Legal Research

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Arbitration
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By Samuel Estreicher and Steven C. Bennett

"Samuel Estreicher, the Dwight D. Opperman Professor at New York University School of Law and counsel to Jones Day, and Steven C. Bennett, a partner at the firm, write that six years ago the U.S. Supreme Court seemingly opened the door to a significantly new phenomenon in arbitration - classwide arbitration - by holding that under the Federal Arbitration Act, the arbitrator, not the court, decides in the first instance whether the arbitration agreement authorizes or forbids classwide arbitration. Now, they say, the Court has granted review in a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to decide whether the FAA itself prohibits imposition of class arbitration where an arbitration agreement is otherwise silent on the question."

Corporate and Securities Litigation
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By Sarah S. Gold and Richard L. Spinogatti

"Sarah S. Gold, a partner at Proskauer Rose, and Richard L. Spinogatti, a senior counsel at the firm, write: Oftentimes our courts must consider conflicts between public policies embodied in state and federal statutes, a task made more complex when one or both statutes are ambiguous or do not expressly address a particular manifestation of a societal concern within the ambit of the policies. Recently, the Eleventh Circuit was called upon to address an apparent conflict between the policies underlying the provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law empowering corporations (a) to indemnify officers and directors from expenses, including judgments, settlements and legal fees, incurred in the defense of actions brought or threatened by reason of their corporate positions, and (b) to advance the payment of such expenses pending the final disposition of such actions; and the provisions of the PSLRA mandating certain aspects of a 'bar order' discharging a settling defendant from future claims arising from the settled action."

OUTSIDE COUNSEL:

Free With Registration: Policyholders' Rights to Recover Attorney's Fees From Insurers
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By Robin L. Cohen and Jared Zola

"Robin L. Cohen, a partner at Dickstein Shapiro, and Jared Zola, an associate at the firm, write that that insurers must abide by their duty of good faith and fair dealing by paying valid claims rather than simply denying them is self-evident. But, they say, a recent Northern District, along with two Court of Appeals decisions, gives some more teeth to that axiom."

REAL ESTATE TRENDS:

State High Court Decision Exorcises Ghosts of Liens Past
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman

"Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman, partners of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., write that in a triumph for the title industry, but an apparent blow for judgment creditors, the Court of Appeals recently held that judgment liens renewed in New York will only obtain junior priority unless the judgment creditor completes the renewal process during the 10th year of the lien's life. The problem with that process is that if it may take more time than the law allows to prevent gaps in the judgment's lien status."