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Latest Updates / Litigation
February 19, 2024
Court Takes Measures to Prevent Frivolous Class Actions
The Tel Aviv District Court recently reduced agreed settlements between respondents and petitioners in motions to certify class actions alleging website accessibility violations. It is thus signaling to serial petitioners that filing a motion to certify a class action is a last resort and that they must first complain to the website owner.
February 18, 2024
Arbitration Clauses in International Agreements
The new law brings clarity to issues of international arbitration and helps parties to an agreement reach decisions and wisely plan ahead for any possible commercial disputes.
January 4, 2024
Copyrights: The New York Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft
The conflict between copyright protection for content creators and the development of AI platforms by companies is being litigated once again in court. Can appropriate regulation reconcile between the parties’ needs?
January 3, 2024
Personal Liability for Debt to the Registrar of Companies
A district court in Israel has ruled to impose personal liability on a company’s CEO and director for the company’s accumulated debt to the Registrar of Companies in respect of annual fees, after the company ceased operating, because the CEO and director refrained from opening court proceedings to liquidate the company.
December 27, 2023
Barnea: Representing Eshkolot in Lawsuit against Screen iL
After filing a lawsuit against Netflix, Eshkolot, the Company for the Performing Rights of Israeli Artists continues to fight companies that use protected performances for commercial purposes without obtaining the artists’ consent and without paying them royalties. Last week, with our counsel, Eshkolot filed another lawsuit on the same issue against Stream IL Communication Ltd and the American company Stream IL Inc., which operate the website Screen iL.
Eyal Nachshon, Avinadav Preuss, and Naama Ben Arosh Moshe prepared the statement of claim.
December 13, 2023
Document Subpoena from US Authorities: Critical Steps
When an individual or a corporation receives a document subpoena from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), from a US regulatory authority like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), or from any other law enforcement agency in the US, it is very important to know what to do next to ensure the first response serves the client’s legal interests and best defense. More importantly, the initial response must not compromise or harm the best possible legal strategy down the road.
September 21, 2023
Derivative Claims and Independent Committees: Eyal Nachshon Lecture on Israeli Association of Publicly Traded Companies Webinar
Following the publication of draft regulations on derivative claims, Eyal Nachshon, a partner in our firm's litigation department, was invited to participate in a webinar hosted by the Israeli Association of Publicly Traded Companies on the issue. In his lecture, Eyal referred to the draft regulations with an eye toward litigation.
September 20, 2023
Does the Proposed Amendment to the Israeli Contract Law Change the Aprofim Ruling?
Contrary to the headlines, a careful examination of the amendment shows it is anchored in Supreme Court case law, and that it creates greater certainty with regard to contract interpretations in the business sector.
September 19, 2023
Contracts, Signatures, and Smileys: Are Emojis Legally Valid?
Courts around the world are being asked to determine the legal standing of emojis and to include ideograms in contract doctrine when a consensus about their meanings has not yet been reached.
September 10, 2023
What Is and Isn’t Permissible When Startup Founders Split
A founders’ agreement should resolve problems that might arise in the event of the dissolution of a joint venture. However, even in the absence of such an agreement, the founders cannot evade their obligations pursuant to the Israeli Companies Law.
September 6, 2023
Successful and Proactive Institutional Activism in Israel
Following a lengthy battle by the majority shareholders in Megureit, led by Phoenix Group and More Investment House, a significant reduction was made to the REIT fund’s management fees. The agreement was reached after an institutional activist struggle, including a petition to the court and a demand for a special shareholders’ meeting. Phoenix and More were represented by firm partners Zohar Lande and Hagit Ross, with additional assistance from Shachar Rothschild, Alon Anava, Tzofiya Shenfeld, and Ronit Lerer.
August 31, 2023
Who Owns the Building Rights?
An important ruling handed down by the Israeli Supreme Court clarifies how specific rights holders acquire additional or future building rights in real estate assets.
August 28, 2023
Insolvency: Debt Settlements on the Rise
Idan Miller, the coordinator of our firm’s insolvency and corporate recovery practice, was interviewed by Globes about the wave of companies in financial distress. Idan noted that “what we’re seeing in the newspapers is only the tip of the iceberg.” According to Idan, a large number of unpublicized debt settlements are currently underway in contracting, high-tech, and security procurement companies.
August 13, 2023
Barnea: Representing Bareket in NIS 20 Million Lawsuit
Shai Avnieli and Omer Ungar are representing Bareket in a lawsuit the construction company Longshine has filed against it. Longshine, which served as the main contractor in a project initiated by Bareket, was nine months late in delivery of the project. As a result, Bareket deducted approximately NIS 10 million from the construction account.
August 8, 2023
Barnea: Representing Client in NIS 11 Million Lawsuit
Our firm is representing Adi Nahum, a partner in the Contempo real estate group, and several companies owned by him, in an NIS 11 million claim for monetary relief and other remedies, including the removal of minority oppression and a declaratory judgment of ownership rights in companies in Contempo against the company's owner, Shahar Raz, and other companies in the group. Contempo oversees dozens of urban renewal projects in sought-after neighborhoods in central Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Givat Shmuel, Ra’anana, Bat Yam, and Ramat Hasharon.
August 7, 2023
Barnea: Advising Anise on Corporate Recovery Plan
Idan Miller and Liron Dahan are advising Anise on a corporate recovery plan, after the natural products chain fell into an approximately ILS 22.9 million debt. As part of this process, our firm submitted a request to the district court to appoint a trustee and approve a debt arrangement. Anise’s debts accumulated due to branch expansion and an increase in interest rates. The chain is now working to implement its all-encompassing corporate recovery plan, which includes closing unprofitable branches, closing a packaging plant in Kiryat Anavim, improving efficiency, and further reductions.
July 30, 2023
Amendments to the Israeli Succession Law
Amendments to the Israeli Succession Law have recently come into effect that expand the authority of the Succession Registrar, reduce the number of matters transferred to the Family Court, and limit instances of the Custodian General’s supervision over estate executors.
July 17, 2023
Barnea: Representing 120 Apartment Owners in Pinui-Binui Project against Three Recalcitrant Owners
Lawyers from our firm’s Real Estate Department, are advising apartment owners in a residential complex designated for pinui-binui in Herzliya. They represented a group of about 120 apartment owners in court against three recalcitrant owners who are objecting to the project due to their demand for higher recompense from the contractor. The court made the extraordinary decision to order the recalcitrant owners to pay NIS 7.8 million in compensation (NIS 2.6 million apiece). In addition, each recalcitrant owner was ordered to pay NIS 20,000 for legal expenses.
July 9, 2023
New Limitations on the Rehabilitation of an Insolvent Company
In a recent ruling in the Bachar Real Estate case, the court prioritized the rights of tenants over insolvent urban renewal companies and created a significant obstacle to the rehabilitation of such companies.Idan Miller the manager of our firm’s insolvency and corporate recovery practice, presents the challenges of the new ruling in an op-ed for Globes.
July 5, 2023
Barnea: Representing RGE in Hot’s Appeal to the Supreme Court over FREETV
Our firm represented RGE in the appeal the television cable company Hot filed with the Israeli Supreme Court over the Second Authority for Television and Radio’s decision to approve the establishment of FREETV, a joint initiative between RGE and Keshet. In its appeal, Hot claimed approval of the project was invalid because of alleged harm to competition and because of the project’s potential consequences on centralization in the media. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal and ruled it was not within Hot’s authority to determine a legal flaw in the decision-making process or the approval itself. RGE was represented by Zohar Lande, Eran Winner, Ido Vakshi, and Lina Makhuli.