Companies in a variety of industries are experiencing economic woes from the many ways the novel coronavirus has weakened formerly solid commercial enterprises. From hospitality to entertainment, restaurants to retail – COVID-19 has driven the customers home and kept...
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Thomas Whitelaw Legal Blog
Negotiating a severance package: What executives should know
The recent economic downturn has made 2020 a tough year for many companies. As a result, mass layoffs have increased in many industries – travel, hospitality, restaurants and even health care. If you’re an executive in these industries, you may find out your company...
Court refuses to order Discovery to halt broadcast of controversial documentary, part 2
In part 1 of this post, we introduced a recent federal trade secret misappropriation ruling out of California. The court in Spolar v. Discovery Communications, LLC, denied a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have stopped the television...
TRO to stop broadcast that could reveal trade secrets denied, part 1
On Oct. 2, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California refused to grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have stopped broadcast two days later of a new Discovery Channel documentary, the content of which was based on what plaintiffs...
Lawsuit illustrates what directors and officers can face, part 2
In part 1 of this post, we talked about the fiduciary duties of corporate directors and officers. In part 2, we provide an example of the kinds of lawsuits these fiduciaries can face. Allegations against directors and officers of a California-based company A...
Directors and officers as fiduciaries are always under scrutiny, part 1
In both a private or public corporation, a director or officer has a fiduciary duty to the company and its shareholders to be loyal to the business, to act in good faith and with honesty and care in carrying out their responsibilities, and to act in the corporation’s...
Potential impact of COVID-19 on real estate contract obligations
As those in the real estate industry know, the novel coronavirus has slowed down the market for several reasons, including restrictions on personal and business activity as well as financial impacts from the related economic slowdown. Plus, some assumptions about...
Limited infringement of copyright is still infringement
If you have spent any time looking into copyright infringement, you may have encountered the 30 Seconds Rule. This rule goes by many names depending on what industry in which you operate, including the Two-Thirds Rule or the 200 Words Rule. The rule posits that using...