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November 15, 2007
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Methods For Enforcing Civil Judgments in Ontario - Canadian Subrogation Alert! - 5 pgs total, focus on Canada. When a court issues a judgment, it is not concerned with whether the unsuccessful party will ever actually pay the amount. Nonetheless, our civil court system does provide the successful insurer with mechanisms to assist in collecting payment from the unsuccessful defendant. The two most common mechanisms for this purpose are (1) a writ of seizure and sale, and (2) a garnishment of debts, such as wages, owing to the debtor.
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November 15, 2007
Publication - Government & Regulatory, Subrogation & Recovery
Can a Limitation of Liability Provision in a Bill of Lading Invalidate My Perfectly Good Carmack Amendment Claim? - Maritime Alert! - 2 pgs total. All too often, a cargo owner and/or its subrogated insurer establishes the elements necessary to prove a claim under the Carmack Amendment and conclusively negates the defenses available to a motor carrier, only to be met with the dreaded and feared “Bill of Lading” which contains a limitation of liability provision.
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November 14, 2007
Publication - Insurance Coverage
The Santa Ana Wind-Driven 2007 Southern California Wildfires: A First-Party Factual and Legal Analysis of the Santa Ana Wind-Driven Wildfires - Cozen & O'Connor Whitepaper -
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November 09, 2007
Publication - Electronic Discovery & Practice Advisory Services
Washington State Voters Approve New “Bad Faith” Act - Insurance Coverage Alert - On November 6, 2007, the voters of Washington State approved a new statutory basis for a wide range of so-called “insurer bad faith” claims. Under the “insurance fair conduct act” (“Act”), “penalties” may be imposed against insurers that are found to have “acted unreasonably” or that are found to have violated any one of at least 37 existing Washington Administrative Code rules adopted by
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November 07, 2007
Publication - Immigration Policy & Strategy, Labor & Employment - Sports
Specifically, in this issue, we examine two topics currently at the forefront of the sports and entertainment industries. First, we explore the ongoing strike between the Writers Guild and the Association of Motion Picture and Televisions Producers. Next, we outline the various immigration issues and options for foreign athletes who seek employment in the United States.
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November 07, 2007
Publication
Fall 2007 - Commercial Disputes Observer -
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November 05, 2007
Publication - Electronic Discovery & Practice Advisory Services
By now, most litigators have come to grips with e-mail and its many problems. We know that the ubiquity and shear volume of e-mail have changed civil discovery forever. We have all become familiar with our clients’ e-mail systems and their policies and procedures for the use and maintenance of e-mail. At the outset of a case we seemingly now spend more time with IT professionals than with in-house counsel, and we all know that it is important how often and when email servers are backed up and where files are stored. What many of us and our clients do not know (or are only learning now) is that millions of employees have been sending millions of messages to each other and to third parties each day—messages that completely circumvent all of the policies, processes and procedures that have diligently been put in place to control the e-mail monster.
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November 01, 2007
Publication
With asbestos litigation entering its twilight years, personal injury lawyers have been searching long and hard for a new toxin to form the foundation of lawsuits for decades to come. And while personal injury lawyers have enjoyed some success in prosecuting cases involving occupational exposure to diacetyl, the limited number of individuals exposed to the substance in the occupational setting has been a major stumbling block to crowning diacetyl as the toxin of the new millennium. Years of research into the health effects of diacetyl, together with recent medical findings and increased public scrutiny over food safety issues, however, may serve to broaden diacetyl litigation into the consumer arena and provide personal injury lawyers with the opportunity they have been so anxiously seeking.
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November 01, 2007
Publication - Labor & Employment
As of October 16, 2007, New York law has been amended to require that the terms of employment for all commissioned salespersons be put in writing.
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November 01, 2007
Publication - Insurance Coverage
Of Mad Cows and Litigators - BEST'S REVIEW - It was a call to arms. "Food fight!" was immortalized in National Lampoon's Animal House. Nearly a generation later, different kinds of food fights are brewing nationwide. In turn, insurers must prepare to effectively handle emerging coverage issues surrounding the likelihood of a catastrophic food-borne outbreak and related contaminated food losses, originating domestically and internationally.
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November 01, 2007
Publication - Labor & Employment
Caregivers At Work: New EEOC Guidelines Should Prompt Company Action - Corporate Counsel -
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November 01, 2007
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
2007 Southern California Wildfires - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - 5 pgs total. Wildfires have raced across Southern California, fanned by ferocious Santa Ana wind conditions resulting in losses covering seven counties. In an effort to evaluate recovery opportunities, Cozen O’Connor is coordinating with investigators and various local and state fire authorities, as well as continuing to monitor all news reports and investigations regarding these fires.
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October 29, 2007
Publication - Insurance Coverage
U.S. District Court of Colorado Holds That Insured Must Prove Loss of Contaminated Cheese Caused by Fortuitous Event - Insurance Coverage Alert - Senior District Judge Richard Matsch recently rejected an insured’s argument that it
was not necessary for it to prove an identifiable event causing the contamination of 8
million pounds of cheese stored in the insured’s warehouse. In Leprino Foods Co. v.
Factory Mutual Insurance Co., No. 02-cv-01559 (D. Colo. July 31, 2007), the cheese
manufactured by the insured, Leprino Foods Co. (“Leprino”), developed an off-flavor
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October 26, 2007
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Recalls for 10/26/2007 - Breaking Legal News and/or Recall Alerts - This week covers:J.C. Penney Recalls Shag Rugs Due to Fire Hazard;Christmas Tree Shops Recalls Glitter Candles Due to Fire Hazard;P3 International Recalls IonizAir™ Air Purifiers due to Risk of Fire
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October 23, 2007
Publication - Insurance Coverage
2007 Insurance Coverage Seminar - New York City - Seminar Presentation - Program Book - Speaker profiles, Practical Issues in Enforcement of Claims-Made Policies, Basics of D&O Insurance, Analyzing a Claim with Results Oriented to Your Best Interest in Spite of an Extra-Contractual Twist, "Food Fight!" Who Pays When Good Food Goes Bad?, Maritime Insurance: Recurring Coverage Issues, Managing Discovery of Electronic Information: A Pocket Guide for Judges
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October 19, 2007
Publication - Insurance Coverage
Liability insurance policies generally provide that the insurer will pay on behalf of the insured ''all sums'' which the insured shall become ''legally obligated to pay as damages'' because of bodily injury or property damage to which the insurance applies. Many courts have interpreted the term ''damages'' as ''payment made to compensate a party for injuries suffered.'' The dictionary definition of ''damages'' is ''the estimated reparation in money for detriment or injury sustained.''
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October 18, 2007
Publication - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory, Insurance Coverage
New York’s High Court Decides That Liquidation Bureau Is Not a State Agency - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory Alert! - The New York State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, has unanimously
held that the New York Liquidation Bureau (the “Bureau”) is not a state agency under
the State Finance Law, and that the New York State Comptroller (the “Comptroller”)
does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to conduct a pre-audit of
Bureau expenditures, post-audit of the financial management and operating practices
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October 12, 2007
Publication - Products Liability
A Pre-Trial and Procedural Roadmap for Defending Food-Related and Other Mass Tort Litigation - Cozen O'Connor Whitepaper - This past year has seen a wide variety of news coverage related to our nation’s food
supply. In early 2007, the FDA promulgated guidelines pertaining to fresh cut produce.
Concerns surrounding contaminated spinach, green onions, other vegetables and most recently,
beef have led to various recalls by manufacturers and others in the industry.
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October 09, 2007
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Oregon Federal Judge Rules that Cost of Preventing Future Contamination not a Covered Indemnity Cost - Insurance Coverage Alert! - An Oregon Federal Judge has adopted the Findings and Recommendations of an
Oregon Magistrate Judge and granted partial summary judgment ordering that an
insured is precluded from recovering as indemnity costs, $6.8 million in claimed costs
for an effluent pretreatment system to prevent future contamination from its operations
of a municipal sewer system.
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October 09, 2007
Publication - Government & Regulatory, Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Sompo vs. Altadis/COGSA vs Carmack - Maritime Alert! - 4 pgs total. In conclusion, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s efforts in Kirby to adopt a single default rule on cargo liability for intermodal shipments, federal courts throughout the U.S. are nevertheless split on how to apply COGSA and Carmack in a consistent and methodical fashion. Until then, we recommend that our maritime clients take all necessary steps to protect their respective interests under both COGSA and Carmack.
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