Russell Hayman, Jon Dean, Rita Yoon and Sarah Walters continue among the lawyers from three firms representing headset maker Plantronics in its upcoming antitrust trial with competitor Jabra (aka GN Netcom). A Delaware federal judge is evaluating competing pre-trial briefs in the case, which has as much as $600 million at stake.

Russell Hayman, Jon Dean, Rita Yoon and Sarah Walters are among the lawyers representing headset maker Plantronics in an antitrust trial with as much as $600 million at stake. A Delaware federal judge has given the exact instructions a jury must receive regarding the trial involving the company and a competitor.

Russell Hayman, counsel to telephone-headset maker Plantronics, told a Delaware federal court that a controversy over alleged missing emails in its it antitrust trial with a competitor would render his client “severely and unfairly prejudiced” if the episode overshadowed the company’s effort to show it invented leading commercial lightweight headsets for pilots. Also representing Plantronics are Jon Dean,Rita Yoon and Sarah Walters.

Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith discussed a proposed bill to limit state taxation of interstate commerce to activity conducted by entities with physical presence. Mr. Kranz said the bill “goes the opposite direction from [other proposals] that would have created a federal framework for remote sales tax collection,” while Ms. Smith cautioned that “we can’t really anticipate what such legislation would really mean 20, 50 years down the road. I think that is always a problem with legislation that’s this broad.”

Stephen Kranz, M. Miller Baker and Diann Smith represent three major oil companies in an administrative judge’s hearing of their complaint about third-party transfer pricing software used by the DC Office of Tax and Revenue to assess tax liabilities against the companies. The software is “not scientific, it’s not fact-based” argued Mr. Kranz, noting “there was no analysis of the taxpayer’s books and records. There was no audit in the traditional sense.”

Stephen Kranz, Diann Smith, and Eric Carstens were the authors of a McDermott “FCA Alert,” cited here, which warned that jurisdictions like the District of Columbia and Michigan are seeking to expand False Claims Act/whistleblowing laws to create a tax bounty system focused on larger taxpayers.

Diann Smith said regarding delayed effective tax dates that once an effective date nears, “legislatures will frequently delay it again. We’ve seen that happen with the states that have gone to combined reporting and have had special provisions that account for the financial statement impact to companies.” Stephen Kranz agreed that “an articulated, expressed effective date from a fiscal analysis perspective” is essential for business taxpayers in such instances, particularly if the law applies to open tax years.

Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith discussed the complexities of tax disputes. Mr. Kranz asserted that, “whether regulatory, legislative, audit-based, or litigation, every tax problem can and should be seen through the lens of human experience.” As an illustration Ms. Smith noted that “having some type of pared-down visual aid that you can point to” and explain the importance of complex data, “for example in an apportionment formula, can be very useful in clarifying the discussions” during courtroom presentations.

Carsten Böhm led a Düsseldorf , Frankfurt and Munich corporate, labor, antitrust and tax team that advised the owners of transport systems company AAT Antriebstechnik on its sale to Swedish company REAC AB. The team included Germar Enders, Paul Melot de Beauregard, Steffen Woitz , Holger Weiß, Christian Krohs, Markus Hill, Nina Siewert, Patryk Wcislo, Maximilian Baur, Matthias Weingut and Ralf Richter.

Carsten Böhm led a Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich corporate, labor, antitrust and tax team that advised the owners of transport systems company AAT Antriebstechnik on its sale to Swedish company REAC AB. The team included Germar Enders, Paul Melot de Beauregard, Steffen Woitz, Holger Weiß, Christian Krohs, Markus Hill, Nina Siewert, Patryk Wcislo, Maximilian Baur, Matthias Weingut and Ralf Richter.