The players would strike pre-emptively before the owners could declare a legal impasse in the talks and implement their cap for next season.

In this way the legal impasse could be bypassed, and negotiations began to acquire a plot of land across the road from the newly completed Embassy building.

"There was no legal impasse."

"In our county lots of things like this happen," Ms. Wang said of her legal impasse, quivering with rage.

A legal impasse over the issue, which could last for months and prolong or delay the investigation, ultimately could require a decision by the Supreme Court.

Rather, the stage is now set for a legal impasse that might result in dropping of criminal charges against Mr. North on fair-trial grounds.

If the two sides were at a deadlocked point in the talks when the expiration date arrived, the owners could declare a legal impasse.

Once more, we find ourselves at a legal impasse, where everyone is blamed except the culprit.

We all expect emergency proposals from the European Commission that will help us to eliminate this legal impasse.

So far, that legal impasse has kept the proposed sites in Japan and France from officially signing on to the exhibition tour.