Law Advice

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal bankruptcy court had the discretion to decline to enforce an arbitration provision in a settlement agreement between Thorpe Insulation Co. and one of its insurers because resolution of the insurer’s claims for breach of the agreement was a core proceeding in Thorpe’s Chapter 11 case and having an arbitrator decide [...]

NEW YORK – A union representing employees of bankrupt grocer A&P on Jan. 24 filed its objection to the reorganization plan on grounds that it violates several sections of federal bankruptcy law (In Re: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, No. 10-24549, Chapter 11, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.). View full post on LexisNexis® Mealey’s™ Daily [...]

A Texas federal judge has declared portions of the state Alcoholic Beverage Code unconstitutional as they apply to the advertisement and labeling of beer. Calling the issue “anything but ‘dry,’” he wrote that “this Court would never be so foolish as to question the sincerity of Texans’ interest in beer.” View full post on Law.com [...]

Criminal Code Is Overgrown, Legal Experts Tell PanelWall Street JournalWASHINGTON—The federal criminal code has grown so large it ensnares everyday citizens who have no idea they are violating the law, a bipartisan group of legal experts told a House panel Tuesday. …and more » View full post on legal – Google News

Daily Beast Ethically Challenged Congress Needs Law or Code Banning Insider TradingDaily BeastIf there's no stomach for a law banning insider trading in Congress, at least it should constitute an ethics violation and carry real censure. Lacking that, members who use insider access to enrich themselves should be voted out of office. …Above The Law: [...]

DETROIT – A federal judge in Michigan on Oct. 26 ruled that a debtor’s indifference to the strict filing requirements of the Bankruptcy Code amounted to fraud; therefore, he was not entitled to discharge (Michael A. Stevenson v. Edward G. Taylor [In Re; Edward G. Taylor], No. 11-12040, Chapter 7, E.D. Mich.; 2011 U.S. Dist. [...]

LOS ANGELES – A California appellate panel reversed a lower court in an unpublished opinion on Sept. 23, saying a municipality failed to show that its fire code violation report regarding marking a fire lane was a final administrative decision (James P. Foley, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, No. B223321, Calif. App., 2nd [...]

BOSTON – Finding that property owners could not challenge a local historic commission’s inclusion of property in a historic district, a Massachusetts appellate panel issued an unpublished opinion on Aug. 18 affirming a lower court’s dismissal of the case for failure to state a claim (Aditya Tibrewal, et al. v. City of Worchester, et al., [...]

Code of fan conduct comes under legal attackProFootballTalkThough the legal action doesn't directly challenge the legality of the code of conduct, Judge Gale Kaneshiro previously threw out battery charges brought against a fan who allegedly punched and bit a security guard while the guard was trying to remove …and more » View full post on legal [...]

Google's Android: Closing the Honeycomb Code May Open a Legal Can of WormsHuffington Post (blog)Refusing to release the Honeycomb code creates potential legal issues, too, because the code is nearly impossible to get from any other source. One of the basic principles of free and open source software is the principle of "copyleft", …and more » [...]