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November 11, 2013
News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In an article titled ''Out with Mistletoe, Spiked Punch and 'Santa's Little Helpers,''' David Barron, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, discusses misconduct at company holiday parties.
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November 11, 2013
Publication - Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
The IRS has issued IRS Notice 2013-71, allowing limited carry-over of amounts in employees’ flex plan accounts to the following plan year. Under the guidance employers may permit participants to carry over up to $500 of unused amounts in their health care flexible spending account into the next plan year.
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November 06, 2013
News - Health Care & Life Sciences
Mark Gallant, chair of the Health Care Practice Group, and Robert Chu, of the Health Care Practice Group, were recently mentioned in a Law360 article for representing UPenn Health Systems.
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November 05, 2013
News - Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement, White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled “SAC Agrees to Plead Guilty to End Insider Trading Case,” Stephen Miller, of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, discusses SAC Capital Advisors LP, the hedge fund accused of fostering a culture of rampant insider trading. SAC has recently agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud, pay a record $1.8 billion and shutter its investment advisory business.
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November 05, 2013
Publication - Tax
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed the Commonwealth Court and held that property owned by the Board of City Trusts acting as trustee under the will of Stephen H. Girard was immune from real estate taxation because the trust is a state agency. City of Philadelphia, Trustee v. Cumberland County Board of Assessment Appeals, No. 902 MAP 2011
(Pa. Oct. 30, 2013). The court was unanimous in the result; two justices filed a concurring opinion.
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November 04, 2013
News - Appellate
Steve Cozen achieved a major victory before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of the Board of City Trusts and the city of Philadelphia. In an unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that Girard Estate is tax immune and as a consequence hundreds of millions of dollars of tax exempt bonds are no longer in limbo.
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November 04, 2013
News
Ken Fisher, of the Real Estate Practice Group, was quoted in a New York Law Journal article titled,
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October 31, 2013
Publication - Tax
A panel of the Commonwealth Court remanded a decision by the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas for specific findings on certain aspects of a valuation for real estate tax purposes. 36 Township Line Storage, L.P. v. Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals, No. 1540 C.D. 2012 (Pa Commw. Oct. 18, 2013) (unreported). The court remanded, on the grounds of the now black-letter rule that a court may adopt some, a portion, or all of an expert’s report that it finds credible, but must explain which parts its relies upon so that a review in court can determine whether the conclusion is reasonably based on the record.
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October 31, 2013
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
On October 16, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, in Aleynikov v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., found that a former vice president and computer programmer was an “officer” of Goldman Sachs & Co., Inc. (GSCo), and therefore eligible for advancement of legal fees and expenses for his ongoing defense in a New York state criminal case, even though the criminal action concerned the theft of confidential GSCo property. The decision provides an interesting lesson in the differences between indemnification and advancement and who may be considered an officer for purposes of awarding indemnity and advancement.
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October 30, 2013
News - Family Law
Jennifer Brandt, a member of the firm’s Family Law Practice, was a guest on Your World with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Network. Jennifer discussed the National Library of Medicine’s, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, announcement that they will begin “mining” social media for information on health behavior.
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October 30, 2013
Press Release - International, International Arbitration
The International Arbitration Practice Group is newly formed to recognize the firm’s expanding capabilities in this area. This move recognizes expanded capabilities with the addition of Martin Gusy and Matthew Weldon in New York. The practice extends from New York to London and Continental Europe.
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October 28, 2013
News
Peter Lynch has been selected as an inductee into the Illinois State University 2013 College of Applied Science and Technology Hall of Fame. Peter was chosen due to his impressive professional achievements and service to others. He will be officially inducted during an induction ceremony on Friday, November 8, 2013.
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October 28, 2013
News
Joseph Rich will be honored at the Homeless Advocacy Project’s Award Ceremony on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 in recognition of his extraordinary work providing legal services to homeless men, women and children of Philadelphia.
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October 24, 2013
Publication - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In Brechbill v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., No. 1111117, ___ So. 3d ___, 2013 WL 5394444, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 126 (Ala. Sept. 27, 2013), the Alabama Supreme Court held that there is only one, as opposed to two, causes of action for bad faith. More important, the Alabama Supreme Court held that a bad faith claim, no matter how plead, will not survive when an insurer can show a debatable reason for the denial.
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October 23, 2013
Publication
On July 31, as an act of protest against an order to share a trial court's award for the wrongful death of his son with others injured in the same traffic accident, an Illinois man decided to pony up the $150,000 in quarters. The 600,000 quarters were loaded into 150 bags, and an armored truck transported the four-ton payload from St. Louis to Marion, Ill. The bags were then divided equally, loaded onto two flatbed trucks and delivered to the law firms that represented the other victims in the wreck. Of course, not all cash transactions are this burdensome, but the example helps to explain why more payments are made without using bills or coins than ever before.
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October 23, 2013
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
We have all seen the Herculean deeds of a superhero on television or in the movies. They knock over buildings, use buses as weapons and generally cause super-sized amounts of property damage. Have you ever wondered who pays for the property damages left in the wake of a superhero? With no superhero exclusion, a property policy might just cover these situations. So, if the insurer pays for the damage caused by the actions of a superhero, is there a path for subrogation recovery? Let’s dive into that world, and find out.
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October 21, 2013
News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
Jeffrey Pasek, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Group, discusses laws that limit property owners ability to ban firearms in parking areas. He was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article titled “Guns in the Parking Lot: A Delicate Workplace Issue,” and an ABA Journal article titled “As laws are passed allowing guns in parked cars at work, attorneys advise employers on safety rules.”
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October 17, 2013
Publication - Public & Project Finance
This podcast will focus on two recent inter-related SEC public finance enforcement actions that concern misstatements made in an official statement about an issuer’s continuing disclosure history.
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October 17, 2013
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
It’s the morning of your big mediation and you are fully prepared to resolve your case without sacrificing key positions. You and your attorney have set your expectations as to what will happen, who will speak, what the mediator should do, and what your attorney will say on your behalf. The mediation begins with a mediator’s own opening statement about the mediation process and all parties are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. As the facts and dispute loom large in your mind, you half pay attention to the mediator’s words and you sign the confidentiality statement agreement without a second thought. The confidentiality provision makes anything said at the mediation confidential and privileged and, thus, cannot be shared with anyone outside of the mediation for any purpose.
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October 16, 2013
Publication - Family Law
Child custody cases are difficult for everyone involved. While it is always best if parents can mutually agree on a workable schedule for their family, a family court judge may decide where children will live if the parents cannot agree on primary custody and visitation.
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