In The News

• Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on Wall Street Bonus Check Reduction Thomas B. Lewis, Chair of Stark & Stark’s Employment Litigation Group, was quoted in the January 14, 2012 New York Post article, Bonus (cry) babies taking the money and running.  The article discusses a recent trend in Wall Street bankers retiring early amidst  fears of skimpy bonus checks this year, and for the foreseeable future.    Mr. Lewis states, “There’s a strong argument that the gravy-train days of Wall Street may never replicate themselves again. It’s going to be very hard to make an embarrassingly large amount of money at a bank that’s a publicly traded company compared to a private-equity fund or a hedge fund. ....
• Regional Firms Trump Big Brokers in Adviser Hiring Thomas B. Lewis, Shareholder and Chair of Stark & Stark’s Employment Group, was quoted in the December 30, 2011 Chicago Tribune article, Regional firms trump big brokers in adviser hiring. The article discusses the recent increase in financial advisers switching firms in the last half of 2011. During this time, at least 166 advisers, managing a combined $25 billion of assets, moved to a new firm. Mr. Lewis states that recruiting packages have reached 300 to 400 percent of a broker's annual production, including up-front and back-end bonuses, whereas ten years ago, a 50-to-100 percent package was considered healthy. ....
• Recent Cases and Bankruptcy Amendments Impacting Lessors Jennifer D. Gould and Bari J. Gambacorta, Shareholders in Stark & Stark’s Bankruptcy & Creditor’s Rights Group, co-authored an article for the December edition of Equipment Finance Advisor entitled, Recent Cases and Bankruptcy Amendments Impacting Lessors. The article discusses equipment leasing issues dealing with authentication of assignments of equipment leases and repossession of equipment when late payments are accepted after notice of default. The article provides a summary of these cases as well as recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure which may impact a lessor’s current business practices. ....
• Requirements for a Proper Privilege Log Martin P. Schrama, Shareholder in Stark & Stark’s Litigation Group, and Stefanie Colella-Walsh, member of Stark & Stark’s Litigation Group, authored an article for the December 12, 2011 New Jersey Law Journal Product Liability & Toxic Torts Supplement entitled, Requirements for a Proper Privilege Log: The significance of these often overlooked rules. The article discusses the importance of discovery, and more specifically the privilege log, in complex product liability and toxic tort litigation cases. The authors state that a proper privilege log is critical to avoiding wasted time and resources, as well as any potentially misinformed rulings on privilege log entries at issue. You can read the full article online here. (PDF) ....
• Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on FINRA's Actions Against Former Citigroup Managers Thomas B. Lewis, Chair of Stark & Stark’s Employment Group, was quoted in the December 2, 2011 Reuters.com article, Heading up a branch office seen as risky game.    The article discusses the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s recent disciplinary actions against Brandon Tompson and Patricia Collantes, former Citigroup managers in California, after they failed to supervise a sales assistant who stole $750,000 from client’s accounts. Mr. Lewis states that becoming a branch managers comes with great risk and by electing o become a branch manager, brokers are effectively signing up to be responsible for every action of every employee, all day long. You can read the full article online here. ....
• Stark & Stark Attorney Elected Secretary-Tresurer of Trial Attorneys of New Jersey Congratulations to Craig S. Hilliard, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Litigation Group, who was recently installed as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey. Mr. Hilliard was installed at the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey’s 44th annual banquet on October 13, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey along with the other officers for the upcoming year.                             (shown from left): The Trial Attorneys of New Jersey's 2011-2012 officers: Craig Hilliard, Diana Manning, Edwin Matthews, John North, Michael Marone, Jim Batsides, Harry McEnroe and ....
• Builders and Contractors Take Note: The Move to Make Buildings Healthier is Upon Us Vincent J. Mangini, Shareholder in Stark & Stark’s Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use Group, authored the article, Builders and Contractors Take Note: The Move to Make Buildings Healthier is Upon Us, for the October 2011 edition of Mercer Business Magazine. When construction a new building, contractors should ensure that the facility is sturdy, functional and safe. However, some materials and products used in building design and construction are not. Due to this fact, government agencies and non-profit organizations have recently expressed concerns over the chemicals used in construction and their impact upon the public health. ....
• Settlement in Slimquick/Liquid Hoodia Class Action Stark & Stark is representing a group of plaintiffs in a class action arising from the sale of several weight loss products in the United States including, Liquid Hoodia, Slimquick and NV products. If you, or someone you know, has purchased these products in the United States for personal use and not for resale between January 1, 2003 and August 5, 2011, you could receive a cash payment from a class action settlement.   A hearing is scheduled for November 2011 – at that time, if the Court approves the proposed settlement, anyone who purchased the products could be entitled to a cash refund. In order to obtain your refund, you must submit a claim form by October 24, 2011. For more information and to submit a claim form, visit: www.WellNXUSASettlement.com. If you know of someone who has taken these products, we encourage you to share this information with them as well. If you would like to discuss this matter in more detail, please feel free to contact us at 609.895.7324. ....
• Help Cure Cancer With A Simple Click! October is breast cancer awareness month. Stark & Stark would like to aid Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in their mission to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find cures.    Visit Stark & Stark's Facebook page during the month of October and "like" us. For each "like" we receive in October, Stark & Stark will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.   Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis  and treatments, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation.    Susan's sister, Nancy Brinker, was moved by Susan's compassion for others and founded the Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, which is now the global leader of the breast cancer movement.    Together, we can save lives.   ....
• Trademark Infringement in Keyword Advertising Craig S. Hilliard, Shareholder in Stark & Stark Intellectual Property Group, co-authored the article, Trademark Infringement in Keyword Advertising, for the September 26, 2011 edition of The New Jersey Law Journal. The article discusses the challenges electronic media poses for the interpretation of the Lanham Act.  It presents situations where marks are used in non-traditional ways.  In particular, the use of keyword advertising, where words are linked to advertisements in a web page, may stretch the limits of the Lanham Act.  Recently, a Second Circuit decision in Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc., redefined a “use in commerce”, one of the basic criteria required to prove trademark infringement.  This article will address the changes in the Second Circuit’s position on keyword advertising, and how its position compares to other Circuits.   ....
• Handling Protesters/Solicitors at N.J. Shopping Malls Thomas S. Onder, Shareholder in Stark & Stark’s Litigation Group, and Cary S. Kvitka, member of Stark & Stark’s Litigation Group, authored the article, Handling Protesters/Solicitors at N.J. Shopping Malls for the September 5, 2011 edition of the New Jersey Law Journal.   Mr. Onder and Mr. Kvitka state that generally, mall owners may impose restrictions against commercial solicitations and restrictions on the place, time and manner of noncommercial speech activities. However, any commercial restriction should be less onerous than the restrictions noted in the cases cited. Additionally, a mall owner should not adopt any such restrictions unless it can justify that each requirement is necessary in order to protect the mall owner’s commercial interests.   ....
• Stark & Stark Attorney Featured on WHYY's Newsworks Tonight Program Noah A. Schwartz, member of Stark & Stark’s Business & Corporate Group in the firm’s Marlton, New Jersey office, will be featured on this evenings edition of WHYY’s Newsworks Tonight. The program will air from 6:00 – 6:30 PM on station 90.9 FM. Mr. Schwartz joins host Maiken Scott as they discuss a common issue facing many families after the death of a loved one: do we have to pay bill collectors looking for money after our family member has passed away? Mr. Schwartz discusses special considerations offered after the loss of a spouse, child and parent. **Updated September 28, 2011 - 8:40 AM** In case you missed last night's edition of Newsworks Tonight with Mr. Schwartz, you can listen to the full program online here. ....
• Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on AllianceBernstein's Decision Not to Sign Protocol for Broker Recruiting Thomas B. Lewis, Chair of Stark & Stark’s Employment Group, was quoted in the September 13, 2011 FundFire article, AllianceBernstein Sues More Departed Advisors.   The article discusses the continiuing legal battle AllianceBernstein is engaged in with financial advisors who recently left their firm and took clients with them. The firm filed suit against eight former brokers, claiming that they violated their non-solicitation agreements after they left without giving sufficient notice and taking their client lists and other confidential information with them.   Mr. Lewis comments on AllianceBernstein’s choice not to partake in the Protocol for Broker recruiting. He states, “The reason they have not joined is because they are concerned that it will make it easier for people to leave AllianceBernstein. They don’t want to join the protocol right now because there’s a great concern that there might more people who would want to leave than join, ....
• Earthquake in New Jersey? Why Building Codes are Important Even on the East Coast Minutes ago we here in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and Newtown, Pennsylvania felt the earth shake…literally. An earthquake measured at 5.9 on the Richter scale, centered in Mineral, Virginia (just outside of Richmond), was felt along significant parts of the East Coast.    Developers, property owners, architects, engineers and frankly all of us are to be thankful for building code requirements that consider earthquakes as an element of structural design, not only here in New Jersey, but throughout the entire nation.    While structural design and building codes in California for instance must pay far more attention to the possibility and severity of earthquakes, all building codes are required to consider the impact of natural events (including wind and earthquakes) no matter how uncommon such natural events might be. Without such building code requirements, there could have been far more damage than the building shaking and buzz around the office we felt here ....
• Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on Possible Ashton Kutcher Federal Investigation Paul A. Lieberman, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Securities Group, was quoted in the August 20, 2011 New York Post article, Ashton's Hard Sell With Feds. Recently, Ashton Kutcher’s comments regarding several internet based social media companies has come under scrutiny after Kutcher authored an article for Details magazine in which he praises Tinychat, Fourquare, Arbnb and several other companies, while failing to disclose the fact that he is an investor in the companies. Now the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission are questioning if this move warrants a federal investigation. In the article, Mr. Lieberman states, “He's getting close to the line, if not crossing it, in terms of SEC regulations on insider trading." ....