Davis|Kuelthau Corporate and M&A attorney, Kevin Eismann teamed up with industry leaders to share valuable information about how the M&A market has changed because of COVID. Click here to watch a recording of the webinar. The world has changed a lot in the wake of the pandemic. Businesses of all sizes and in all industries are evaluating what their future looks like as the impact of...
By: Timothy J. Feldhausen On March 23, 2021, the container vessel Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, grounded in the Suez Canal for nearly 5 days, blocking traffic through one of the busiest and most important commercial sea lanes in the entire world. The cost of this single incident is being measured in billions of dollars. Nearly 30 years ago, I made four transits...
Sales are negotiated and consummated between companies every day. What can often get overlooked in transactions are the terms and conditions within the variety of documents being exchanged between the contracting companies. At minimum, a purchase order and a sales order are likely to be exchanged and typically include terms and conditions. However, if you do not have detailed, product-specific,...
Deals can be complicated and adding the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix certainly hasn’t made it easier to buy or sell a business. As the pandemic continues to create uncertainty for businesses, buyers and sellers can take steps now to mitigate risk in their transactions. Aside from taking the appropriate precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19, business owners should consider how they plan to...
With the advent of COVID-19, many are seeking relief under the impossibility defense or attempting to enforce a contact against a party that is looking to avoid its obligations. It is important to know the policy behind that defense. It is also important to understand that policy when you are negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts you will enter into in the future. Early cases involving...
By: Timothy J. Feldhausen Contracts with customers, vendors, or other parties are a normal part of doing business. Most businesses are party to numerous contracts and although it may seem that contracts are fairly standard documents, the reality is that each individual document is its own legally binding arrangement. The parties to contracts often customize the arrangements to suit the...
Within less than a month, the outbreak of COVID-19, and government countermeasures deployed to blunt its effect, has brought a vibrant economy grinding to a halt. In particular, what was a lively commercial real estate market buttressed by strong economic fundamentals, only weeks ago, is beginning to slow due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. At the individual deal level, parties are...
By: Timothy J. Feldhausen The term “anticipatory breach” or “anticipatory repudiation” does not come up very often outside of the courtroom, but in this time of COVID-19 and disrupted supply chains around the world, it deserves a closer look. Anticipatory breach occurs when a party to a contract demonstrates, either through its words or its actions, that it does not intend to comply with one...
By: Matthew R. McClean COVID-19 is causing many of us to alter expectations. Many in the construction industry are confronting this reality and need to prepare for the potential legal implications. Construction businesses are looking at three significant, interrelated issues from virus’ impact: labor (having healthy, able workers available in the time of social distancing and keeping them safe);...
By: Joseph E. Tierney IV Update: The Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) issued emergency guidance on remote notarizations last week. Such emergency guidance referenced certain types of estate planning documents and included citations to state statutes addressing certain types of estate planning documents. The Department has reconsidered its initial guidance and, as of March 20, 2020,...
