Business Law

The BLS is a proud Diversity Partner sponsor of the California Minority Counsel Program’s 2019 Annual Business Conference taking place September 11-13 at the L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown. The Annual Business Conference is the biggest annual business and diversity conference for attorneys in California, consistently drawing over 500 attorneys and diversity leaders from leading companies, law firms and agencies. Read more

As we approach the start of the new State Bar/California Lawyers Association year, your Business Law Section Executive Committee and Standing Committee leaders are working hard to provide the high quality content and networking opportunities that make membership in the BLS so beneficial. Even better, the BLS and CLA are forming and deepening relationships with local and affinity bar associations, regulatory agencies, industry leaders and judges, to explore opportunities for collaboration wherever possible. Read more

Summary: A bankruptcy court in Virginia has held that two adjacent retail parcels did not constitute a "shopping center" despite their common ownership; thus, a bankrupt tenant could assign its lease to a neighboring tenant's competitor, in violation of the existing tenant’s exclusivity clause. [In re Toys "R" Us Property Co. I, LLC, 2019 Westlaw 1075434 (Bankr. E.D. Va.).] Read more

Summary: An individual borrower obtained a $3 million punitive damage award, on top of almost $600,000 in total compensatory damages, against a loan servicer that falsely declared that her mortgage was delinquent. In calculating the permissible ratio of punitive damages, the court aggregated all of the borrower's cumulative damage awards, rather than looking solely to her tort claim. [Saccameno vs. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 2019 Westlaw 1098930 (N.D. Ill.).] Read more

Summary: The Wyoming Supreme Court has held that the members of an insolvent LLC do not owe fiduciary duties to its creditors, unlike the principals of an insolvent corporation. [Mantle vs. North Star Energy & Construction LLC, 437 P.3d 758 (Wyo. 2019).] Read more

Please join the Nonprofit Organizations Committee for a program on the topic of “The Forever Tax: IRS Trust Fund Penalties.” Our presenter is Kneave Riggall, Attorney/Certified Tax Law Specialist. This presentation will discuss the dire consequences of being a "responsible person" when employment taxes are not paid over to the IRS. Read more

Summary: A bankruptcy court in New York has held that a group of term lenders who received payment under a debtor-in-possession order could not invoke an earmarking defense to the estate's avoidance claims because the order itself authorized the estate to prosecute those claims. [In re Motors Liquidation Co., 2019 Westlaw 367170 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.).] Read more

Summary: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that a mortgage assignee's litigation manager was able to authenticate the business records created by the original lender, depending on the circumstances. [Bayview Loan Servicing LLC vs. Wicker, 2019 Westlaw 1388516 (Pa.).] Read more

Summary: The Seventh Circuit has held that under Wisconsin law, where a "limited remedies" provision would have deprived the non-breaching party of all of its remedies against the breaching party, the clause is per se unconscionable and is unenforceable. [Sanchelima International, Inc., vs. Walker Stainless Equipment Co., LLC, 2019 Westlaw 1552681 (7th Cir.).] Read more

The Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments (FNHRA) impose various requirements on nursing homes receiving reimbursement under Medicaid. As pertinent here, they require a nursing home that transfers, discharges, or refuses to readmit a hospitalized resident to inform the resident of his or her right to appeal that decision. The state-established appeals process must provide a “fair mechanism” by which residents may challenge a decision. Read more