On September 21, 2010, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted BNY Corporate Trustee Services Limited leave to appeal a decision of the Bankruptcy Court in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case.1 The Bankruptcy Court held that a key provision of certain transaction documents constituted an unenforceable ipso facto clause. The District Court granted leave to appeal the Bankruptcy Court decision even though it was interlocutory.

Commercial sellers need to be particularly careful when purporting to sell property with vacant possession. In a recent case, Area Estates Limited v Weir (2010), Area Estates tried to sell a site to Weir, telling Weir that Area’s former tenant had surrendered its lease, so that Area could sell with vacant possession. What had actually happened is that Area’s tenant had become bankrupt, and so the lease actually became vested in the tenant’s Trustee in Bankruptcy.

In a SPIEGEL interview, renowned Chicago-based economist Raghuram Rajan discusses the dangers of a global currency war, the risks of persistently low interest rates and the growing income and wealth inequality in the United States. SPIEGEL: Professor Rajan, the tensions between the United States and China are rising, several countries are trying to weaken their currencies. Is this the beginning of a global currency war? Rajan: This is certainly a skirmish, with countries using different tools to get an advantage.

We report in this issue how Pepper helped some Michigan residents who discovered that their voting registrations had been canceled in certain circumstances, without their knowledge. Also in this issue, Richard J. Reibstein, Lisa B. Petkun and Andrew J. Rudolph report on how the proposed Fair Playing Field Act would stop businesses from misclassifying employees as independent contractors, and show how employers can evaluate their workplaces and get them into compliance. J.

In a major change of direction, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that corporations cannot be the subject of actions that allege violations of customary international law under the US Alien Tort Claims Act. Partner Craig Phillips, Senior Associate Rachel Nicolson and Lawyer Michael Gomm report. http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/ldr/focsrsep10.htm

On May 4, 2010, AbitibiBowater Inc. announced that it and certain of its Canadian and US subsidiaries filed with the court in Canada a draft Plan of Reorganization and Compromise and with the court in the US a draft Debtors’ Joint Plan of Reorganization.

The past few years have seen an unprecedented boom in real estate development. However, that boom phase took a definite pause during the credit crunch. Driving through the city of Toronto, it was easy to spot the many condominium projects which have not broken ground due to the recession having intervened. In addition, some real estate projects that had already been commenced ran into trouble, leaving stake- holders in the lurch.

The past few years have seen an unprecedented boom in real estate development. However, that boom phase took a definite pause during the credit crunch. Driving through the city of Toronto, it was easy to spot the many condominium projects which have not broken ground due to the recession having intervened. In addition, some real estate projects that had already been commenced ran into trouble, leaving stakeholders in the lurch.