Recent News & Publications
Search News & Publications
February 09, 2011
Publication - Products Liability
The Preemptive Scope of the Vaccine Act: Must Unavoidable Damages be Determined on a Case-by-Case Basis? - Life Sciences Alert! - On January 11, 2011, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania decided Wright v. Aventis Pasteur, et al., 2001 Pa. Super. 9 (2011) in which it determined as a matter of first impression that the National Childhood Vaccine Act (Vaccine Act) does not preempt any design defect claim based on state law, but rather requires case-by-case inquiry to determine whether a particular vaccine’s side effects are unavoidable.
Tweet
February 09, 2011
Press Release - Antitrust & Competition, Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring, Construction Law, Corporate, Family Law, Health Care & Life Sciences, Labor & Employment, Private Client Services, Professional Liability, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation, Tax, Transportation & Trade, Utility & Energy, White Collar Defense & Investigations
Forty-three Cozen O’Connor lawyers from six of the firm’s national offices have been selected for inclusion in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Lawyers were selected for inclusion in the 2011 edition based on a rigorous peer–review of more than 3.1 million detailed evaluations.
Tweet
February 09, 2011
Publication
Almost a year ago, the Delaware Court of Chancery opined in dictum that if a company’s board and shareholders thought derivative actions would best be litigated in a particular forum, the company would be ''free'' to adopt an appropriate venue provision in its charter. See In re Revlon Inc. Shareholders Litig., 990 A.2d 940, 960 & n.8 (Del. Ch. 2010).
Tweet
February 07, 2011
Publication
For those attorneys and insurance carriers who have insisted to plaintiffs’ counsel that certain funds be set aside for the payment of future medical bills following a liability case settlement – but have met strong opposition from plaintiffs’ counsel, or more commonly from, third-party vendors such as the Garretson Firm Resolution Group – a January 5, 2011 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana has interpreted the requirements of the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSP Act), 42 U.S.C. § 1395y, as it relates to Medicare’s future interests, a positive development in liability defense as a means to counter such resistance and ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
Tweet
February 07, 2011
Publication - Business, Corporate
Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Use of Net Operating Loss Poison Pills - Corporate Law Alert! - In the recent case, Versata Enterprises, Inc. and Trilogy, Inc. v. Selectica, Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the Delaware Chancery Court’s ruling that the use of a net operating loss poison pill was valid. This holding is significant because it is the first time the court has examined the validity of a net operating loss poison pill and, further, the first time the court has ruled on any pill that was actually triggered.
Tweet
February 01, 2011
Publication - Real Estate & Construction
Hidden Traps: Builders should watch for the pitfalls of the Interstate Land Sale Full Disclosure Act - Construction Today -
Tweet
January 31, 2011
Publication - Labor & Employment
Purchaser of Assets May Be Liable as Successor for Seller's Unpaid Benefit Fund Contributions - Labor & Employment Alert! - Under the traditional common law rule of successorship liability, it is well established that, absent a specific agreement to the contrary, an entity that purchases the assets of another entity does not assume the seller’s liabilities unless one of the following exceptions applies: the transaction is a merger or is deemed to be a merger; the purchasing entity is a mere continuation of the seller; or the transfer of assets is for the fraudulent purpose of escaping liability for unpaid debts.
Tweet
January 31, 2011
Publication - Antitrust & Competition, Business, Corporate
HSR Filing Threshold Increases to $66 Million ... and Other Facts that May Impact Whether You Have to File - Corporate Law Alert! - The Federal Trade Commission has released the annual jurisdictional adjustments for premerger notification filings made pursuant to the HSR Act, which take effect for transactions closing on or after February 24, 2011. But while the thresholds should be the first step in determining whether or not you have to file, there are other important considerations as well.
Tweet
January 26, 2011
Publication - Labor & Employment
Supreme Court Broadens Scope of Title VII Retaliation Provision to Include Close Family Members - Labor & Employment Alert! - In Thompson v. North American Stainless, No. 09-291, a Title VII retaliation case. In an 8-0 opinion written by Justice Scalia, the Supreme Court held that the fiancé of an employee had a Title VII cause of action as a “person aggrieved” under Title VII, in circumstances in which the employer terminated the fiancé within weeks of learning of the employee filing a discrimination charge.
Tweet
January 24, 2011
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
The Gang that Couldn't Spoliate Straight - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Familiar with claims of evidence spoliation? One court broke new ground ruling that even imprisonment may be authorized for evidence destruction. This Alert discusses spoliation law and increased sanctions for a finding of spoliation.
Tweet
January 20, 2011
News - White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled, ''Insanity Defense Could Be A Tough Sell For Loughner,'' Barry Boss, co-chair of Cozen O'Connor's Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group, comments on the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, specifically regarding an insanity defense. Boss states, ''The defense now has to prove by clear and convincing evidence, which is an extremely high burden ...that the defendant did not understand the wrongfulness of his conduct.''
Tweet
January 19, 2011
Publication - Business, Tax
PEO Did Not Sell Help Supply Services - Tax Alert! - The Commonwealth Court en banc affirmed a panel decision that a professional employer organization (PEO) did not provide help supply services taxable for Sales and Use Tax purposes, but on different grounds. All Staffing, Inc. v. Commonwealth, No. 325 F.R. 2006 (Pa. Commw. Dec. 2, 2010), aff’g All Staffing Inc. v. Commonwealth, 987 A.2d 849 (Pa. Commw. 2010).
Tweet
January 19, 2011
Publication - Real Estate Litigation - Real Estate & Construction
Pennsylvania Licensing Boards' Penalty Assessments Increasing - Real Estate Alert! - This Alert cautions Pennsylvania real estate owners and property managers to examine whether their customary operating practices could lead to severe fines for the unlicensed practice of real estate brokerage by their executives and employees. While the Alert focuses on Pennsylvania law, the basic message is valid in all jurisdictions -- a periodic review of your customary operating procedures is critical to avoid a "drift" into administrative or regulatory minefields.
Tweet
January 18, 2011
Publication - Business, Tax
Expedia Not Required to Collect Philadelphia Hotel Tax - Tax Alert! - The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas affirmed a decision by the City’s Tax Review Board that an Internet hotel reservation company was not liable to collect Philadelphia’s Hotel Tax. City of Philadelphia v. City of Philadelphia Tax Review Board, Mar. Term 2010 No. 00764 (Phila. C.P. Jan. 14, 2011)
Tweet
January 18, 2011
Publication - Products Liability - Health Care & Life Sciences
Adverse Incident Reports: How Many Is Too Many? - Life Sciences Alert - On January 10, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in the matter Siracusano v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., 585 F.3d 1167 (9th Cir. 2009), and suggested that some major changes may be in store for pharmaceutical companies which could forever alter how they handle adverse reports.
Tweet
January 17, 2011
News
John Williams' Move to Cozen O'Connor Featured in The AmLaw Daily, Bloomberg News, Law360 and Law.com
Tweet
January 17, 2011
News
Scott Schwartz's Departure from Cozen O'Connor Featured in Philadelphia Business Journal
Tweet
January 13, 2011
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
It's All About YouTube: How Social Media Can Make or Break Your Subrogation Action - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - YouTube can be a surprising source of evidence in proving your claims. Video of fires, explosions, collapses and other casualty events is provided almost in real time by participants and observers. Documentation of the incipient stages of a loss often is of critical importance in reconstructing what occurred. This Alert discusses how to obtain and use YouTube video evidence, including identifying potential witnesses.
Tweet
January 12, 2011
Publication - Real Estate Litigation
The purpose of this article is to survey the relevant legal precedent discussing the judicial exceptions to the Four Year Rule, note the patterns, and then formulate a cogent conclusion to assist in predicting under which circumstances the Four Year Rule will apply, and under which circumstances its exceptions will apply.
Tweet
January 11, 2011
Publication - Insurance Coverage
On January 4, 2011, in response to concerns regarding food-borne illnesses and related product recalls, President Obama signed into law the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, H.R. 2751 (''FSMA'' or ''the Act''), which is being heralded as the most significant expansion of food safety requirements since the 1938 enactment of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Act focuses on preventive controls and expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (''FDA'') regulatory authority.
Tweet