Article
Published 03/08/2013
By Michael L. Gesas
Services Bankruptcy and Restructuring
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Blog Post
Published 03/07/2013
Alert
Published 03/06/2013
Services Public Finance
Summary The Commonwealth Financing Authority has begun accepting applications for five programs established by the Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund to support conservation projects and environmental protection measures. On February 25, 2013, Governor Corbett announced that the Commonwealth Financing Authority ("CFA") has begun accepting applications for five programs established by the Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund to support conservation projects and environmental protection measures. The new CFA programs will provide $14 million in funding available for abandoned mine drainage abatement and...
Alert
Published 03/06/2013
Industries Financial Services
Summary In two recent decisions, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Bergen County, held that homeowners may defend against foreclosure actions by asserting that lenders acted in bad faith with respect to post-notice of foreclosure events, such as administering the procedure of loan modification programs, even if the borrower's default is not in dispute and the lender had no obligation to provide the borrower with any potential relief. What's The Takeaway? Taken together, the two decisions demonstrate that New Jersey courts will closely examine all aspects and phases of a...
Blog Post
Published 03/04/2013
Article
Published 03/04/2013
Services Intellectual Property
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Judith L. Grubner published the article “Filmed Conversation with Celebrity” for the March issue of the Law Journal Newsletters’ The Intellectual Property Strategist. In the article, Ms. Grubner discusses the invasion of privacy case, Bogie v. Rosenberg. The case relates to a woman that appeared on a documentary film about Joan Rivers. Because the woman disagreed with how she was portrayed, she sued under the Wisconsin Right of Privacy statute. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found that the woman did not have the right to sue. Although the...
Alert
Published 03/04/2013
Services Public Finance
Summary An Executive Order signed by the President on March 1, 2013 will trigger automatic reductions in subsidy payments for certain Direct Pay Bonds. Pursuant to the requirements of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 , on March 1, 2013, President Obama signed an Executive Order reducing the budgetary authority in accounts subject to "sequester." Sequester is the formal term for mandatory cuts to federal programs. Spending accounts are divided into four categories, and within each category programs must be cut by the same percentage. Direct Pay Bonds...
Article
Published 03/04/2013
By Gregory M. Boucher
Industries Insurance
Services Commercial Litigation | Labor and Employment | Employment Litigation
Gregory M. Boucher, an associate in the Insurance Practice, wrote this article about a December 2012 court order for a jury to determine why an insurance company did not make a partial payment to a claimant involved in a dispute relating to his underinsured motorist coverage. The holding from a judge in the Western District of Washington departs from most insurers’ custom of issuing settlement payments only after an entire claim is resolved. Whether this ruling represents the start of a new trend, or is just an anomaly, is yet to be determined.
Article
Published 03/04/2013
Services Real Estate Services
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Barry R. Katz recently wrote a guest column for Midwest Real Estate News. His column, titled “Trying to solve the underwater owner problem,” addresses the growing number of U.S. underwater commercial real estate mortgages. Mr. Katz writes of the significant difficulties these owners will face in their efforts to refinance. He also reviews the refinancing options available to them. To read the article in full, please click here .
Article
Published 03/04/2013
Arnstein & Lehr Fort Lauderdale Partner Franklin L. Zemel and Fort Lauderdale Associate Brett Duker recently provided the second in a series of articles on e-discovery to be written by Arnstein & Lehr attorneys for Inside Counsel online. Mr. Zemel and Mr. Duker’s article “E-discovery: you can’t blame third parties for e-discovery errors,” appeared online on February 26. The series includes six total articles on e-discovery that will be posted to the Inside Counsel site every two weeks through April 23. Additional Arnstein & Lehr contributors include Chicago Partners W. Toby...
Article
Published 03/04/2013
Services Consumer Financial Services Litigation
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Of Counsel John L. Ropiequet and Partner Christopher S. Naveja have published an article in the Banking & Financial Services Policy Report entitled “A Curious Dichotomy: Fair Lending Litigation and Enforcement Actions Following Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes.” The article discusses how federal enforcement actions have continued unabated against major mortgage lenders for violation of fair lending laws based on aggregated statistical evidence showing a disparate impact on protected minority borrowers even though the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dukes case,...
Blog Post
Published 03/03/2013
Alert
Published 03/01/2013
Industries Insurance
Summary New York licensed insurers are now required to participate in nonbinding mediations with certain Storm Sandy claimants who have disputed or unresolved claims. Insurers are required to send notices of the mediation option at specific times. If mediation is requested by a claimant, an insurer must participate in good faith, send a representative with claims settlement authority, and be prepared with a reasonable explanation if it does not alter its original decision concerning the claim. On February 25, 2013, the New York Department of Financial Services promulgated an amendment to...
Alert
Published 02/28/2013
Industries Insurance
Alert
Published 02/27/2013
Industries Financial Services
Summary In Marx v. General Revenue Corp. , decided on February 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court, by a margin of 7-2, held that a debt collector sued by a borrower under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") may recover its litigation costs, even if the borrower brought the action in good faith and without the intent to harass the debt collector. What's The Takeaway? The Supreme Court's decision confirms that parties sued under the FDCPA may employ a powerful tool – the possibility of an award of litigation costs – in defending or resolving borrowers' suits. Moreover, the...
Article
Published 02/25/2013
Services EB-5
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