It's Official: The Euro is Here. Effective January 1, 2002, 12 of
the 15 member nations of the European Union have adopted a common
currency - the Euro. Of European Union members, only the United
Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark have not made the switch. At the
current exchange rate, one Euro is worth about $0.88 in US Dollars.
For information on currency, changeover plans, and the effect
on business, banking and the public, see the Euro
information website on the European Union's online website,
Europa.
USSC I: US Supreme Court Rules Plants May Be Patented. Mindful of its prior ruling in
Diamond
v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303, 206 USPQ 193 (1980) (484 PTCJ
A-1, 6/19/80), that Section
101 of the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. §101, makes patentable
"anything under the sun made by man," the Supreme Court
has ruled that plants may be the subject of utility patents.
The Court rejected the argument that the Plant Patent Act of
1930, 35
U.S.C. §§161-164, and the Plant Variety Protection
Act of 1970, 7
U.S.C. §2321, et seq., were the exclusive means of protections
for manufactured plants. J.E.M.
AG Supply Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. U.S.,
No. 99-1996, (December 10, 2001).
USSC II: Supreme Court Accepts Faxed, Emailed
Filings.
The closure of the Supreme Court Building, the delay in mail
delivery, and the heightened security measures taken following
the anthrax mailings disrupted the Court's traditional paper-based
system for processing thousands of appeals, and has led to the
Court's taking the unprecedented step of accepting
e-mailed or faxed backup copies of legal filings. Because
of the postal mail disruptions, the Court also may not have enough
cases to fill its oral argument schedule for this fiscal year.
These events have led to a discussion over whether the court
should permanently adopt electronic filing, as other state and
federal courts have done.
Partnership Composed Solely
for Tax Advantage is A Sham. A partnership with a foreign corporation
in a tax-free jurisdiction whose primary purpose is to generate
tax losses for the domestic partner and tax gains for the foreign
partner may be a sham partnership. Noting the Tax Court's findings
of "overwhelming evidence in the record that Saba and Otrabanda
were organized solely to generate tax benefits for Brunswick,"
the Federal District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
vacated and remanded the decision for further proceedings consistent
with ASA
Investerings Partnership v. Commissioner, 201 F.3d 505 (D.C.
Cir. 2000), which was not yet released at the time of the Tax
Court decision. Saba
Partnership vs. Commissioner, No. 00-1328, U.S.Ct.App.D.C.,
(December 21, 2001).
Mass Emailing Held to Constitute
Trespass to Chattels. A divided California Appellate
Court has upheld the decision of a lower court granting an injunction
to Intel against Ken Hamidi, a disgruntled former employee who
expressed his anger by sending mass emails to Intel's employees.A
majority of the court found that the distraction to employees
caused by such mailings constituted sufficient harm. The dissent
pointed out that no damage was done to the receiving computer
system, and no injury was suffered, and that, at most, employees
were presented with an unsolicited email. Intel
Corporation vs. Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi, C033076, CA Ct. App.
3rd Dist., December 10, 2001.
Mandatory 11-Digit Dialing: Coming to a Telephone Near You? A reported imminent change in policy
by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), would permit
new area codes to be designated for use by only one particular
technology, such as cell phones. Such action would help avoid
the necessity for mandatory 11-digit dialing, a looming probability
for populous areas around the country. The Illinois Commerce
Commission (ICC) first proposed such a plan six years ago, but
it was rejected by the FCC on the grounds that such a policy
would put cell phone companies at a competitive disadvantage.
As a result, effective January 5, 2002, 11-digit
dialing will be mandatory for those in the 847 area code
of suburban Chicago. A new area code - 224 - will be overlaid
on that area, to the confusion and dismay of many. As reported
in our August, 2001 issue, the FCC has consistently maintained
that 7-digit dialing must be phased out.
How's That Again? Under the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692, et seq, it
is illegal to use any false or misleading representation to collect
a debt, including the representation "that any individual
is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney."
15
U.S.C. 1692e(3). As a practical matter, it means that an
attorney must personally review each dunning letter sent from
his office. In this case, the attorney moved for summary judgment,
offering his affidavit that he had personally reviewed the letter
sent to Plaintiff. But the court found that reason dictated that
there was a triable issue of fact where the lawyer claimed to
have personally reviewed more than 400,000 letters in the course
of 8 months. Boyd
v. Wexler, No 01-1809, 7th Cir. Ct.App., (December 28, 2001).
Accord and Satisfaction Defeats
Claim for Lost Airline Luggage. United Airlines calculated its
liability to Plaintiffs for their lost luggage on international
flights according to the Warsaw Convention, and paid each plaintiff
the sum of $9.07 per pound, based on the maximum permissible
baggage weight. But it was undisputed that United did not weigh
the baggage, and under the Warsaw Convention, could not avail
itself of its damage limitations provisions. However, the fact
that each plaintiff endorsed, and deposited a check that stated
"in full and complete settlement of any and all claims,"
constituted a valid accord and satisfaction, and was fatal to
their claims. Curtin
vs. United Air Lines, Inc., No 00-7274 (D.C. Cir December
28, 2001)
Award of Non-Neutral Arbitrator
Upheld.
Addressing difficult issues under the Federal
Arbitration Act, concerning how the grounds for vacating
an award, 9
U.S.C. § 10(a)(1)-(3), should be applied to party-selected
arbitrators, the 8th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals refused
to set aside an award made by three arbitrators,one of whom also
served as an expert witness for the Plaintiff. The court found
that so long as the non-neutral arbitrator did not mislead the
other arbitrators or prevent the other party from fairly presenting
its case,the award would not be set aside. Delta
Mine Holding Co. v. AFC Coal Properties, Inc., No 00-3646
(8th Cir. (December 28, 2001).
What Your Business Should
Do if the FBI Contacts You... The
Patriot Act, passed as a result of the September 11, 2001
attacks on the U.S., great expanded domestic law enforcement
surveillance powers, allowing the government to request information
from companies during criminal investigations much more easily
and for much less cause than in the past. This raises countless
privacy issues for businesses, their employees and customers.
But the new law does not require businesses to turn over
information voluntarily. Although it may seem like a patriotic
obligation, a business should not hand over information without
requiring proof of a court order or a subpoena. What kinds of
proof should you require for what kinds of information? See this
helpful article
from the Portland Press Herald Online.