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June 26, 2013
Publication - Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
On June 11, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals, in J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., et al. v. Vigilant Insurance Company, et al., reinstated a declaratory judgment action against D&O Liability insurers, reasoning that an SEC order requiring Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. (Bear Stearns) to pay $160 million in disgorgement did not conclusively establish that the payment was uninsurable.
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June 25, 2013
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
On June 20, 2013, in a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not permit courts to invalidate a contractual waiver of class arbitration on the ground that the plaintiff’s cost of individually arbitrating a federal statutory claim exceeds the potential recovery.
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June 25, 2013
Publication - Hatch-Waxman & Biologics, Intellectual Property, Patents - Health Care & Life Sciences
On June 17, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that addressed a “reverse payment” settlement agreement between a brand-name pharmaceutical company and multiple generic drug companies. The Supreme Court held that a settlement agreement in which a patentee pays an accused infringer not to enter the market – even if the agreement allows market entry before the patent term expires – is not presumptively lawful and is still subject to antitrust scrutiny.
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June 24, 2013
Publication
It’s critical to investigate subrogation potential in natural disaster losses. Natural disasters do not automatically preclude subrogation. Running June through November, the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be active or "extremely active," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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June 19, 2013
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In a recent case before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, the court held that jail employees were not entitled to coverage for sexual molestation of an inmate under the law enforcement coverage part of the jail’s liability insurance policy. In so holding, the court declined to apply an expansive interpretation to the policy’s “arising out of” language.
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June 18, 2013
News - White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled, "Anti-Corruption as a Cottage Industry: Rise in FCPA Enforcement Generates Heavy Workloads for Outside Counsel," Stephen Miller of the firm's Commercial Litigation Department discusses the benefits of using lawyers with experience in government when seeking counsel on FCPA-related matters.
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June 18, 2013
Publication
In April, attorney Ross Booher participated in an Association of Corporate Counsel conference in New Orleans, speaking to 100 or so general counsel and corporate compliance officers about the Federal Corrupt Practices Act and what it means to US companies. He noticed that there were more attendees than there were when he spoke at last year’s confab, and that the questions he fielded from the audience were more sophisticated than last year.
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June 17, 2013
News - Labor & Employment
A. Martin Wickliff, Jr. has been recognized among “The Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys – Top 100” by Human Resource Executive magazine. The list is compiled based on evaluations by clients and peers, as well as independent research by Human Resource Executive and Lawdragon, a nationally recognized networking site for lawyers and clients. The list honors “lawyers who represent excellence in their craft and profession and have made the greatest impact in the prior year.
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June 14, 2013
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit recently eliminated the foundation for policyholders’ arguments in favor of “functional exhaustion.” In Ali v. Federal Insurance Co., No. 11-5000-cv (2d Cir. June 4, 2013), the 2nd Circuit held that functional exhaustion as permitted in the 1928 decision in Zeig v. Massachusetts Bonding & Ins. Co., 23 F.2d 665 (2d Cir. 1928) does not apply to excess liability policies.
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June 14, 2013
Publication - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
The New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest state court, recently held – in what appears to be a new position in New York – that an insurer that breached its duty to defend could not later rely on otherwise applicable exclusions to deny coverage for indemnification.
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June 13, 2013
Publication - Appellate, Hatch-Waxman & Biologics
The U.S. Supreme Court is presently considering whether federal law pre-empts state design-defect claims targeting generic pharmaceutical products. Just two years ago, the court insulated generic-drug manufacturers from state-law failure-to-warn claims. It seems doubtful that any of the justices in that majority will treat this case differently, and, thus, generic drugmakers may soon enjoy a new immunity.
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June 12, 2013
Publication - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
On certification from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the Supreme Court of Connecticut recently issued an opinion holding that an insurer’s bad faith conduct in the investigation of a third-party liability insurance claim does not provide a basis for recovery under Connecticut law. Capstone Bldg. Corp. v. Am. Motorists Ins. Co., 2013 Conn. LEXIS 187 (Conn. June 11, 2013).
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June 12, 2013
Publication - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring
Barry Klayman and Mark Felger discuss the recent bankruptcy court decision in The Majestic Star Casino LLC v. Barden Development, specifically the case's expansive view of what constituted property of the debtor's estate.
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June 11, 2013
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
The Supreme Court of Florida answered in the negative a certified question asking whether the economic loss rule bars an insured’s suit against an insurance broker where the parties are in contractual privity with one another and the damages sought are solely economic losses.
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June 10, 2013
News
In a Father's Day themed article, Life Publications highlights Simeon Brier of the firm's Miami and West Palm Beach offices among their chosen "Power Pops." The individuals included were selected from multiple nominations of local men who exemplified Life Publications' definition of a Power Pop.
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June 10, 2013
News - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In an article titled, "2nd Circuit Walls Off Favored Path To Early Excess Coverage," Angelo Savino (New York, NY) of the Global Insurance Group comments on the topic of the Second Circuit last week gutting a key precedent that policyholders have long used to argue that excess liability insurers should drop down and pay for losses not covered by lower-level carriers, drawing narrow boundaries around an influential 1928 decision in ruling against the officers of bankrupt technology company Commodore International Ltd.
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June 08, 2013
Publication - Family Law
Ready to file for divorce? Once you’ve made the difficult decision to go through with it, it’s time to figure out what’s next. Avoid a long, emotional ordeal by knowing what lies ahead and by taking action.
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June 07, 2013
News - White Collar Defense & Investigations
Barry Boss (Washington, D.C.) of the firm's Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group in featured in the Daily Report regarding the most recent allegations of performance-enhancement drug use in major league baseball. The article titled, "Big Firms Score Baseball Drug Clients," notes Barry's representation of Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
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June 07, 2013
News - White Collar Defense & Investigations
Joseph Dever, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, was interviewed by Law360 regarding both his current practice as well as his experience with the SEC.
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June 06, 2013
Publication - Corporate
In a recent case before the Delaware Supreme Court, SigaTechnologies v. PharmAthene, the court upheld a Delaware Chancery Court’s ruling that an express agreement between parties to negotiate in good faith, even if the subject of the negotiation is embodied in a non-binding term sheet, is enforceable.
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