LUIS M. REYES—Administrative agencies are lawmaking bodies created by Congress and are entrusted to enforce the mandates of particular congressional statutes. Yet because these statutes often terse or vague, agencies also promulgate new rules and regulations to supplement ambiguities. The judicially created doctrine of administrative deference serves to give the benefit of the doubt to […]
SAM GOODMAN—In a highly anticipated decision on a contested merger agreement, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s ruling that acquiror Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (“ETE”) did not breach its agreement to merge with the Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) when ETE terminated the merger agreement because its counsel was unwilling to deliver […]
CHRISTOPHER J. FRAGA—Ross Compton recently plead not guilty to aggravated arson and insurance fraud charges deriving from the destruction of his $400,000 home. According to Mr. Compton, he packed a few bags and used his cane to break a window in order to escape after discovering a fire. Unfortunately for Mr. Compton, his pacemaker told […]
ALEXIS MASON— It is a typical morning when my mom yells, “Alexis Karina Mason, come to the kitchen right now!” A multi-color light illuminates around the top rim of Amazon’s “Alexa.” “Sorry I did not understand you,” it replies. This is the daily exchange with Alexa in my household. The device is most often triggered unintentionally […]
DANIEL NARCISO—On January 17, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California announced changes to its Standing Order that requires automatic disclosure of third-party funding agreements for proposed class-action lawsuits. In short, the court has made it a requirement that any outside party funding a proposed class action will have to disclose […]
