Avago Technologies Wireless (USA) Manufacturing Inc. acquired PLX Technologies, Inc. for $6.50 per share in cash. After the $300 million merger closed, certain former PLX stockholders sued for damages, alleging that the PLX directors had breached their fiduciary breaches, aided and abetted by both Potomac Capital Partners II, L.P. (a hedge fund that is an activist stockholder and had three designees on the PLX board) and the PLX board’s financial advisor (the “Banker”).
On November 8, a federal jury for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota awarded the ResCap Liquidating Trust, the post-bankruptcy successor-in-interest to Residential Funding Company, LLC (RFC), a $27.8 million verdict in an indemnity case against a correspondent lender.
PGHC Holdings, Inc., along with eight affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12537).
On October 26, the Eastern District of Wisconsin issued a ruling dismissing a Fair Credit Reporting Act case. In Garland v. Marine Credit Union, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of the debt collector, holding the dispute was a legal issue such that the consumer could not establish a factual inaccuracy in the credit reporting.
On October 31, the Federal Reserve Board adopted two proposed rules that would tailor how certain aspects of the post-crisis bank regulatory framework, including certain capital and liquidity requirements and other prudential standards, apply to large U.S. banking organizations. One of the rules is to be issued jointly by the FDIC, Federal Reserve and OCC. The other was issued solely by the Federal Reserve.
In prior posts, we discussed the perplexing issue of how and whether a trademark licensee is protected when the trademark owner/licensor files a bankruptcy petition and moves to reject the trademark license in accordance with section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code.
On November 7, 2018, Illinois State Senator Jason A. Barickman introduced S.B. (Senate Bill) 3643. This legislation is aimed at creating more transparency in asbestos litigation in the state by stipulating that at the outset of litigation, defendants would be given access to claim forms that plaintiffs have submitted to trust funds that bankrupt companies have established in order to compensate victims of asbestos exposure.
On Friday, October 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in what could be a landmark decision concerning trademark issues in bankruptcy. In Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology LLC, the Court will resolve a Circuit Court split and determine whether a debtor-licensor can strip away the rights of its trademark licensees by rejecting its trademark licensing agreements as part of its bankruptcy case.
Mission Product Holdings Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, Case No. 17-1657, cert. granted (Oct. 26, 2018).
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case addressing the effect a trademark owner’s bankruptcy may have on a licensee’s right to continue to use a mark licensed before the bankruptcy was filed. The case presents an issue that has divided many courts, and may have far-reaching consequences for both trademark owners and trademark licensees.
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill amending the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the California Code of Civil Procedure. The new law, which takes effect January 1, requires disclosures in any communication by a debt collector attempting to collect a time-barred debt. Because the RFDCPA defines the term "debt collector" to include first-party creditors in addition to third-party creditors, auto dealers and finance companies should pay attention.