A recent decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals underscores the critical importance of timely recordation of mortgage interests and the ineffectiveness of the "earmarking" and "contemporaneous exchange for new value" defenses in the face of the strict timing rules set forth in section 547(e)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code.

Failure by an eligible company to timely submit a complete set of documents confirming exemption from value added taxes ("VAT") will not cause a company to have VAT arrears, but will serve as a basis for imposing a penalty on the company for a delay in making VAT payments.

In light of the recent holding in International Union v. Merck, 894 A.2d 1136 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2006), supra at 7, one has to wonder what New Jersey pharmaceutical companies (and similarly situated others) make of their chosen corporate home.

On May 9, 2007, the SEC brought an administrative proceeding against a large investment bank alleging that the firm embedded undisclosed mark-ups and mark-downs in certain OTC executions and delayed execution of other orders, thereby not providing best execution to its retail customers.

The Department of Labor has issued final regulations on Qualified Default Investment Alternatives ("QDIAs") under participant-directed individual account plans (such as 401(k) plans). As you may recall, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 made a number of changes to the laws governing pension and 401(k) plans.

This recent English High Court decision has ruled that where an insurance policy does not stipulate a time limit in which the insured has to comply with a claims co-operation clause, a term is to be implied that compliance should take place within a reasonable time. In this context, reasonable time should be judged generously in favor of the insured, taking into account any prejudice suffered by the insurer.

On 1 May 2006, the Bolivian government passed a law, Supreme Decree 28701, announcing that it was taking over the oil and gas resources in the country. This nationalisation policy sent shock waves throughout the oil and gas industry, especially foreign companies operating in Bolivia, including Repsol of Spain, B.P. of the United Kingdom, Total of France and Petrobras of Brazil.

On May 1, 2006, the Bolivian government passed a law, Supreme Decree 28701, announcing that it was taking over the oil and gas resources in the country.This nationalization policy sent shock waves throughout the oil and gas industry, especially foreign companies operating in Bolivia, including Repsol of Spain, B.P. of the United Kingdom,Total of France and Petrobras of Brazil.

The hunt for privileged documents in litigation is in some ways like the search for the Holy Grail -- an extended and difficult quest. The issue often arises, and is at its thorniest, when lawyers are forced to give testimony in cases, which is what happened in "In re: Managed Care" -- where the issue was whether an in-house lawyer’s review of a privileged document in preparation for his 30(b)(6) deposition created an automatic waiver of the attorney-client privilege. The court said no.

On January 16, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the revised jurisdictional thresholds for pre-merger reporting pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act).

On October 15, 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in U.S. District Court to obtain $550,000 in civil penalties against Iconix Brand Group Inc. ("Iconix") for violating premerger notification requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Notification Act, Section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18a, as amended.

For almost two decades, paint manufacturers have successfully defended lawsuits alleging that lead-based paint had contaminated homes, supposedly injuring countless home owners and their children. Over the past six months, however, decisions in cases run on novel legal theories may signal a paradigm shift in this litigation.

On September 4, 2007, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Cascade Health Solutions (f/k/a McKenzie-Willamette Hospital) v. PeaceHealth1, ruling that bundled discounts violate antitrust law only if the discounts results in below-cost pricing.

Mexico has taken the first step toward providing incentives to use renewable energy.

Businesses facing the threat of indictment have become increasingly willing to enter deferred prosecution agreements with the government. In a deferred prosecution agreement, a business entity agrees to admit its wrongdoing and enact reform policies in exchange for a promise by the Justice Department not to seek an indictment as long as the business lives up to its agreement.

On July 11, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously adopted a measure designed to curb fraudulent conduct by investment advisers with respect to "pooled investment vehicles" including hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds.

July saw the entry into force of the majority of provisions of the long awaited and much discussed new Federal Law No. 38-FZ "On Advertising" (the "New Advertising Law"), a significantly improved law which alters the legal framework regulating advertising activities in Russia.

Wind farm owners and other independent power suppliers in the United States are troubled by a ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in late February that let a utility charge a toll for allowing electricity from a wind farm to gain access to the regional grid. The electricity had to travel first over distribution lines belonging to the utility to reach the grid.

Creative plaintiffs’ lawyers continue to push the outer edge of the envelope in their assertion of "injury" and the quest for a hold on corporate purse strings.

In an important recent ruling by the Third Circuit in the CitX Corp. case, a panel of three judges appeared to express misgivings with that circuit’s leading case on "deepening insolvency" Parties who manage enterprises in the "zone of insolvency," and those who lend to such entities, may take some comfort in the <I>CitX Corp. </I>decision