Recent News & Publications
Search News & Publications
April 24, 2013
Publication
If no express contract for services exists, the party providing services has two potential remedies. First, if the party receiving the benefit of the services had not assented to an agreement, the party providing services nevertheless may receive restitution for the unjust enrichment of the other by bringing an action in quasi contract (a contract implied-in-law) for services rendered, where there was an expectation that the service would be paid for and it would be unjust for the other party to receive the benefit of the services without paying compensation. Second, if the parties lack an express contract but there is a partial agreement, which for some reason falls short of being an enforceable contract, a party may recover in quantum meruit on a (contract implied-in-fact) for the reasonable value of the services rendered.
Tweet
April 24, 2013
Publication - Appellate
Most of the federal government's authority is exercised, on a day-to-day basis, through its administrative agencies. Central to the efficiency of those agencies — such as it is — is the judiciary's substantial deference to agency decision-making. Without that deference, people and corporations would often have an incentive to try to impair (or at least delay) agencies' actions through court challenges.
Tweet
April 23, 2013
News
In an article titled, "Co-Client Relationship Between Insurer and Insured Not Automatic," Thomas G. Wilkinson of the firm's Commercial Litigation Department discusses the circumstances to which the co-client privilege applies, as well as the implications of the CAMICO Decision.
Tweet
April 22, 2013
Press Release - Government Relations - Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies
Dwayne Andrews has joined the New York office of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, bringing with him public policy experience in education, transportation and telecommunications.
Tweet
April 19, 2013
News - Subrogation & Recovery
O’Connor will be awarded an honorary degree from Villanova University in recognition for both his personal and professional achievements, as well as the generosity and commitment he has shown to the broader Villanova community.
Tweet
April 19, 2013
News - Condominiums & Cooperatives, Real Estate
Leni Morrison Cummins, a member in the firm's Real Estate Group, participates in a Q&A in the New York Times regarding whether a co-op board can prevent someone who inherited a co-op from transferring the shares into their name.
Tweet
April 19, 2013
News - Subrogation & Recovery
As part of its 170th Anniversary, the Legal Intelligencer chose some of the most important members of the legal community who have helped shape the law in Pennsylvania, including one of the firm's founders Stephen Cozen.
Tweet
April 18, 2013
Publication - Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation
The voluntary payment doctrine has been long applied to prevent tenants from recovering payments made to the landlord which were tendered “voluntarily”—to wit, without dispute or inquiry—over a lengthy period of time. For example: a tenant tenders payment of real estate taxes to the landlord for over 10 years pursuant to what the tenant later claims to be an erroneous method of calculation, resulting in an overbilling. With this newfound knowledge, the tenant brings suit against the landlord to recover the amounts overpaid. By virtue of the voluntary payment doctrine, under this scenario, the tenant is, in essence, out of luck.
Tweet
April 17, 2013
News
In Genesis Healthcare Corp v. Laura Symczyk, the Court ruled that the case against the nursing and rehabilitation provider should be dismissed because its offer to Symczyk of the unpaid wages to which she alleged she was entitled effectively ended her stake in the case. The 5-4 decision, split along the court's ideological fault lines, will likely have limited practical applicability but could spark further debate about whether the justices treat collective actions brought under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) differently from traditional class actions.
Tweet
April 17, 2013
News - Products Liability - Health Care & Life Sciences
Lauren Tulli, Jill Caughie and MaryTeresa Soltis secured a summary judgment from the District Court of the Western District of Kentucky in a factually complicated and contentious pain pump case that has been in active litigation for over four years.
Tweet
April 16, 2013
Publication - Intellectual Property
On March 19, in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the Supreme Court, reversing the 2nd Circuit, resolving conflicting decisions from the federal appellate courts, and rejecting the solicitor general’s arguments, held that the “first sale” doctrine applies to lawful copies of a copyrighted work first sold abroad.
Tweet
April 15, 2013
Publication
David Shimkin and Paul Zola co-authored an article that appeared in the April 15, 2013 edition of the New York Law Journal. The article, titled, "The Continuing Viability of the Assumption of Risk Defense," David and Paul discusses recent developments in sports liability case law. Legal intern Gregory Knight assisted in the preparation of the article.
Tweet
April 11, 2013
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a class-action plaintiff may not avoid the effect of the federal Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) by “stipulating” he will not seek damages in excess of $5,000,000. CAFA provides that the federal “district courts shall have original jurisdiction” over a civil “class action” if, among other things, the “matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $5,000,000.” 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(d)(2), (5). The statute further states that to “determine whether the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $5,000,000,” the “claims of the individual class members shall be aggregated.” § 1332(d)(6).
Tweet
April 11, 2013
News - Electronic Discovery & Practice Advisory Services, Family Law
Jennifer Brandt, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Philadelphia office, appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network to discuss a number of topics.
Tweet
April 08, 2013
Publication - Health Care & Life Sciences, Labor & Employment
Over the years, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces affirmative action and equal opportunity regulations for federal contractors and subcontractors, has tried to assert jurisdiction over hospitals that provide medical care to federal employees in various controversial ways. For example, OFCCP has claimed hospitals are federal subcontractors when they provide medical services to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and/or HMO policyholders pursuant to the insurance providers’ agreements with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia just gave the green light to OFCCP to assert its jurisdiction over hospitals, at least where HMOs covering federal employees are involved.
Tweet
April 08, 2013
News - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage
As the name suggests, the latest blog from Cozen O'Connor will offer insight into the issues that surround allegations of bad faith or other unfair business practices.
Tweet
April 05, 2013
Publication - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Policyholders in New York and New Jersey presently have no private right of action against insurance companies for alleged violations of each state’s respective statutory claim handling guidelines – New York’s Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Act, N.Y. Ins. Law § 2601, and New Jersey’s Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Act, N.J. Admin. Code tit. 11, §§ 2-17.6 and 2-17.7. Although the New York and New Jersey statutes each prohibit insurers from engaging in unfair claim settlement practices, neither allows insureds the right to enforce the laws or seek damages for a violation by filing a lawsuit against the insurer. Rather, the Insurance Department for each state are vested with the exclusive power of enforcement, and then only when an insurer engages in a pattern of violations demonstrating that the mishandling of claims is a general business practice. That may soon change, however.
Tweet
April 02, 2013
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
On March 29, 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that will raise the New York minimum wage in staged increases over the next three years.
Tweet
April 01, 2013
News - Corporate Governance & Securities
The Herald-Tribune reported on the settlement that saved clients significantly in this securities action brought by the Florida Attorney General and the Office of Financial Regulation.
Tweet
April 01, 2013
Press Release - Corporate
Mr. Schrier, formerly a partner with K&L Gates, focuses his practice on complex business transactions, including domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, restructurings, and venture and growth capital investments.
Tweet