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June 22, 2010
Publication - Business, Tax
Update - FBAR Reporting Requirements for Employee Benefit Plans - Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Alert! - During the past year, we have reported on expanded obligations of retirement and other employee benefit plans, along with other taxpayers, to file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”). This report must be received by the U.S. Department of Treasury (not merely mailed) by June 30, 2010. There are no extensions of time to file. Recently, further guidance and administrative relief have been provided by the IRS for the 2009 FBAR.
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June 21, 2010
Publication - Real Estate Litigation - Real Estate & Construction
Truth in Labelling: Is that lease really ‘triple net’? - New York Law Journal - No matter the label, the “ triple net” nature
of a lease ultimately depends upon its financial
terms and allocation of risk. It is, however, usually inaccurate and misleading to conceptualize what is essentially a space lease transaction, shift some of the payment and/or performance obligations from the landlord to the tenant, and characterize the result as a “triple net lease.”
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June 21, 2010
Publication - Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Labor & Employment
The new health care reform legislation provides an opportunity to employers who offer medical coverage to retirees to obtain government reimbursement of certain claims expenses. Called the ''Early Retiree Reinsurance Program,'' it is designed to assist employers who provide health care coverage for individuals who retire before becoming eligible for Medicare (i.e., ages 55 to 65) to continue to provide such coverage. However, there is a catch: the reimbursement program is temporary and is capped at $5 billion in total reimbursements.
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June 21, 2010
Publication - Labor & Employment
U.S. Supreme Court Holds Employer's Review of Employee's Text Messages Sent on Employer's Pager was Reasonable and Did Not Violate Fourth Amendment - Labor and Employment Alert! - In a closely watched case and in a nearly unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court has held that the City of Ontario Police Department did not violate the Fourth Amendment privacy rights of its employee, police sergeant Jeff Quon, when it audited text messages he had sent and received on a department-issued paging device. City of Ontario, California, et al. v. Quon, et al., 560 U.S. ____ (2010).
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June 18, 2010
News - Antitrust & Competition, Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring, Corporate Governance & Securities, Labor & Employment, Mergers & Acquisitions, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation, White Collar Defense & Investigations, Zoning, Land Use & Development
Chambers USA has recognized 18 Cozen O’Connor lawyers as leaders in their fields. The annual rankings are based on client and peer references, as well as information gathered from Chambers’ own independent research. Given both nationally and regionally, the rankings are based on qualities including technical legal ability, professional conduct, and client service.
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June 15, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Third Circuit Confirms That Pennsylvania CGL Insurers Have No Duty to Defend Claims Arising From Contractor's Faulty Workmanship and Resulting Foreseeable Damages - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On June 8, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential opinion in Specialty Surfaces International, Inc. v. Continental Cas. Co., No. 09- 2773 (3d Cir. 2010), confirming that an insurer has no duty under Pennsylvania law to defend or indemnify a contractor under a CGL policy for claims based on faulty workmanship and resulting foreseeable damages – even where the damage extended beyond the insured’s own work product.
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June 15, 2010
News
Nelson Diaz's Appointments
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June 14, 2010
News
David F. Girard-diCarlo Honored at Drexel University
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June 11, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Commercial General Liability: Hawai’i State Court Holds that Construction Defect Claims Do Not Constitute an “Occurrence” - Insurance Coverage Alert! - As predicted by the U.S. District Court in Hawai’i and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court in several cases decided in the past 15 years, the Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawai’i recently held that construction defect claims do not constitute an “occurrence” under a commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy. Group Builders Inc. and Tradewind Ins. Co., Ltd. v. Admiral Ins. Co., 2010 Haw.App. LEXIS 234 (May 19, 2010).
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June 10, 2010
News
Pamela Pengelley of the Toronto office, was awarded the Stockwood Memorial Prize for legal writing. The David Stockwood Memorial Prize honors the contributions of David Stockwood, Q.C., LSM, who served as the editor of The Advocates' Society Journal from 1991 - 2008. Pamela was awarded this prize at the Advocates' Society AGM and End of Term Dinner at the Metro Toronto Convention Center
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June 08, 2010
News - Tax
Joseph Bright Quoted in Legal Intelligencer on Tax Amnesty
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June 07, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability - Insurance
D & O Insurance: Limiting Attorneys' Fee Awards in Derivative Suits - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On May 6, 2010, the Delaware Court of Chancery approved the settlement of a derivative action captioned In re Cox Radio, Inc. Shareholders Litigation, No. Civ. A. 4464-VCP, and ruled on plaintiffs' attorneys' application for a fee award. The court's decision on the fee award may have a material impact on directors and officers ("D&O") insurers' coverage analysis with respect to such awards.
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June 03, 2010
Publication - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring, Business
Third Circuit Remands Case Involving Use of In Pari Delicto Defense by Outside Auditors, After Receiving Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Guidance - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Alert! - In a February 19, 2010 Alert, we reported on an opinion of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the use of an imputation-based in pari delicto defense in an auditor-liability context, an issue of first impression under Pennsylvania law. Off. Comm. of Unsecured Creditors of Allegheny Health Educ. & Research Fund v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (“Allegheny III”), 989 A.2d 313 (Pa. 2010).
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June 01, 2010
Publication - Antitrust & Competition, Business
Increased Scrutiny of Reverse Payment Settlements - The Legal Intelligencer - Two recent opinions suggest a greater willingness on the part of the federal judiciary to scrutinize more closely so-called “reverse payment settlements” that have once again become prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry.
Reverse payment settlements are entered into by a brand-name drug manufacturer and one or more generic drug manufacturers to resolve patent litigation triggered by the generic These
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June 01, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Colorado Enacts Statute Retroactively Changing Duties of Insurers with Respect to Construction Defect Claims - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On May 21, 2010, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law HB 10-1394, a bill which retroactively changes the manner in which insurers must handle and assess construction defect claims against construction professionals. It may also change how policies issued to Colorado construction professionals are underwritten. The bill was enacted with a Safety Clause, making it immediately effective.
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May 27, 2010
Publication - Antitrust & Competition, Business
Threading the 'American Needle': The Supreme Court Adopts a New Standard of Concerted Action Under the Sherman Act - Litigation Alert! - In a unanimous decision likely to transcend its unique factual background, on Monday, the United States Supreme Court in American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, et al., established a new test for determining whether related parties are single entities for purposes of establishing an agreement, combination or conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
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May 25, 2010
Press Release
Cozen O’Connor Attorney Lynnette Espy Named One of Atlanta’s Power 30 under 30
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May 20, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
2010 Tennessee Floods: Subrogation Challenges and Opportunities - Cozen O'Connor Whitepaper - As of May 8, 2010, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reported 22 confirmed storm related fatalities, with 30 counties operating under Major Disaster Declarations and 1,400 National Guard soldiers mobilized to support rescue and relief operations. Initial estimates of damage to private residential, commercial and industrial property amounted to $1.5 billion. This estimate excludes the cost of repairing government owned buildings, roadways, and bridges, and was expected to rise.
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May 19, 2010
Publication
由于中国的经济力量不断增长，中国公司对美国企业的收购量也不断上升。此类交易需要中国的监管批准，在有些情况下，美国出于对国家安全的担忧和对就业机会方面的担心，可能会阻挠这类交易。由于文化差异较大以及在美国市场的经验不足，中国的买家需要在美国交易过程方面得到专家的建议，而美国的卖家可能寻求特殊的保护措施，以行使他们的权利并从中国的买家收取他们应得的结算后金额。
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May 14, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage
The Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe: A Factual Overview and Preliminary First-Party Analysis - Cozen O'Connor Whitepaper - By now you are no doubt aware of the disastrous explosions and fire at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, with its tragic loss of life, and the resulting spill of oil that now threatens to become a major environmental catastrophe. The Deepwater Horizon catastrophe has already given rise to a multitude of third party claims directly against the responsible parties. It will undoubtedly give rise to numerous claims by individuals and businesses under their own first
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