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During a divorce, many topics are covered in the Marital Settlement Agreement, and many more when the divorcing couple have children together. This can include child support as well as future college contributions. Depending on the agreement, the divorcing parties may specifically determine the percentages that each will pay for college costs, or will—if the child or children are young—defer setting any percentages until the child is in their senior year of high school. Within…
It’s certainly been interesting to watch the last several years of opinions from the Delaware Supreme Court. A July 2018 opinion adds to the list of interesting opinions because it limits the circumstances under which business judgment deference will be allowed. The opinion is Elizabeth Morrison v. Ray Berry et. al., which was first issued on July 9, 2018, and then revised on July 27. The opinion is drawing ample commentary from corporate lawyers and litigators.…
It is one of the most frustrating things you can have happen after concluding a successful deposition.  The witness backtracks on all the substantive admissions she has made during her testimony. Can she really do that?  Well, yes.  Rule 30(e) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure says that the deponent can review her testimony and: If there are changes in form or substance, the deponent shall sign a statement reciting such changes and…
Last week, via a memo endorsement, Judge Koeltl granted the Democratic National Committee’s motion to serve Wikileaks by Twitter in the DNC’s case over the 2016 election hacks (see our coverage here). The DNC argued that “[w]hile WikiLeaks’ physical presence is difficult to discern, it has a robust online presence, including an active presence on Twitter, using the handle @WikiLeaks.”  From that account, Wikileaks in fact had acknowledged reading the DNC’s complaint.  As…
In Graff v. 2920 Park Grove Venture, Ltd., an executor was sued after selling estate real estate because the executor allegedly sold the property for less than fair market value. No. 05-16-01411-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 4266 (Tex. App—Dallas June 13, 2018, no pet. history). Among other claims and arguments, the plaintiff alleged that the executor had no authority to sell the property because the will was silent regarding the authority to sell real property.…
Time and again,  litigators experience hassles with a witness obtaining notarization of a signature. That sometimes leads to submission of affidavits that are technically not proper, and related angst. But is such an affidavit a declaration under penalty of perjury, if the “penalty of perjury” language is used?  Yes, said an Illinois federal court  See Snyder v. Wal-Mart Stores, No. 18 C 583 (April 2, 2018). Hat tip to Steven Garmisa for flagging the case in…
Hike’s over. It was….hard. Hiking 18-20 miles a day above 10,000 feet is tough for a desk jockey from sea level. You know why there aren’t any tall mountains in this picture? Because this is what it looks like when you are on top of them. The good news is my summer sabbatical from blogging ends this week. The bad news is I didn’t miss it. I thought about pulling the plug. The main reason…
Within the last week, two (2) retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Heritage Home Group LLC and Real Mex Restaurants. Heritage originally emerged after a 2013 bankruptcy of the Thomasville, Broyhill, and Lane furniture brands, and Rex Mex operates Chevys Fresh Mex, El Torito, and other full-service restaurant brands. Both filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware, cases 18-11736 and 18-11795 respectively. Additionally, Reuters and CNBC are reporting that Mattress …
September and October 2018 trials are approaching for federal court litigation regarding State Farm’s 2004 contributions used for messaging said to be related to the campaign for office of Justice Karmeier of the Illinois Supreme Court. In a recent ruling, the district judge (Herndon) struck two of plaintiff’s expert opinions related to the contributions. The ruling is summarized in a July 24, 2018 article at the Madison County Record.…