IRS Begins Major Initiative to Audit 6,000 Companies [Labor and Employment Alert!]

Publication - Labor & Employment

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has determined to perform its most expansive and widespread audit initiative in recent history. Beginning in early 2010, the IRS will audit the federal tax returns of 6,000 companies to assess compliance with tax and labor regulations. This new audit initiative will be conducted in three phases, with the IRS studying the tax returns of 2,000 companies in each of 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Trouble in the Safe Harbor -- The Requirement of Mechanics' Lien Coverage in Lenders' Title Policies in Pennsylvania [Real Estate Alert!]

Publication - Real Estate Litigation

Trouble in the Safe Harbor -- The Requirement of Mechanics' Lien Coverage in Lenders' Title Policies in Pennsylvania - Real Estate Alert! - Financing your construction project is not getting any easier. Lenders are increasingly taking a "check the box" approach with respect to their closing requirements, which adds cost and complexity to the closing from the borrower's perspective. One such closing hurdle is the requirement that the lender's policy of title insurance contains "mechanics' lien coverage," which essentially insures the priority of a lender's mortgage lien against mechanics' liens

Electricity Delivery and Stranded Cost Charges are Taxable [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

Electricity Delivery and Stranded Cost Charges are Taxable - Tax Alert! - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that after deregulation of the electricity industry, charges by a distribution company for the transmission of electricity and for stranded costs are taxable for Sales and Use Tax purposes. Spectrum Arena Limited Partnership v. Commonwealth, No. 42 MAP 2008 (Pa. Nov. 5, 2009). This was a hard case, and it made bad law.

Cozen O’Connor Family Law Attorney Jennifer A. Brandt Appears On TV Guide Network

Press Release - Family Law

Cozen O’Connor Family Law Attorney Jennifer A. Brandt Appears On TV Guide Network

North Carolina Extends Statute of Repose for Product Defects to Twelve Years [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

North Carolina Extends Statute of Repose for Product Defects to Twelve Years - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Statutes of repose often are subject to misunderstanding, causing leakage and lost opportunities. The North Carolina General Assembly recently extended the North Carolina Statute of Repose from 6 to 12 years. We are taking the opportunity of this amendment to discuss the application of statutes of repose - and statutes of limitation - in the context of subrogation and recovery claims.

Local Law 7: Expanding 'Housing Standards' in the Civil Court [New York Law Journal]

Publication

On March 13, 2008, the Tenant Protection Act (also known as Local Law 7 of 2008; hereinafter Local Law 7) took effect, giving tenants yet another avenue to pursue ''landlord harassment'' claims. The issues and inconsistencies raised by Local Law 7 are subtle, and could easily be overlooked by even the most careful of practitioners.

Ground Beef Recall Due to E. Coli [Food Contamination Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage

Ground Beef Recall Due to E. Coli - Food Contamination Coverage Alert! - On October 31, 2009, Fairbanks Farms, an Ashville New
York manufacturer of ground beef, issued a voluntary
recall of approximately 545,699 pounds of ground
beef. The recalled products may be tainted by the potentially
deadly E. coli O157:H7 bacterium, which can cause diarrhea,
dehydration and kidney failure.

The Employment Classification Trilogy - Part I of III: The Overtime Exemption Dilemma [HotelExecutive.Com]

Publication - Labor & Employment

As we rapidly approach the end of 2009, it is clear that wage and hour lawsuits continue to make up a large portion of all new cases filed in federal court.

Proposed Legislation Impacts on Food Contamination Recalls [Food Contamination Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage

Proposed Legislation Impacts on Food Contamination Recalls - Food Contamination Coverage Alert! - On October 22, 2009, the Senate Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions (“HELP”) Committee held a
hearing about the proposed Food and Drug
Administration Food Safety Modernization Act (“FDAFSMA” or “the Act”), S. 510. The FDAFSMA is a bill amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that was introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators on March 3, 2009. The Act is
comprised of three titles focused on improving: prevention of

Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Split on NLRB's Authority to Act with Two Members [Labor and Employment Alert!]

Publication - Labor & Employment

Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Split on NLRB's Authority to Act with Two Members - Labor and Employment Alert! - On November 2, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the National Labor Relations Board can decide cases with its current complement of only two Board members. The Board has been functioning with two members – current Chair Wilma Liebman and Member Peter Schaumber – since January 2008 following the retirement of former Chair Robert Batista and the expiration of the recess appointments of Members Dennis Walsh and Peter Kirsanow.

Subrogation Claims Against Tenants in Michigan: The Co-Insured Doctrine Revisited [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

Subrogation Claims Against Tenants in Michigan: The Co-Insured Doctrine Revisited - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - In many states, the implied co-insured doctrine bars a subrogated insurer of a landlord from suing a negligent tenant, unless the lease has express language allowing such an action. Such was thought to be the law of land in Michigan. Recent unpublished decisions, however, have created an opening. Subrogated insurers may have a new lease on life in Michigan.

Lynette Espy Of Cozen O’Connor Elected Treasurer of Gate City Bar Association

Press Release

Lynette Espy Of Cozen O’Connor Elected Treasurer of Gate City Bar Association

The Power Fifty 2009 [Philadelphia Magazine]

Publication

The Power Fifty 2009 - Philadelphia Magazine - Our ranking of the most influential Philadelphians. What This List Isn't: A rehash of the usual suspects.

Beyond the Structure: Failure to perform proper due diligence can lead to scary discoveries when it is too late [B&C Northeast]

Publication - Real Estate Litigation

Beyond the Structure: Failure to perform proper due diligence can lead to scary discoveries when it is too late - B&C Northeast -

"Combating Counterfeiting,” Insights

Publication

Ground-Breaking Developments in Climate Change Nuisance Litigation [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage

Ground-Breaking Developments in Climate Change Nuisance Litigation - Insurance Coverage Alert! - After a long lull in judicial activity, the one-month period between September 21 and October 16, 2009, provided a series of surprising and potentially explosive developments in global warming nuisance liability law. Over the last few weeks, three federal court decisions, each from different regions of the country, weighed in on the
issue of whether greenhouse gas emission nuisance claim

Cozen O’Connor Attorney Thomas G. Wilkinson Speaks at ABA Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute

Press Release

Cozen O'Connor member Thomas G. Wilkinson recently served as a panelist for ''Breaking Impasse in Mediation'' at the American Bar Association's (ABA) 7th Annual Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute. Tom and other panelists presented practice pointers on how to avoid impasse in mediating difficult cases. The Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute is a comprehensive program for mediators, litigators, judges and in-house counsel that utilizes faculty to present the latest research, best practices, new approaches and core competencies in the field.

Lawyers warn: Bosses who 'friend' are begging to be sued [The National Law Journal]

Publication

Bosses who ''friend'' their subordinates on social networking sites may seem warm and harmless, but they've got liability risk written all over them. So warn employment lawyers.

Delaware Chancery Court Applying New York Law Adopts "All Sums" Allocation Approach [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage

Delaware Chancery Court Applying New York Law Adopts "All Sums" Allocation Approach - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On October 14th, a Delaware Court of Chancery judge issued an 88-page opinion granting summary judgment to two insureds, Warren Pumps LLC (“New Warren”) and Viking Pump, Inc. (“New Viking”), on critical issues of allocation and a corporate successorship. Viking Pump, Inc. v. Century Indem. Co., C.A. No. 1465 (VCS) (Del. Ch. October 14, 2009).

The Use of Information Posted on Facebook and MySpace in Litigation [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

The Use of Information Posted on Facebook and MySpace in Litigation - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Over the past five years, social networking websites
such as MySpace1 and Facebook2 have boomed in
popularity. MySpace has 125 million users3 and
Facebook4 has a staggering 200 million users.5 Initially intended
for college-aged students, social networking websites are
now open to the public and attract a plethora of subscribers,
ranging from teenagers to grandparents.6