Legal Research

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Free With Registration: Commercial Division Update
Friday, December 18, 2009
By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

"George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, write that over several decades, New York courts have outlined a general rule that a party should not be bound to a jury waiver provision in a contract where there is an unresolved issue over the contract's application or validity. A recent decision reaffirms this reasoning in leaving it to the jury to decide the disputed issue of whether the contract containing a jury trial waiver was binding. In addition, this decision appears to have added some clarity to the analysis of two 2007 commercial division decisions, in which the court, not a jury, decided the threshold issue of contract enforceability."

OUTSIDE COUNSEL:

En Banc Review in the Second Circuit
Friday, December 18, 2009
By Michael B. de Leeuw and Samuel P. Groner

"Michael B. de Leeuw, a partner with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, and Samuel P. Groner, an associate at the firm, write: Much has been written about the Second Circuit's decision to affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment to the City of New Haven in Ricci v. DeStefano. But perhaps somewhat lost in the extensive analysis of the merits of Ricci is a lurking question best presented by a dissent by Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs from the denial of en banc review: Has the Second Circuit's reluctance to rehear cases en banc gone too far? "

CORPORATE UPDATE - December 17, 2009.

Free With Registration: Taxation
Thursday, December 17, 2009
By Elliot Pisem and David E. Kahen

"Elliot Pisem and David E. Kahen, members of Roberts & Holland, write that two recent decisions show that some lessons seem reasonably clear: it is generally helpful to focus on the intended tax reporting of the transaction in the transactional documents, such that the parties' reporting positions are reconcilable with each other; but, as the IRS will not be bound by any agreements or understandings between the lender and the borrower, it is also important to make sure that the parties comply with the relevant legal requirements."