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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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July 14, 2014
News
In an article titled "Pa. Adopts Rule Banning Attorney-Expert Discovery," Thomas G. Wilkinson, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, offers his opinion on Pennsylvania's adoption of the bright-line rule, stating that he is against the bright-line rule because of the concerns over whether improper behavior, no matter how rare, will now be nearly impossible to detect. "If a lawyer had a suspicion that that kind of misconduct was occurring, with this rule change it could be a lot more difficult to uncover that kind of misconduct," said Wilkinson.
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July 10, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage
Over the past year, directors and officers have been anticipating the Supreme Court’s ruling in Halliburton Co. et al. v. Erica John Fund, Inc., No. 13-317. In its recent 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court retained the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance adopted more than 25 years ago in Basic, Inc. v. Levinson, yet also held that defendants may rebut the presumption at the class certification stage. 573 U S. ___ (Slip Op. June 23, 2014) (Roberts, C.J.). This ruling signals that securities fraud class actions will continue unabated for the foreseeable future. Justice Ginsburg concurred in a separate opinion, joined by Justice Breyer and Justice Sotomayor. Justice Thomas also concurred in a separate opinion, joined by Justice Alito and Justice Scalia.
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July 10, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage
On June 25, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoffer, declared that no “presumption of prudence” applied to fiduciaries of “employee stock ownership plans” (ESOPs). In rejecting the defense-friendly standard, the high court noted that ESOP fiduciaries are subject to the same duty of prudence as any other ERISA fiduciary except that ESOP fiduciaries are not liable for losses that stem from a failure to diversify. The decision is also noteworthy in that it set forth guidelines for lower courts to follow at the motion to dismiss stage that will impact how plaintiffs are able to satisfy pleading requirements in cases against ESOP fiduciaries.
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July 09, 2014
Publication
In an article published in InsideCounsel, Dexter Hamilton and Thomas Leonard, attorneys in Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, discuss distracted driving and the potential impact on employers. Despite the risk and possible financial consequences, distracted driving is likely to continue. The proliferation of personal electronic devices (which are referred to collectively as “cell phones”) has placed fierce pressure on businesses to always be available for both internal and external communication. The quest to remain competitive, the emergence of a younger work force that expects to be connected at all times, and the growing use of technology to facilitate working from remote locations force employers to grapple with cell phone use policies and enforcement.
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July 09, 2014
Press Release - Health Care & Life Sciences - Health Care & Life Sciences
Cozen O’Connor continues to strengthen its focus on health care with the recent hiring of R. Christopher Raphaely, who will serve as co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Practice Group. Previously deputy general counsel for the Jefferson Health System, and general counsel to the system’s accountable care organization and captive professional liability insurance companies, Raphaely will be resident in the Philadelphia office.
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July 09, 2014
Publication
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued two decisions regarding the use of social science experts in criminal cases. As noted by University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, however, the opinions appear to “come from two different worlds.”
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July 08, 2014
Publication - Family Law
In an article published in The Legal Intelligencer, Jennifer Brandt and Megan Feehan, attorneys in Cozen O'Connor's Family Law Department, discuss a recent case involving actor Jason Patric and his former girlfriend Danielle Schreiber. Patric, a sperm donor, is now looking to have custody rights to the child he helped conceive four years ago. The California courts are grappling with competing statutes in searching for a resolution. The broader issue, however, is how technology is changing the definition of a family in our modern world and how our law is trying to adapt to these changes.
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July 08, 2014
News - Business, Tax
Joe Bright, of the Tax Practice Group, was recently quoted on Philly.com in an article titled, "City of Philly Defends Wiping Clean SEPTA's $22M Tax Bill in Letter to Bill Green, Darrell Clarke." In the article, Joe offers his thoughts regarding the history of litigation over similar arguments by stating, "There are a couple of very well known Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases that say that a commercial hotel located at an airport and located on city or state or county ground is not taxable because you need hotels to operate an air transit system."
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July 07, 2014
News
Andrea Hammel and Jared Bayer, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, obtained another favorable ruling on behalf of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. On Monday, July 7, the Pennsylvania Superior Court backed a lower court ruling that nixed a drilling rights dispute involving Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., rejecting a landowner’s argument that oil and gas leases were governed by the Keystone State’s landlord-tenant law.
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