Delaware

Expert Analysis

• Secured Creditor Duties Ripe For High Court Consideration

  

  If certiorari is granted in the Seventh Circuit's Chicago v. Fulton case, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the opportunity to resolve the growing circuit split over the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay on creditors concerning turnover of a debtor’s impounded vehicle, say Alexandra Dugan and Elizabeth Brusa of Bradley Arant.

• Fed. Circ. Ruling May Affect Eligibility Of Life Sciences Patents

  

  In view of the Federal Circuit's recent decision in American Axle v. Neapco and the turbulent state of Section 101 case law generally, to increase their odds of patent eligibility, applicants in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical industries should claim their inventions at various levels of detail, say David Ludwig and Ted Mathias of Axinn.

• How To Hire Lateral Partners More Effectively

  

  Although lateral partner hiring is the preferred method of inorganic growth among law firms, the traditional approach to vetting does not employ sufficient due diligence by the hiring firm, says Michael Ellenhorn at executive search firm Decipher Competitive Intelligence.

• Highland Filing Shows Benefits Of Ch. 11 For Hedge Funds

  

  Highland Capital Management's Chapter 11 filing last month illustrates how a bankruptcy filing can provide additional advantages when investors are not a hedge fund’s only creditors, as in the aftermath of fraud allegations or market dislocations, say attorneys at Cleary. 

• High Court Hears DACA: Procedure, Practicalities, Predictions

  

  At oral argument last week, the U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed likely to rule that the Trump administration had sufficient reasons to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which would leave the lives of DACA recipients and their families in limbo, says Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer at Cornell Law School.

• How Increased Stays Pending IPR May Affect Venue Choice

  

  A little over one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in SAS Institute v. Iancu, data show a 5% increase in district court-granted stays of litigation pending inter partes review, and the grant rate disparities may influence new patent filings toward certain venues and defendants facing patent infringement claims toward others, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.

• 4 Months After Kisor V. Wilkie, Auer Deference Survives

  

  Recent federal appellate and district court rulings suggest that the predicted radical curtailing of Auer deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kisor v. Wilkie has not come to fruition, say Jeffrey Karp and Edward Mahaffey at Sullivan & Worcester.

• Can State Laws One-Up SEC’s Regulation Best Interest?

  

  Because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has punted on whether Regulation Best Interest will preempt state broker-dealer conduct standards, state laws may face challenges under the doctrines of conflict preemption, as well as limitations from the federal securities laws, say attorneys at Williams & Jensen.

• FERC Orders Advance Grid Operators' Energy Storage Plans

  

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently approved two regional transmission organizations' energy storage proposals. But full integration of storage resources into the wholesale market will be complex — and ongoing litigation could force FERC to change its approach, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

• Texas Could Take Page From Mass.'s Judicial Selection Book

  

  As Texas and other states review their judicial election processes, they would be well served by taking guidance from Massachusetts' Governor’s Council system, which protects the judiciary from the hazards of campaigning, says Richard Baker of New England Intellectual Property.

• Federal Laws Continue To Hinder State Sports Betting Trend

  

  Even as Colorado last week joined a growing wave of states legalizing sports betting, federal laws designed to assist states in gambling enforcement remain a roadblock to commonsense legislation and state cooperation in this area, says Dennis Ehling of Blank Rome.

• Series

  Judging A Book: McKeown Reviews 'Conversations With RBG'

  

  Reading Jeffrey Rosen’s "Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" is like eavesdropping on the author and his subject while they discuss how the restrained judicial minimalist became the fiery leader of the opposition, says Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

• State Net

  States' Vaping Bans Face Legal Hurdles

  

  With a still-developing outbreak of lung injuries linked to vaping, and e-cigarette bans in some states already blocked by courts, regulatory maneuvering over this issue is likely to be a major policy concern in the months to come, says Dave Royse of State Net Capitol Journal.

• Developments In State Taxation Of Nonadmitted Insurance

  

  Not all states have updated their direct insurance procurement tax laws to take full advantage of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, diminishing their ability to tax some insurance transactions, as highlighted by the New Jersey Tax Court's recent decision in Johnson & Johnson v. Director, Division of Taxation, say Zachary Lerner and Stephen Anastasia of Locke Lord.

• Pipeline Projects Face New Questions On Landowner Rights

  

  The tension between the rights of landowners and pipeline developers has come to a head in two federal appellate courts and a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announcement, muddling the historical clarity of Natural Gas Act eminent domain authority, say attorneys at K&L Gates.