Valuation data from the January 2017 Healthcare Services Sector Update from Duff & Phelps. Read more >>

Announcements for firms and people involved in business valuation. Originally published in Issue #173-3 of BVWire. Read more >>

Listen to a free webinar on valuation issues with the legal marijuana industry and also get a free sample chart of accounts for a typical firm. Read more >>

In a right of publicity case, a woman is suing the Chipotle restaurant chain for $2.2 billion for using her photograph without her permission for advertising purposes. Read more >>

Professor Aswath Damodaran (New York University Stern School of Business) has released new data posts and data sets updated for 2017 related to valuation and the cost of capital, including historical stock returns, implied equity risk premiums, country risk premiums, and more. Read more >>

A press release from law consulting firm Altman Weil provides multiple takeaways for business valuation professionals, all of which indicate that law firm mergers and acquisitions are poised to continue in historic numbers. The industry trend is toward acquisition as the favored method for established firms to find new business. Read more >>

The use of the Delaware block method in Tennessee recently came under attack in a case involving a closely held Nashville, Tenn.-based media company whose controlling shareholders had pursued a squeeze-out merger and later asked the trial court for a judicial appraisal of the dissenting shareholders' interest. Read more >>

A recent bankruptcy-related case in front of the California Court of Appeal raises important questions about how one quantifies the value of a dated piece of art, a film, for which there never was a market in the first place. Read more >>

There were 1,536 healthcare M&A transactions in 2016, up 1% from 2015, but overall spending dropped to $255.7 billion from $400.3 billion in 2015, according to data from Irving Levin Associates Inc. Read more >>

For Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the late actor Peter Cushing was “digitally resurrected” and appears as the future Death Star commander. Some stars are now taking action, such as having themselves scanned, so they, too, can provide for their heirs when they’re in the hereafter and enhance the value of their right of publicity. Read more >>

It was another busy year in 2016 for law firm M&As, according to a release from Altman Weil, which tracks this activity. BVR has a new installment in its series of What It’s Worth special reports: What It's Worth: Law Firm Value. This will help you better understand the special considerations when valuing a firm of this kind. Read more >>

Double dipping is a tricky issue because different states have developed different approaches to it. Valuators specializing in divorce issues must know the controlling case law in the state in which they practice. A recent decision by the Washington state Court of Appeals clarifies its state's analytical framework in a case featuring a successful management consulting business the husband had set up and grown during the marriage. Read more >>

In a statutory appraisal action, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently found the deal price did not reflect fair value because the sales process was suboptimal. Certain other methods the parties' experts used also were inadequate to the task, the court said. Read more >>

Over half of the $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments the government recovered in 2016 under the False Claims Act (FCA) were from the healthcare industry. Allegations often revolve around the measurement of the fair market value of physician compensation. Read more >>

Trademarks and trade names were identified in 50% of M&A deals in 2015, up from 45% in 2014, according to the 2015 Purchase Price Allocation Study from Houlihan Lokey. Read more >>

The NYSSCPA sponsored the Marijuana Symposium: Business, Tax and Legal Implications, which included a discussion on the nuances of valuing a firm in this challenging industry. Read more >>

The issues under consideration include the definition of report and communication of assignment results. There’s also a proposed revision of the definition of appraisal review, as well as splitting the existing Standard 3 into two standards. Read more >>

Healthcare reform has been moving the industry away from the traditional fee-for-service revenue model in favor of one where revenue is based on the quality of care. Will the ACA repeal-and-replace efforts under the new Trump administration put the brakes on this? A healthcare valuation expert comments. Read more >>

Social media, audiobooks, music and video files, bitcoin, and other digital assets pose estate planning and valuation challenges, explains a new paper. A handy checklist is also provided. Read more >>

U.S. Tax Court Judge David Laro frequently has cautioned experts not to give in to hiring attorneys who want to shape the appraisal. Although federal and state discovery rules offer some protection for attorney-expert communication, there is a risk of exposure and with it a risk of damage to the expert’s work product and reputation. A recent Section 1031 case, which Judge Laro handled, illustrates what happens when the communication is discovered. Read more >>