It has been widely accepted that in recent years the Ukrainian judicial system has failed to develop practices in line with those that would be considered standard in many Western jurisdictions. The Ukrainian judicial system’s reputation remains poor and, in general, confidence in the ability of Ukrainian courts to provide a fair and cost effective process for the resolution of disputes is low. While the Government has made some efforts to remove a number of the more negative aspects of th

A declaratory judgment (DJ) action may typically be brought by a potential patent infringer to seek a judicial declaration that a patent is invalid, not infringed or unenforceable. Historically, a DJ may only be brought if there is a reasonable apprehension of a patent infringement suit.

ASPCA v. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, 233 F.R.D. 209 (D.D.C. 2006) - this case for declaratory and injunctive relief under the Endangered Species Act, based on defendants’ allegedly unlawful handling of Asian elephants, generated a discovery dispute involving the assertion of privilege claims and the operation of Rule 26(b)(5) in the context of documents withheld by a party from production pending decision of an unresolved responsiveness objection.

In a Chadbourne & Parke LLP Client Alert issued earlier this year,we reported that the FDA had issued revised regulations governing prescription drug labeling requirements generally preempting state laws. Since then, the issue has come to decision in at least two cases favoring pharmaceutical interests -- "Abramowitz and Colacicco".

The US Supreme Court ruled that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 does not preclude class action lawsuits asserting state law claims.

The RF Duma is considering an amendment to the Civil Code that, if ratified, will resolve an inconsistency in Russian law and open the door for any commercial entity to engage in factoring.

On January 24, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint challenging a proposed acquisition in which The Carlyle Group (Carlyle) and Riverstone Holdings LLC (Riverstone) would acquire an equity interest in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI).

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have extended the deadline for complying with Internal Revenue Code Section 409A to the end of 2007. As you may recall from our prior client alerts, Section 409A imposes strict new rules related to deferred compensation plans.

On May 21, 2007, the United States Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly (No. 05- 1126) dismissed a Sherman Act § 1 antitrust conspiracy claim brought in a putative customer class action against various "Baby Bell" telephone companies as not having been pled with sufficient facts to sustain the claim.

Auditors for years have distinguished between the familiar traditional "audit," which is usually performed annually, and a quarterly "review." A "review" typically consists more of just discussion and observations rather than the performance of substantive audit procedures, and principally involves applying analytical procedures to the company’s financial data, making inquiries of the company’s officers responsible for financial and accounting matters, and bringing to management’s attention if a

In July, world attention focused on Russia, as the Group of Eight summit convened in St. Petersburg. Russia was invited to join the G8 in 1998 both to recognize and to encourage its transformation to a market-based democracy. It’s been 16 years since the Russian Federation formally declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

On March 26, 2006 parliamentary and local elections were held in Ukraine based, for the first time in Ukrainian history, on the proportional representation system. The proportional representation system, a single nation-wide electoral district with votes allocated to political parties or election blocs r ather than to individual candidates, was implemented by recent constitutional reform.

Late last year Congress included a budgetary rider in an appropriations bill (the "2006 Rider") that seemingly prohibited a federal database (maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF) used to track the purchase and sale of firearms from being introduced as evidence in civil liability cases.

On March 31, 2006, the Enron Court ruled that a bankruptcy claim purchased after the commencement of the case may be disallowed under section 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code if the seller of the claim is subject to an avoidance action (e.g., a preference or fraudulent conveyance action) even though the avoidance action has not yet been fully adjudicated.

The recoupment of healthcare costs by third-parties (such as government,insurers,unions,and the like) remains a relatively immature liability theory in products litigation. The approach was largely pioneered by state attorneys general who banded together in the mid-1990s to run similar cases against the tobacco industry, mostly in state courts across the county.

Under current provisions of New York law, certain business entities formed or authorized to do business in New York, including limited liability companies, limited partnerships and registered limited liability partnerships, must publish a notice for six consecutive weeks within 120 days of formation.

The RF State Duma is currently preparing for the first reading of amendments to the law "On the Securities Market" which would provide for the introduction of Russian Depositary Receipts ("RDR") in Russia (the "Draft RDR Amendments".

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) made significant changes to the laws governing employee benefit plans. Many of these changes are effective as early as January 1, 2007. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has just issued guidance on a number of PPA 2006 changes affecting defined benefit pension plans and 401(k) savings and other defined contribution plans.

As property catastrophe reinsurance companies suffer losses stemming from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma,many have raised capital in the public markets to allow them to underwrite for 2006 renewals.The traditional means of raising capital include the issuance of equity or catastrophe bonds through public offerings.

Yesterday, in response to a number of requests by practitioners and other interested parties, including a letter submitted by Chadbourne & Parke LLP and nearly 100 other law firms, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service extended the deadline for complying with Internal Revenue Code Section 409A to the end of 2008.