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February 24, 2014
Publication
Courthouse wisdom is that judges generally dislike noncompetes. After all, everyone should be entitled to earn a living, right? As a result, judges often look for a reason to find that a noncompete is inapplicable, or should not be applied in the particular situation facing the court (for example, because it is overly broad). The former was the case in Gingrich v. Midkiff, 120332-U (Ill. App. 5th 2014), in which a court refused to enforce a noncompete between two doctors because the shareholders’ agreement provided that the noncompete was only triggered if one of the doctors either withdrew or was expelled from the practice. That isn’t what happened in Gingrich. On the contrary, after the doctors started suing each other, one doctor bought out the other under an Illinois “deadlock” statute. As a result, the “departing” doctor didn’t “withdraw” and wasn’t “expelled.” Instead, she was statutorily bought out.
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February 20, 2014
Publication - Tax
A panel of the Commonwealth Court concluded that a continuing care retirement community qualified as an institution of purely public charity and was therefore exempt from real estate tax, except for a remand regarding application of the exemption to two relatively minor parcels. Albright Care Services v. Union County Board of Assessment, No. 2094 C.D. 2012 (Pa. Commw. Jan. 29, 2014) (unreported). The questions were whether the institution qualified as a purely public charity under case law and under Act 1997-55.
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February 19, 2014
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Topics include: Causes of Freeze Losses, Subrogation Considerations on Freeze Losses, Subrogation Claims & Interruption of Gas Service & Impact of Tariffs and Statutes of Repose on Subrogation Claims
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February 19, 2014
Publication
Penn State University recently decided to waive attorney-client privilege and cooperate in the criminal prosecutions of certain former employees. Obviously, the former employees have attempted to assert privilege to exclude potentially incriminating statements. How would it affect their claims of privilege if the university shared that confidential information with outside consultants hired during the investigation?
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February 14, 2014
News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In a whitepaper titled “Onboarding Household Staff: Best Practices in Managing an Efficient Home While Minimizing Risk and Expense,” Jeffrey Pasek, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, offers his insights about onboarding from an employment law perspective and what makes an onboarding experience successful.
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February 12, 2014
Publication - Tax
A federal district court remanded to state court an action that made various contractual and consumer oriented claims regarding the collection of sales tax. Farneth v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2:3-cv-01062 (W.D.PA. Dec. 30, 2013). The plaintiff purchased two items of shaving gel at a Wal-Mart store taking advantage of a two-for-one promotional sale. The store charged Pennsylvania Sales Tax as though both items were purchased at full price.
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February 12, 2014
Publication - Tax
Since the implementation in 2011 of federal legislation increasing the federal estate and gift tax exemption to $5,000,000, many New York residents have been making large lifetime gifts in order to substantially reduce their New York estate tax. Recently proposed legislation, if passed, will eliminate this tax reduction strategy by pulling back into the New York taxable estate at death lifetime gifts made by New York residents after March 30, 2014.
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February 12, 2014
Publication
Samuel A. Lewis, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Intellectual Property Litigation group, discusses the potential pitfalls of posting photographs on social media.
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February 12, 2014
Publication - Tax
A panel of the Commonwealth Court modified an order of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas that quashed certain real estate assessment appeals filed on a consolidated basis, but permitted the property owners to file amended appeals beyond the statutory appeal period provided they do so within 60 days of the order and pay the necessary filing fees.
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February 12, 2014
News - Family Law
In an article titled “Valentine’s Effect Causes 40% to Explore Divorce,” Jennifer Brandt, a member of the firm’s Family Law Department, discusses how “Valentine’s Day puts a lot of pressure on people to provide proof of their love for one another in one day… Because Valentine’s Day forces us to assess our romantic relationships, many people realize that they are not happy in the situation they are in and there is no possibility of it improving. Thus, they may turn toward divorce to get a fresh start.”
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February 11, 2014
Publication - Products Liability
In products liability actions, plaintiffs use prior consumer complaints as evidence that a defect existed or that the defendant ignored a known defect. Precluding these prior consumer complaints is important to the defense, because this evidence has significant potential to prejudice the jury and lead to the imposition of liability in cases where plaintiffs have failed to produce sufficient proof of a defect. For these reasons, defendants must challenge the admissibility of prior consumer complaints. Defendants should argue that the communications are not substantially similar to the facts, circumstances and defects claimed in the case at issue (and are, thus, not relevant), and are inadmissible hearsay.
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February 11, 2014
News
Cozen O’Connor Co-Founder Patrick J. O’Connor has been named by the Philadelphia Legal Intelligencer as a 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. The Legal Intelligencer is honoring the great history of the legal profession in Pennsylvania by identifying some of the most important members of the legal community with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
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February 11, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
On January 28, 2014, the Supreme Court of Connecticut, in Lexington Ins. Co. v. Lexington Healthcare Group, Inc., 311 Conn. 29, addressed three issues that define the extent of coverage available under a medical professional liability policy. The court concluded that each claimant triggered a separate limit; an aggregate limit for professional lines claims applied; and a retention for each medical incident applied.
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February 10, 2014
News - Government & Regulatory
Ken Fisher, of the Government & Regulatory and the Real Estate Practice Groups, was quoted in a Crain's New York Business article titled, "City Hall's New 'In' Crowd." The article examines how the first Latina City Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, was elected in New York. The lobbyists that support Mark-Viverito are mentioned by Ken Fisher as he says, "Anytime a story is written saying a lobbyist is close to a politician, they raise their rates."
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February 10, 2014
Publication - Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In Schroeder v. Weighall, the Washington Supreme Court invalidated another portion of Washington’s medical malpractice reform legislation. Specifically, the court invalidated RCW 4.16.190(2), which had eliminated the tolling of the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims brought by those who alleged malpractice in their care as minors. The court held that the statute violated Article I, Section 12 of the Washington State Constitution, and reversed the trial court’s summary judgment order dismissing Jaryd Schroeder’s medical malpractice action.
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February 06, 2014
Publication - Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement
In two sets of cases this term, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide questions that could significantly alter securities litigation on behalf of large groups of investors under both federal and state law.
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February 05, 2014
Publication - Bad Faith - Insurance
With the arrival of the new year, many are applying the mantra “out with the old, in with the new.” Although this may be motivational for personal resolutions, it does not generally apply in the context of law as last year’s law is often the basis for this year’s lawsuit. The best strategy to prevent bad faith litigation is to be aware of the current trends and decisions (see links). The following bad faith decisions showcase some of the best and the worst holdings for insurers in 2013. We will continue to monitor and report on any major developments in 2014.
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February 05, 2014
News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In an article titled "When the clocks spring forward, what happens to paychecks?" David Barron, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, discusses daylight-saving time and its impact on employees who work overnight.
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February 03, 2014
Publication - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring
Simon Fraser discusses the importance of specificity in tax-sharing agreements after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware ruling.
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January 28, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday released its much-anticipated decision in the case of Sandifer v. United States Steel Corporation, and held that Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — which allows parties to a collective bargaining agreement to decide for themselves through negotiations whether “time spent in changing clothes … at the beginning or end of each workday” is compensable — applies to articles of protective clothing such as flame-retardant jackets, pants, hoods, snoods, wristlets, leggings, hardhats, work gloves and steel-toed boots.
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