Practice Areas
New York
-
February 22, 2012
Getty Tries To Halt Suit Over Gas Station Transfers
Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. filed suit Tuesday asking the judge handling its New York bankruptcy proceeding to block several lawsuits, including a dispute over a 2009 transfer of gas stations from Getty to then-sister company Lukoil North America LLC.
-
February 22, 2012
United Retail Set For Auction With Stalking Horse Bid
Plus-size women's clothing retailer United Retail Group Inc. is set to sell itself after a New York bankruptcy judge approved sale procedures Wednesday, following a contentious hearing over whether the proposed sale unfairly benefits would-be buyer Versa Capital Management LLC.
-
February 22, 2012
AMR Says Retiree Committee Would Slow Down Labor Talks
AMR Corp. on Wednesday told the Delaware judge overseeing its bankruptcy that nonunion retirees should not form a committee to represent the interests of all retired company workers because a committee was not needed and would hold up labor negotiations.
-
February 22, 2012
Pfizer Unit Scores More Time In Ch. 11 For Asbestos Dealings
A New York bankruptcy judge on Wednesday allowed Pfizer Inc. subsidiary Quigley Co. to stay in Chapter 11 for up to six more months, as the insulation maker continues trying to hammer out a deal with asbestos claimants.
-
February 22, 2012
UBS Can't Blame Highland Affiliates For $686M In Losses: Atty
A Highland Capital Management LP attorney urged a New York state appeals court Wednesday to dismiss its affiliates from UBS AG's $686 million lawsuit claiming the affiliates tricked UBS into restructuring a debt securities agreement, then made repayment impossible.
-
February 22, 2012
Feds Say Foreign Auto Co. Fails To Grasp Sherman Act
Prosecutors on Tuesday scoffed at a bid by Taiwanese company Eagle Eyes Traffic Industrial Co. Ltd. and others to nix allegations they had conspired to fix prices for replacement vehicle lights, saying the auto part makers fundamentally misunderstood the Sherman Act.
-
February 22, 2012
Chubb Doesn't Owe Starwood $10M In Defense Costs: Atty
An attorney for a Chubb Corp. affiliate told a New York state appeals court Wednesday that the insurer shouldn't have to pay Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s defense costs for a lawsuit stemming from construction cost overruns at a Florida hotel.
-
February 22, 2012
Sealink Hits BofA, Citi, Others With $949M RMBS Claims
Irish financial firm Sealink Funding Ltd. on Tuesday hit a group of big banks including the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Citigroup Inc. with a summons claiming they misrepresented the credit ratings of $949 million worth of investments in residential mortgage-backed securities.
-
February 22, 2012
Gibson Dunn Bags Skadden Real Estate Partner For NY Office
A veteran commercial real estate attorney formerly with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP has joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP as a partner in the firm's New York office, Gibson Dunn announced Wednesday.
-
February 22, 2012
NYPD Faces Setback In Suit Over Pensions For Veteran Cops
A federal judge on Wednesday tossed counterclaims brought by New York City in a federal challenge to how the city pays pensions to police officers who served in the military, saying the countersuit was unrelated to the government’s claims.
-
February 22, 2012
Louis Vuitton's Cameo In 'The Hangover' Under Fire
Warner Bros. Inc. said Wednesday that Louis Vuitton Malletier SA should not be able to “veto” the appearance of its designer bags in movies, taking a shot at a trademark suit over a prop in the “The Hangover Part II.”
-
February 22, 2012
NY Loft Developers Face Claims Of Mezz Loan Default
The developers of New York's Artisan Lofts, a 16-story condominium complex in downtown Manhattan, were hit with a a lawsuit on Wednesday over allegations that they defaulted on a $16 million mezzanine loan used to help finance the conversion of the property from an office building.
-
February 22, 2012
FDA Agrees To Give BPA Info To Enviros
An environmental group trying to ban bisphenol A from food packaging reached an agreement Friday with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to obtain documents that could shed light on the chemical's health effects.
-
February 22, 2012
Gupta Tries To Get Insider Trading Charge Wiped Out
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director Rajat Gupta sought to dismiss one of the six securities fraud counts against him Tuesday, arguing prosecutors had neglected to identify the specific trades he allegedly influenced by sharing inside information with imprisoned Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam.
-
February 22, 2012
German Bank Takes RBS To Court Over $71M In RMBS
German bank Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg sued Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and affiliated entities in New York state court Tuesday over alleged misrepresentations connected to the securitization and sale of $71 million residential mortgage-backed securities.
-
February 22, 2012
Ex-Mets Clubhouse Manager Cops To $2M Memorabilia Theft
A former New York Mets clubhouse manager has pled guilty to criminal possession of nearly $2.3 million worth of memorabilia, including autographed jerseys, bats and baseballs, belonging to the team and to tax evasion, prosecutors said Tuesday.
-
February 22, 2012
McKinsey Consultant Could Be Retried Over Iran Embargo
The Second Circuit on Wednesday amended its partial dismissal of a McKinsey & Co. consultant's conviction for violating the U.S. embargo of Iran, saying it should have sent the counts it dismissed back to the trial court rather than toss them outright.
-
February 22, 2012
Pryor Cashman Lands New Investment Management Partner
New York law firm Pryor Cashman LLP announced Wednesday that it has lassoed a hedge fund and corporate transactions expert from D.E. Shaw & Co. LP, a global investment and technology development company, to co-head the firm's investment management group.
-
February 22, 2012
Charity's Suit Over $10M Bloom Fraud Trimmed
A New York state judge on Wednesday threw out fraud claims brought by a charity accusing an accounting firm and a hedge fund director of helping convicted North Hills Management LLC hedge fund boss Mark Bloom work a $9.75 million criminal tax shelter scheme.
-
February 22, 2012
SEC Accuses Puda Coal Execs Of Looting Co.
U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday accused two Puda Coal Inc. executives of looting their company and swindling investors by telling them they were investing in a Chinese coal business when they were actually investing in an empty shell company.
Expert Analysis
-
The Aftermath Of Assured Guaranty V. JP Morgan
With its elimination of the Martin Act preemption defense to common-law claims, the New York Court of Appeals decision in Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd. v. J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. presents a new opportunity for plaintiffs in New York securities litigation, and ushers in new burdens for defendants, say attorneys with Jones Day.
-
Case Study: Cedeno V. Castillo
After the Second Circuit's decisions in Eligio Cedeno v. Castillo and Norex Petrol. Ltd. v. Access Indus. Inc., it seems clear there are no circumstances under which the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act will apply to conduct occurring almost entirely outside of the United States, regardless of its U.S. effects, say attorneys with Mayer Brown LLP.
-
Review: Recent Securities Litigation, Rising Trends
While credit crisis-related litigation continued in 2011, it has extended beyond the securities class action realm, as evidenced by a recent surge in mortgage-backed securities actions. Another trend has been the increase in M&A-related securities litigation, something we expect to continue in the coming year, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
-
Law School, Meet Litigation PR ...
The single most important thing law schools can do to manage their reputations in the face of litigation is apply the lessons learned from Wall Street during the recent financial crisis and strive for transparency in all communications. One need only look to Goldman Sachs’ woes or the struggles of Jon Corzine’s MF Global as examples of the catastrophic results of a campaign based on anything but complete honesty, says Spencer Baretz of Hellerman Baretz Communications.
-
Allowing Discovery Of A Confidential Witness's Identity
Two recent decisions in the Southern District of New York — Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 630 Pension-Annuity Trust Fund v. Arbitron Inc. and In re Bear Stearns Companies Inc. — bring a much-needed practical approach to the issue of whether the identities of confidential witnesses may be discovered, say attorneys with Sidley Austin LLP.
-
Case Study: Voom V. EchoStar
As the New York appellate court decision in Voom HD Holdings LLC v. EchoStar Satellite LLC demonstrates, the Zubulake standard on the preservation of electronic documents pending litigation may require in-house and outside counsel to put litigation holds in place even before litigation actually begins, says Ronald Minkoff of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC.
-
Broadening The Range Of 'Broker May Not Vote' Matters
In light of recent New York Stock Exchange rulemaking, companies may have to invest more time and money in reaching shareholders who may not be aware that failure to vote constitutes a “no” vote. This is relevant not only to securing sufficient votes for particular matters now considered “Broker May Not Vote,” but more importantly to securing a quorum necessary to conduct any business at a shareholder meeting, says Carol McGee of Alston & Bird LLP.
-
Inside The 2nd Circ. Stance In Naranjo And Figueiredo
In Chevron Corp. v. Naranjo and in Figueiredo v. Republic of Peru, the Second Circuit has issued two important rulings regarding the adequacy and enforceability of foreign forums and judgments. In particular, the Figueiredo decision threatens to inject significant uncertainty in arbitral confirmation proceedings, particularly in cases involving sovereign defendants, say James Berger and Charlene Sun of Paul Hastings LLP.
-
Revised Removal Statutes — Possibilities, Pitfalls: Part 2
The Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 has brought about substantial clarification in the federal removal, jurisdiction and venue statutes. But the act still leaves substantial ambiguity in place when it comes to the scope of these statutes, say Colin Wrabley and Douglas Allen of Reed Smith LLP.
-
Preserving NY Property Law And Dividing A District
In Calderon-Cardona v. JPMorgan Chase, a New York judge has determined that the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act does not preempt state property law, diverging from two other recent decisions by the Southern District that overrode state law governing the ownership of assets, say Christopher Houpt and Mark Hanchet of Mayer Brown LLP.