially promulgated in the 1990s, that addresses the management of safety and environmental risks associated with Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) operations and facilities ...
In an October 19, 2010 opinion arising out of the Scotia Pacific bankruptcy cases, the Fifth Circuit ruled that reorganized Scotia and its affiliate Pacific Lumber Company were obliged – nearly 2½ years after Scotia’s reorganization plan was consummated – to pay Scotia’s former secured lenders approximately $30 million on account of a mistake made by the bankruptcy judge in calculating the amount owed to the secured lenders for the use of their collateral during the bankruptcy cases ...
Signaling a possible further relaxation of the strict in-person non-immigrant visa interview requirements, the U.S. Embassy in London has indicated that beginning in December the Visa Reissuance Program may be extended to include key business categories such as “H” and “L” and exchange visitors/students under “J” and “F.” The U.S ...
The U.S. Supreme Court began its new 2010-2011 term on October 4, 2010 with a number of employment-related cases on the docket, many of which have already been orally argued, that could potentially impact employers concerning such matters as arbitration, retaliation, immigration, and employee benefits ...
