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April 03, 2014
Publication - Appellate, White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled “U.S. Supreme Court Tackles Questions of Criminal Intent,” Stephen Miller and Jordan Fox, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss the element of criminal intent. “Guilty knowledge” is often the hardest element for the government to prove in a criminal prosecution. For that reason, criminal practitioners pay special attention to changes in the law that impacts the evidence admissible on the score. The U.S. Supreme Court decided one such case during this term and was set to hear oral argument in another this week.
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April 03, 2014
News
In a Q&A feature published by Storm Water Solutions Magazine, Michael Klein (Utility, Environmental & Energy, Washington, DC and Harrisburg, PA) discusses the increasing demand for privatized municipal water services and the effects of privatization. Michael highlights the pros and cons of privatization and provides examples of municipalities that have benefited from privatization.
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April 02, 2014
Publication
How to Navigate Through the Three Hurdles in Claims Against International
Defendants in U.S. Courts, Potential U.S. Legislation Impacting Claims Against International Defendants and The Role of Local Counsel in International Claims
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April 01, 2014
Press Release - Intellectual Property, Trademark & Copyright
Camille Miller, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Intellectual Property Practice Group and the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group, was named a Client Choice 2014 winner in the Client Choice Guide – International 2014.
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April 01, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Angelo G. Savino, a shareholder in the Global Insurance Department, authored an article titled Event Horizon featured in the April 2014 issue of [Best’s Review]. In the article Angelo discusses the Haliburton v. Erica P. John Fund Supreme Court case and other factors that could have major impact on the D&O space in 2014.
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March 31, 2014
News - Products Liability
Jim Heller, chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Products Liability Practice Group, commented on GM’s recall of 1.6 million cars. Jim commented in a Reuters article picked up by many publications including CNBC.
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March 31, 2014
Press Release - Products Liability, Professional Liability
Cozen O’Connor has hired experienced commercial litigator William Walsh as a member, further expanding the firm’s litigation strengths in its Seattle office. Mr. Walsh has successfully represented numerous clients in court in a variety of areas, particularly with regard to aviation, products liability, and professional liability matters.
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March 31, 2014
Publication - White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled “Immaculate Suspension: Non-Analytical Positive Doping Violations from USADA to MLB,” Barry Boss and Rebecca Brodey, of the Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group, discuss a new era of combating drug use in baseball and other sports, one where athletes are increasingly suspended for doping violations not because of a positive drug test, but based on non-analytical evidence.
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March 31, 2014
Publication - Environmental Regulatory & Due Diligence - Climate Change
On March 28, the White House announced a set of new policy initiatives to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The Climate Action Plan—Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions (Methane Plan) outlines the administration’s plans for new regulations, voluntary efforts and measurement technology to reduce and track methane emissions.
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March 30, 2014
News - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes
In an article titled “NLRB ruling on Northwestern football players creates benefits challenges,” Jeffrey Pasek, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, discusses the National Labor Relations Board decision that Northwestern University scholarship football players are employees of the Evanston, Illinois-based private university.
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March 28, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Melissa Brill of the Global Insurance department discusses K2 and the Court of Appeals decision to reject the notion of coverage in this article published by Property Casualty360.
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March 28, 2014
Publication - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes
Everyone recognizes that college athletics are big business for the schools, but do they exploit the student athletes under the guise of amateurism? Thanks to a new decision out of the Chicago office of the National Labor Relations Board, we will likely find out if scholarship athletes will be treated as employees with the right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act. On March 26, 2014, the NLRB regional director concluded that the scholarship recipients on the Northwestern University football team are employees and ordered an election to determine if they desire union representation.
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March 28, 2014
Publication
In an article titled “Private Causes of Action: The Determinative Third Prong,” Menachem Kastner and Ally Hack, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss when a statute gives rise to a private cause of action and the applicable three-prong test. The article endeavors to capsulize the current state of the law, including its application in real estate cases, and to simplify the formula to be applied as to when individuals can and cannot institute private causes of action based on legislation passed, ostensibly, for the public benefit.
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March 27, 2014
Publication - Tax
In a four to three decision, the en banc Commonwealth Court held that a senior citizen’s estate was entitled to a rebate under the Senior Citizens Property Tax and Rent Rebate Assistance Act, 53 P.S. §§ 6926.1301-6926.1313 (the Senior Rebate Act), so long as the decedent met any of the claimant eligibility criteria under Section 1303 even if the decedent did not live throughout the tax year for which the rebate was sought.
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March 26, 2014
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
A massive, mile-wide mudslide in Snohomish County, Wash., devastated homes and lives, leaving at least 14 people confirmed dead and 176 people still missing. The slide near the hamlet of Oso descended from above the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, careening over the river, and rushing through homes and onto Highway 530 at about 11 a.m. on March 22. An enormous debris and mud field – 20 feet deep or more in places – still blankets much of the surrounding area and homes.
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March 19, 2014
Publication - Utility & Energy
In an article titled “Your Vulnerability and Emergency Response Plan – Friends or Enemies?” Michael Klein recommends – following the recent Elk River chemical spill in West Virginia – that every public water system consider doing at least two things: (1) review and update existing vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans; and (2) regularly train and educate employees with respect to the assessments and plans.
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March 19, 2014
Publication
In an article titled "Practical Tips for Maintaining Privilege With Consultants," Hayes Hunt and Arthur Fritzinger, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss how general counsel can protect confidential communications with outside consultants from disclosure.
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March 17, 2014
News
Andrea Hammel and Jared Bayer, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, recently obtained a favorable ruling on behalf of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The Pennsylvania Superior Court handed a win to Anadarko on Friday, March 14, ruling that oil and gas lease agreements remain valid in their original form even after the discovery of deed restrictions that require legal action to resolve. In a precedential ruling, a three-judge panel ruled that a 2006 agreement giving Anadarko E&P Co. LP access to oil and gas under a 62-acre property owned by Leo and Sandra Shedden remained valid as drafted, despite subsequent quiet title proceedings to clear the Sheddens from a previously unknown deed reserving half of the land’s subsurface rights.
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March 17, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In a White House ceremony on Thursday, March 13, 2014, President Barack Obama signed a memorandum ordering the Secretary of Labor to “propose revisions to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations” governing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Although the president did not direct specific changes, he clearly stated that the goal of any regulatory changes would be to make more workers eligible for overtime pay under federal law. The president’s directive is
expected to lead to proposed rules that would require employers to pay overtime to millions of workers who are currently classified as exempt employees.
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March 14, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Real Estate & Construction
Construction companies operating in multiple jurisdictions are finding that standardized language used in typical liability policies is subject to considerably different interpretations from one state to another.
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