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August 04, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
President Obama does it again, issuing yet another Executive Order aimed at those seeking to do business with the federal government. On July 31, 2014, Obama issued the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which the White House expects to be implemented in stages on new federal contracts valued at more than $500,000, beginning in 2016. This new Executive Order targets three areas: (1) disclosure to the federal government of a prospective contractor’s labor law violations over the three years preceding the contract; (2) disclosure of information necessary for the employees of federal contractors and subcontractors to verify the accuracy of their paychecks; and (3) for those federal contracts or subcontracts with an estimated value exceeding $1 million, a prohibition against the imposition of pre-dispute arbitration agreements covering claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VII), or for torts related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment.
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August 04, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
On July 21, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently held, as a matter of first impression, that the Continuance of Coverage Provision of the Pennsylvania insurance insolvency statute, 40 P.S. § 221.21, precludes coverage for all “risks in effect” under an insurance policy, even when the policy was cancelled prior to liquidation.
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August 04, 2014
News - Subrogation & Recovery
Hayes Hunt, Chair of the Pro Bono Committee, and Dan Luccaro, member of the Subrogation and Recovery Practice Group, discuss Cozen O'Connor's CoVet Program in an article titled "Cozen Attorneys Guide Vets Through Benefit Claims Maze."
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July 31, 2014
News
House Republicans came to an agreement on Wednesday authorizing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) a lawsuit against President Barack Obama.
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July 30, 2014
News
Bob Hayes and Matthew Glazer, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, recently obtained a favorable ruling on behalf of Comcast-Spectacor in a breach of contract suit against the former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, in which the plaintiffs alleged they were deprived of fees relating to finding a buyer during the sale of the team.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Chief Judge Petrese B. Tucker granted summary judgment in favor of Comcast-Spectacor. The ruling served as a reversal to a prior decision by Tucker in which she said ambiguities in the written language of the contract between the plaintiffs and defendant necessitated further examination of the case by a jury. Tucker said in her opinion that a reversal was necessary because the court failed to address certain portions of the contract.
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July 30, 2014
News - Subrogation & Recovery
Megan Peitzke, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Subrogation Department, will be receiving The Lawrence J. Blake Award from the Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA) Barristers. Megan served as Secretary of the BHBA Barristers Board of Governors from 2011 to 2013 and has served as a Barristers Board member since 2007. She was recently elected to the BHBA Board of Governors for a two-year term.
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July 30, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In an article published in Law360, Angelo Savino and Julie Albright of the Global Insurance Department discuss unfinished business claims. In a departure from Jewel v. Boxer, the decisions in the cases of Thelen LLP and Heller Ehrman LLP reflect a shift in the manner by which courts treat trustees’ claims for post-dissolution fees, say Angelo Savino and Julie Moeller Albright of Cozen O'Connor.
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July 30, 2014
News
A Pennsylvania federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit in which two sports industry veterans sought a $2 million finder's fee from Comcast Spectacor LP, the former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, stemming from the 2011 sale of the franchise. U.S. District Judge Petrese Tucker ruled that under the agreement Bob Whitsitt — a former owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers — and Thomas Shine signed with Comcast Spectacor, the pair were obligated to identify the proposed purchaser to the team in order to collect their fee.
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July 29, 2014
News - Insurance Coverage, Subrogation & Recovery
Cozen O'Connor has been recognized as the “Litigation Department of the Year – Insurance” and named a finalist in the “Litigation Department of the Year – Commercial Litigation (Large Firm)” category by The Legal Intelligencer.
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July 28, 2014
Publication - Appellate, Real Estate Litigation
In an article published in the New York Law Journal, Menachem Kastner and Ally Hack, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, discuss the application of the “four-year rule” post-Grimm v. DHCR² (and its progeny), and, specifically, the slow and painful erosion of the rule.
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July 28, 2014
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Burch v. Superior Court followed a similar opinion by the court in Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Brookfield Crystal Cove LLC (2013) 219 C.A.4th 98, and reiterated that (1) California’s Right to Repair Act (California Civil Code § 895 et. seq.) is not the exclusive remedy for a homeowner seeking damages for construction defects that have caused property damage, (2) the Act does not limit or preclude common law claims for such damages, and (3) a home builder can owe a duty of care to prospective purchasers of a home.
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July 25, 2014
News - Real Estate - Real Estate & Construction
Ken Fisher, of the Real Estate Practice Group, was recently quoted in a Crain's New York article titled, "Rich-door, Poor-door Debate Heats Up." The article examines the remarks of Gale Brewer, the Manhattan borough president, calling for an end to "segmented" condo buildings that were built using incentives for creating affordable housing. In the article, Ken offers his view on the situation by stating, "The state and the city really don't have many programs to spur the creation of affordable for-sale housing and Mayor Bill de Blasio's plans appear more focused on creating affordable rental housing."
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July 23, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
Continuing to use executive authority to act in the absence of Congressional action, President Obama signed an Executive Order on July 21, 2014 that gave new protections against discrimination to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, and the federal government. (For the federal government, discrimination was already prohibited on the basis of sexual orientation and is now also prohibited on the basis of gender identity.) The new rules relating to federal contractors won’t be effective until additional regulations are issued in the next three to nine months, but the rules relating to employment by the federal government are effective immediately.
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July 21, 2014
Publication - Aviation, Aviation Litigation, Transportation & Trade, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) / Drones - Aviation
On Capitol Hill, legislators are working to pass a Transportation Appropriations bill that will fund aviation programs during the 2015 fiscal year. As part of the appropriations process, members of the House and Senate are looking at a number of amendments that impact aviation. This includes continuing debate on limiting the Department of Transportation’s ability to approve the controversial application filed by Norwegian Airlines International (reported in last month’s Cozen O’Connor Aviation Regulatory Update) to operate to the United States and whether to allow Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport to impose a nighttime curfew on airline operations.
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July 17, 2014
Publication - International
Martin Gusy and Matthew Weldon, members of Cozen O’Connor’s International Arbitration Practice Group, authored a Thomson Reuters Practical Law practice note that examines the legal and procedural requirements counsel must consider when seeking to enjoin international litigation or arbitration.
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July 17, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
The New York Court of Appeals recently confirmed that the heightened timeliness of disclaimer requirement in New York Insurance Law § 3420(d)(2) does not apply to claims arising from property damage, in KeySpan Gas East Corp. v. Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., et al., 2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 4113 (N.Y. June 10, 2014). Unanimously reversing the appellate division, the KeySpan court found that this standard for waiver of coverage defenses extends only when an insured seeks coverage under a New York liability policy for bodily injuries or death sustained in New York. Because this dispute arose from property damage claims, the insurers, which previously reserved their rights, had no duty under the statute to disclaim “as soon as reasonably possible.”
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July 16, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett gave final approval to two bills that drastically expand the scope and enforcement provisions of the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law. Under the amendments, which take effect on August 31, 2014, employees of any business or nonprofit organization that receives public contracts or funding from the commonwealth or its subdivisions will now receive whistleblower protection.
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July 15, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In an article published in Bloomberg BNA, Michael Schmidt, vice chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, advises on the "Do's and Don'ts" of company social media policies and reviews recent NLRB positions on five common workplace issues.
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July 15, 2014
News - Real Estate
Ken Fisher, of the Real Estate Practice Group, was recently quoted in the Commercial Observer regarding the lis pendens that the newly opened Long Island City/Manhattan View extended-stay hotel has received. Ken Fisher represents Jab Rad, the managing partner of the property. Ken offered his remarks by stating the property "will be vigorously defended."
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July 14, 2014
Publication
In an article published in The Legal Intelligencer, Hayes Hunt and Joshua Ruby, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss preparing corporate designees for 30(b)(6) depositions.
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