Month: September 2007

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Use Rights on Nonnavigable Waterways

 

 

 

Imagine a residential community in which all the residents own tracts of land surrounding a pond that is not accessible to the public. What water surface rights do the landowners have? Can a landowner use the entire pond for boating even if it will interfere with another’s fishing? Can a single landowner keep all others from using the pond for their recreation? Recent state court decisions highlight two very different regimes governing the use rights of nonnavigable waterways. [1]

Historically, state courts have adopted one of two rules governing surface rights over nonnavigable waterways: the common law rule or the civil law rule. [2] Under the common law rule, the owner of part of the lake bed has exclusive use and control rights to the water extending from that property. [3] If ten landowners have equally sized lots adjacent to a pond, each landowner will have exclusive

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Credit after Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: how individuals can improve their credit score after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.


 
   According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, there were 18,466
non-business Chapter 7 bankruptcy claims filed in the state of Illinois
last year.[1] Even though this amount is nearly three times as less as
the amount of Chapter 7 claims filed in 2005, analysts at the Federal
Reserve indicate that household debt is at a record high relative to
disposable income for 2007.[2] Consequently, some analysts are
concerned that the high level of indebtedness will lead to more
bankruptcies in 2007.[3] Nonetheless, filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy
is not the end of the world for one’s credit.

I. Introduction

     According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, there were
18,466 non-business Chapter 7 bankruptcy claims filed in the state of
Illinois last year.[1] Even though this amount is nearly three times as
less as the amount of Chapter 7 claims filed in 2005, analysts at the
Federal Reserve

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Effective Redress for E-Commerce: A Case of eBay

As the Internet becomes part of our daily lives, electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been developed into one of major ordinary transaction methods.  However, despite of its rapid growth and wide popularity, e-commerce is still risky in nature, due to its anonymity, accessibility, diversity, and popularity. [1]  E-commerce is a double-edged sword: its features may benefit the online transaction environment or, conversely, harm the sound online transaction environment.  Its advantages, such as convenience and anonymity, are frequently abused and may cause online fraud, damaging e-commerce.  The seventh annual fraud survey reported online fraud would harm e-commerce by causing a loss of $2.8 billion out of e-commerce profits in 2005. [2]  In order to promote the constant growth of e-commerce, one must look to practical solutions.  One of the recommended solutions for e-commerce is effective redress. [3]

II. Redress offered by eBay

Redress is usually referred as “both reactive and proactive methods … Read the rest

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The Forecast for Foreign Investment in Russia: Should Investors Expect a Warm Climate or Cloudy Skies?

I. Introduction

"If you do business in Russia, you will lose all of your money, because your Russian business partner will steal it from you, because he or she is a thief. And you will die, because the Russian mafia will murder you in your hotel bedroom when you visit Moscow or St. Petersburg."
-Daniel Thorinley  [1] at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The above quote seems to reflect the Wall Street Journal and CNN view of conducting business in Russia, who  repeatedly caution their readers and viewers about investing in Russia's emerging markets.

According to Dr. Daniel Thorniley, Senior Vice President of the Economist Group, [2] an organization providing analysis on international business and world affairs, this view is unequivocally wrong.  [3] He cites business success in Russia as the world’s best kept business secret. Yet this economic giant is largely being ignored

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Verizon v. Vonage: If Verizon Wins, Do We All Lose?

     Many of us enjoy those cheeky, and admittedly strange, Vonage commercials.  A substantial number of us are also drawn to the very low price of Vonage services as evidenced by the fact that Vonage has approximately 2.2 million users.[1]  For only $24.99 per month one can get their local and long distance phone service through the internet,[2] but recent events indicate that this price maybe too good to be true.  When deals like this come along, one may wonder how the company in question was able to charge so little and yet still turn a profit.  The answer to that question may be that Vonage has infringed on patents held by Verizon, turning a profit on technology they do not legally own, according to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.[3]  While the trial has concluded and Verizon has won the first round, this

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