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July 25, 2013
News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In an article titled “7 Tips For Employers on Social Media Discovery,” Michael Schmidt of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group discusses how social media is a new forum of potential evidence in employment cases.
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July 25, 2013
News - Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement, White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled ''Feds Charge Hedge Fund SAC Capital In NY Case,'' Barry Boss, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group, Vice Chair of the Commercial Litigation Department and Office Managing Partner of the firm’s D.C. office, shares his insights into the SAC Capital Advisors indictment.
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July 24, 2013
Publication - Business
The New Jersey Legislature is considering a bill that would pose this question to voters in November: Should a small portion of the state sales tax be dedicated to preserve critical open spaces and farmland in New Jersey? For anyone concerned about the quality of life and property values in New Jersey, the answer should be "Yes!"
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July 24, 2013
Publication - White Collar Defense & Investigations
Edward Snowden's detention in the Moscow airport transit zone, and the U.S. government's efforts to extradite him, may seem confined to that case's politically charged circumstances. But what if Snowden were merely a malingering corporate employee? Imagine if he had absconded with company secrets (such as the Coca-Cola recipe), or embezzled company funds, and was hiding out halfway across the world. Under what circumstances, if any, could he be forcibly returned to the United States to answer for his actions?
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July 24, 2013
Publication - Appellate
The heightened pleading standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal has become a familiar tool for defense counsel seeking to dismiss a complaint in federal court. But is what's good for the goose also good for the gander?
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July 22, 2013
Publication - Real Estate - Real Estate & Construction
On July 10, 2013, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) issued draft regulations filling in the compliance requirements of Philadelphia’s mandatory energy and water disclosure ordinance (the Disclosure Ordinance) that was enacted in June 2012. The draft regulations will become final on August 2, 2013.
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July 19, 2013
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
On July 10, 2013, a majority of a three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania cut a new path for insureds and insurers with respect to defense under reservations of rights. See The Babcock & Wilcox Company, et al. v. American Nuclear Insurers, et al., 2013 PA Super. 174, 2013 PA Super. LEXIS 1630. According to the majority, when an insurer tenders a defense subject to a reservation, an insured may reject the insurer’s defense and bind the insurer to a settlement that the insurer did not consent, so long as the settlement is fair and reasonable.
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July 18, 2013
Publication - Tax
Two tax bills will make substantial changes to Pennsylvania taxes if finally enacted. The bills were part of the budget process. House Bill 465 has passed the House and Senate and requires the governor’s signature. Senate Bill 591 needs Senate concurrence in certain House amendments and the governor’s approval.
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July 18, 2013
Publication - Tax
The en banc Commonwealth Court held that private telephone line charges and directory assistance services were subject to the Public Utility Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), but non-recurring service charges were exempt. Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc. v. Commonwealth.
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July 18, 2013
Publication - Tax
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a taxpayer had standing to challenge a LERTA designation, but the complaint nonetheless was dismissed because it alleged no facts in support of the claim that the property was incorrectly classified as deteriorated.
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July 16, 2013
Press Release - Business, Government Relations - Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies
Stuart Shorenstein, of the firm’s Business Law Department and head of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies’ New York team, has been named “Manhattan Democrat of the Year” by the New York County Democratic Committee at its first Annual Demmy Award Ceremony Monday, July 15. Among the nominees for the award were New York state district leaders and committee members.
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July 12, 2013
News - Professional Liability
In an article titled, “Attorneys Suspended Nine Months for Influencing Client's Story,” Thomas G. Wilkinson, member in Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department and co-chair of the Conflicts of Interest Subcommittee of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Ethics and Professionalism Committee, examines a recent New York Appellate Division case in which two attorneys received nine-month suspensions after admitting to influencing their client’s version of events.
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July 10, 2013
Publication - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring
Barry Klayman and Mark Felger of the Wilmington office authored an article titled, "Single Employer Test Emphasizes De Facto Control Factor," in the most recent edition of The Delaware Business Court Insider. The article discusses two recent decisions from the Delaware district and bankruptcy courts on a parent corporation's liability under the federal WARN Act for a subsidiary's failure to provide advance notice of employee layoffs. To read the full article, click here.
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July 10, 2013
Press Release - Labor & Employment
A. Martin (Marty) Wickliff, Jr., a veteran trial lawyer with nearly 40 years of experience devoted to a national trial and appellate practice in all phases of labor and employment law, has been selected by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for its National Roster of Neutrals to provide labor and employment alternative dispute resolution services as an arbitrator. Mr. Wickliff is a shareholder in the Labor & Employment Group at the Houston office of Cozen O’Connor, a leading law firm serving clients through 23 offices across two continents.
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July 10, 2013
News - Family Law
Jennifer Brandt was a guest on “Good Day” on Fox29 today to discuss post-nuptial agreements.
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July 03, 2013
Publication - Business, Public & Project Finance
This podcast will focus on two recent SEC public finance enforcement actions that reflect a common theme - issuers are liable under the securities laws for material misstatements or omissions made outside of an official statement or other offering document.
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July 03, 2013
Publication - Intellectual Property - Health Care & Life Sciences
On June 24, 2013, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. v. Bartlett held that state-law design-defect claims based on the inadequacy of a generic drug’s labeled warnings are pre-empted by federal law. This decision reversed the 1st Circuit’s affirmance of a jury verdict awarding Bartlett more than $21 million on her design-defect claim against Mutual Pharmaceutical under New Hampshire law.
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July 03, 2013
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
The scene is not uncommon, a beautiful hotel with several floors of luxurious rooms, restaurants and bars, and cascading waterfalls out at the pool. It is not your typical office, yet it is critical that hotel employers understand that the men and women who work in this setting are employees and that the hotel is a workplace. So, as informal, perhaps even as romantic, as the scene may be, employment laws proscribing harassment in the workplace apply in hotels as equally as they do in a medical practice, a law firm or an insurance brokerage house.
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July 02, 2013
Publication - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes
Remember that group of employees laid off a few months ago? One has applied for a new job opening and was not rehired. Now that employee is claiming that the company has engaged in unlawful, discriminatory action in failing to rehire her. This scenario is all too real. Indeed, Gonzalez v. Molded Acoustical Products of Easton, 118 FEP Cases 877 (E.D. Pa. 2013), a recent case out of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, should remind employers of the risk exposure associated with hiring for positions that were previously impacted by reductions-in-force.
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July 02, 2013
Publication - Tax
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed per curiam a decision that the burden of proving a change of domicile is on the person claiming the change. Hvizdak v. Commonwealth, 92 MAP 2012 (Pa. June 17, 2013) (per curiam), aff’g 50 A.3d 788, (Pa. Commw. 2012).
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