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March 07, 2009
Press Release
Tamar S. Wise has joined Cozen O’Connor’s Philadelphia office as an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department. Prior to joining the firm, she was an associate with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison in New York. Wise focuses her practice in commercial litigation matters, and has experience in a variety of securities, derivatives and breach of contract actions. She is admitted to practice in New York, and is fluent in Hebrew and Hungarian.
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March 03, 2009
Publication - Business, Health Care & Life Sciences, Technology, Privacy & Data Security - Health Care & Life Sciences
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Sweeping Changes to HIPAA Put Business Associates in the Spotlight - Health Law Alert! - On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH” or the “Act”), as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Act made
sweeping changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and the Privacy and Security Rules promulgated under HIPAA. This Alert focuses
primarily on Subtitle D of HITECH, which includes important
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March 01, 2009
Publication - Insurance Coverage
Another Year Of Americans Eating Dangerously: A Retrospective of 2008 Food Contamination Coverage Decisions - MEALEY'S LITIGATION REPORT Food Liability - For a third consecutive year, Americans began a new
year enduring another international food contamination outbreak. Like the two previous years, the outbreak involves a staple of the American diet. And, similar to the 2006 outbreak, the All-American food under attack is peanut butter.
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February 27, 2009
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Products Liability
On Jan. 30, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that its criminal division and the U.S. Department of Justice were pursuing a criminal investigation of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). This investigation comes on the heels of one of the largest food poisoning According to U.S. Center for Disease Control statistics, 654 people across 44 states have been infected with Salmonella Typhimurium from ingesting peanut-based products originating from PCA’s Blakely, Ga., facility.
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February 27, 2009
Publication - Business, Health Care & Life Sciences - Health Care & Life Sciences
New Codey Legislation to Provide Certainty After a Year of Limbo - Health Law Alert! - On February 5, 2009, the New Jersey legislature
adopted Assembly Bill No. A1933 (the “Bill”), which
amends the New Jersey Health Care Practitioner
Self-Referral Law (commonly referred to as the “Codey Law”).
The Senate adopted an identical bill (S. 787) on December 15,
2008. The Bill currently awaits Governor Corzine’s signature.
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February 27, 2009
Publication - Labor & Employment
Update: Ninth Circuit Withdraws Decision on Application of California Labor Code to Out-of-State Workers; Certifies Issue to California Supreme Court - Labor and Employment Alert! - We reported in our Winter 2009 Commercial Disputes
Observer on the panel decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Sullivan, et al. v. Oracle Corporation, 547 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir. November 6, 2008). In that decision, a panel
of the Ninth Circuit determined that an employer which employs out-of-state residents to perform work in California was required to pay overtime pursuant to the provisions of the California Labor
Code. Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
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February 26, 2009
Press Release - Family Law
Cozen O'Connor Attorney Jennifer A. Brandt Discusses Octuplets for Local and National Audiences
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February 25, 2009
Publication
Congratulations are due to the twenty-five attorneys from six of the firm’s national offices who have been selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Lawyers were selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America based on a rigorous peer–review survey that has been developed and refined for nearly 25 years. The current edition is based on 1.8 million confidential evaluations by only the top attorneys in the country. The Cozen O'Connor offices with Attorneys recognized are Cherry Hill, Denver, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
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February 24, 2009
Publication - Labor & Employment
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (the Act). The Act contains provisions which are intended to make health care coverage, particularly COBRA coverage, more affordable. Unfortunately, some of the burden of achieving this goal is placed on employers, including certain actions which must be taken quickly. Following is a brief description of the COBRA provisions of the Act.
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February 23, 2009
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Can't Get No Satisfaction? Relief in the Face of Bankruptcy - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Your subrogation defendant is liable, pure and
simple. And it has full liability insurance. Yet the
liability insurer will not pay. Its insured – your target
– is apparently going out of business. It’s the economy. No
one wants to pay.
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February 23, 2009
Press Release - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage
Cozen O'Connor Member Kenan G. Loomis Named 2009 Georgia Super Lawyer
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February 18, 2009
Publication
Food Fight! Is the PCA Peanut Butter Outbreak Covered? - Insurance Coverage Alert! - It is one of the largest food contamination outbreaks in U.S. food history. Over 642 sickened in 44 states, including 9 deaths, and nearly 2,400 products recalled. Despite providing only 1% of the country’s peanut products, Peanut Corporation of America’s (“PCA”) shipments of contaminated legumes to schools, institutions, government agencies and food manufacturers has caused wide-spread economic devastation. For many, the legacy of the PCA Outbreak will continue long after the investigation.
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February 10, 2009
Press Release - Climate Change
Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Speak At DELVACCA Climate Change Seminar
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February 09, 2009
Publication - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory, Insurance Coverage
New York Insurance Department Issues Draft Regulation Requiring Disclosure of Producer Compensation - Insurance Corporate and Regulatory Alert! - With the release of a proposed regulation entitled
“Producer Compensation Transparency”, the New York Insurance Department (the “Department”) has
taken a step toward requiring insurers to notify their insureds of the compensation paid to brokers and agents (‘producers”). Among the purposes of the proposed New York Insurance Regulation (the “Regulation”), issued as a discussion draft, is “to
protect the interests of the public by establishing minimum
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February 05, 2009
Publication - Insurance Coverage
Another Year Of Americans Eating Dangerously: A Retrospective Of 2008 Food Contamination Coverage Decisions - Insurance Coverage Alert! - For a third consecutive year, Americans begin a new year enduring another international food contamination outbreak. Like the two previous years, the outbreak involves a staple of the American diet. And, similar to the 2006
outbreak, the All-American food under attack is peanut butter.
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February 04, 2009
Press Release
Twenty-one attorneys in Cozen O’Connor’s Philadelphia office have been named to the 2008 Pro Bono Roll of Honor of the First Judicial District (FJD) of Pennsylvania.
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February 03, 2009
Publication - Labor & Employment
Employees Involved In Internal Investigations Of Discrimination Are Protected From Retaliation - Labor and Employment Alert! - In a case which follows the adage that bad facts make bad law, the United States Supreme Court has held that an employee who responded to an employer’s questions in an internal investigation of a complaint of employment discrimination is protected by the anti-retaliation provisions
of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The virtually unanimous decision (all Justices concurred in the judgment; but Justice Alito filed a concurring opinion in which Justice Thomas
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February 03, 2009
Publication - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory, Insurance Coverage
Amendment to New York Reinsurance Regulation May Prevent Arbitration Between Ceding Companies and Their Unauthorized Reinsurers - Insurance Corporate and Regulatory Alert! - Interested parties are urged to submit comments to the New York Insurance Department on a proposed
amendment to the regulation that governs credit for reinsurance from unauthorized reinsurers. The amendment appears to preclude arbitration of disputes rising from reinsurance agreements with unauthorized reinsurers. The deadline for submitting comments is February 7, 2009. A
public hearing on the proposed rule is not scheduled.
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February 02, 2009
Publication - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory, Insurance Coverage
New York Insurance Department Issues Opinion On Treatment Of Collateral Held By An Insurer In Liquidation Or Rehabilitation - Insurance Corporate and Regulatory Alert! - Certain insurance programs, particularly workers’
compensation programs with large deductibles,
require the insured to deposit collateral with the
insurer as security for performance by the insured of its payment obligations. The liquidation of Reliance Insurance Company in Pennsylvania brought collateral deposits into the spotlight and led Pennsylvania and Illinois to enact legislation addressing the right to such collateral in the event of the liquidation or insolvency of an
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February 01, 2009
Publication - Construction Law - Real Estate & Construction
BIM! You've Been Sued! - STRUCTURE - It has not happened yet. To date, no law- suit has been filed based upon the use of
Building Information Modeling (BIM) in a
project. But it will. It's only a matter of time.
Up until recently, BIM has mostly been used
as a design tool in experimental, high profile,
complex construction projects like the Freedom
Tower at the former World Trade Center site,
the London Hospital project, and refurbishment
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