April, 2021
Chancery Court Employs Context-Driven Analysis in Adopting Nuanced Interpretations of DGCL Provisions
Apr. 29, 2021—Robert S. Reder | 74 Vand. L. Rev. En Banc 85 (2021) | In Stream TV, Vice Chancellor Laster addressed aspects of the DGCL which previously had received scant attention in the Delaware courts. Employing a context-driven approach to statutory interpretation, the Vice Chancellor arrived at nuanced explanations of two provisions of the DGCL whose...
The Shadows of Litigation Finance
Apr. 20, 2021—Suneal Bedi & William C. Marra | 74 Vand. L. Rev. 563 (2021) | Litigation finance is quickly becoming a centerpiece of our legal system. Once a dispute arises, litigants may seek money from third-party financiers to pay their legal bills or monetize their claims, and in turn those financiers receive a portion of any...
Advisory Opinions and the Problem of Legal Authority
Apr. 20, 2021—Christian R. Burset | 74 Vand. L. Rev. 621 (2021) | The prohibition against advisory opinions is fundamental to our understanding of federal judicial power, but we have misunderstood its origins. Discussions of the doctrine begin not with a constitutional text or even a court case, but a letter in which the Jay Court rejected...
The Loudest Voice at the Supreme Court: The Solicitor General’s Dominance of Amicus Oral Argument
Apr. 20, 2021—Darcy Covert & Annie J. Wang | 74 Vand. L. Rev. 681 (2021) | The Solicitor General (“SG”) is often called the “Tenth Justice,” a title that captures his unique relationship with the Supreme Court and his independence from the executive branch. No phenomenon better reflects this relationship than the Court’s practice of permitting amici...
The Quick (Spending) and the Dead: The Agency Costs of Forever Philanthropy
Apr. 20, 2021—Brian Galle | 74 Vand. L. Rev. 757 (2021) | American philanthropic institutions control upwards of a trillion dollars of wealth. Because contributions to these entities are deductible from both income and estate taxes, and the entities’ earnings are tax-free, that trillion dollars is heavily underwritten by contemporary taxpayers. Law offers little assurance that those...
Make Hay While the Sun Shines: Private Equity and the False Claims Act
Apr. 20, 2021—Gregory F. Maczko | 74 Vand. L. Rev. 797 (2021) | For years, the federal government has used the False Claims Act to police fraud in the healthcare industry. Every year, the Department of Justice recovers billions of dollars from healthcare companies for their False Claims Act violations, both penalizing wrongdoers and providing incentives for...
Creditors, Keepers: Passive Retention of Estate Property and the Automatic Stay
Apr. 20, 2021—Caitlin M. McAuliffe | 74 Vand. L. Rev. 829 (2021) | The automatic stay provision is one of the most important provisions in the Bankruptcy Code. Until recently, however, it has remained unclear if passive retention of property of the bankruptcy estate must be immediately turned over to the debtor under the automatic stay provision....