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December 01, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Can Contribution Claims Be Asserted Against a Tortfeasor Otherwise Immune To A Direct Subrogation Action? - Subrogation Publications - Approach One: Contribution May Be Pursued
The Superior Court of Delaware handled a similar issue involving a contribution claim and whether it was barred by the anti-subrogation rule. Great Am. Assurance Co. V. Fisher Controls Int'll, Inc., 2003 WL 21901094 (Del. Super. Aug. 4, 2003). In that case, plaintiff insurer sued several defendants for a loss at a refinery. Those defendants sought contribution from another
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December 01, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Subrogation & Recovery
Form and Substance of a California Government Tort Claim - Regional Updates in Subro Law and Litigation - The 1963 California Tort Claims Act established uniform procedures for claims against public entities and public employees. The California Tort Claims Act establishes certain conditions prior to the filing of a lawsuit against a public entity. It is imperative that a claimant be aware of the requirements under the Torts Claim Act, as the unwary claimant may find their cause of action barred for failure to comply with the
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November 30, 2010
Publication
Third Circuit Sends Mixed Messages on Class Action Settlements - The Legal Intelligencer - The Third Circuit has issued three decisions, within a three-month span, about class
action settlements. The three cases send different signals about the trial court’s role in reviewing
class action settlements.
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November 29, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
New Expert Report and Communication Rules in Federal Court Cases - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Draft expert reports can be a trap for the unwary, often resulting in drafts not being protected from discovery by opposing parties. Under recently amended Federal Rule 26 for Federal cases, draft expert reports now are discoverable when counsel is not involved. The converse is the lesson of the day: draft reports are privileged when prepared at the request of counsel. This Alert discusses these important new amendments to Federal Rule 26, and their impact on expert disclosures.
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November 29, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Deductive Reimbursement: Insurer, Insured and Priority in Recovery Proceeds - Who Gets What and When - Subrogation and Recovery Theories of Liability - In handling recovery matters, issues constantly arise concerning deductibles, uninsured losses and additional claims that may be or are asserted by insureds. There may be legitimate uninsured losses sustained by an insured when there is insufficient coverage for the risk. There may be claims that, asserted at law, are subject to standards and measures of damage that differ greatly from the insurer’s contractual indemnity
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November 29, 2010
Publication
Three Supreme Court Cases to Test “Presumption Against Preemption” - The Legal Intelligencer - The Supreme Court has recognized several species of preemption, though the
categories tend to overlap. “Express” preemption occurs when Congress precludes state
regulation in a particular area by announcing such an intention in the text of a statute.
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November 24, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Computer - Generated Failure Analysis And Admissibility Considerations - Computers, Technology & The Electronic/Digital - Computers have become ordinary household appliances, but because of considerations relating to authenticity, reliability and relevance, the admissibility of computer-generated failure analysis is still being debated by the courts. The debate reflects the tension between the notion that computers are infallible, impartial calculators of data, and the well-recognized concept of “garbage in, garbage out.”
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November 24, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Cause and Investigation of Wildfires - Theories of Subrogation - The causes of wildland fires are too numerous to mention, from lightning to arson to obscure events like a spark ignited by a piece of equipment or machinery or a downed power line.
Investigating a wildfire is much different than the investigation of a structure fire. Wildfires are not structure fires outdoors. The factors influencing fire development are different, fire suppression tactics are different, and fire
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November 23, 2010
Publication - Business, Corporate
Fall 2010 - Business Law Observer - Since our Spring 2010 Observer was published, significant new legislation has been enacted
by Congress, affecting tax planning and securities transactions, among other areas. We have summarized two of the new acts, in addition to a review of existing legislation as it affects doing business abroad. Imbedded in the Health Care Act is a new provision in the Internal Revenue Code, codifying the “economic substance doctrine.”
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November 22, 2010
Publication - Labor & Employment
Some veterans seeking civilian employment will enter the workplace with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), conditions that are often misunderstood. To avoid missteps, employers should learn as much as they can and be aware of their legal obligations.
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November 16, 2010
Publication
Federal District Court Rejects Nicastro Holding - General Litigation Alert! - In Leja v. Schmidt Mfg., Inc., No. 01-5042 (DRD), 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110907 (D.N.J. Oct. 19, 2010), a federal district court in New Jersey declined to follow the decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court in Nicastro v. McIntyre Mach. Am., Ltd., 201 N.J. 48, 987 A.2d 575 (2010), concluding that, to the extent that the Nicastro holding expanded personal jurisdiction beyond the bounds set by the United States Supreme Court, it had to be disregarded. 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110907, at*1.
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November 16, 2010
Publication - Business, Health Care & Life Sciences
CMS Delays Section 111 Reporting for Liability Insurers - Health Law Alert! - the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a one-year delay in the implementation of certain reporting obligations under Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 for claims involving liability insurers (including self-insured entities). Claims involving workers’ compensation and no-fault insurance, however, must be reported as scheduled in the first calendar quarter of 2011. The net result is a two-tiered implementation timeline.
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November 16, 2010
Publication - Real Estate Litigation
Philadelphia Façade Inspection Ordinance - Real Estate Alert! - describes the recently-adopted building façade inspection ordinance for the City of Philadelphia. With the adoption of this ordinance, Philadelphia joins almost all of the other major metropolitan areas in the country in requiring periodic inspection of building facades for public safety purposes
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November 15, 2010
Publication - Electronic Discovery & Practice Advisory Services
The costs associated with the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) continue to increase at rates unknown outside of the healthcare industry. While much of the discussion regarding costs centers on those associated with accessing, reviewing and producing ESI, an oft-overlooked but (in many cases) significant driver of the high price of discovery are the costs associated with preserving ESI.
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November 15, 2010
Press Release - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Cozen O’Connor Adds Commercial Litigator Mark Rabinowitz
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November 11, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Jonathan Toren of the Global Insurance Department is co-author of this Law360 article titled “Business Judgment Rule Will Help ARS Defendants.” This article discusses the derivative suits against mutual fund issuers of auction rate securities (ARS) that hit the courts.
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November 10, 2010
Publication - Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Labor & Employment
The IRS issued Notice 2010-6 (Notice) earlier this year, providing taxpayers with a mechanism to correct certain IRC Section 409A document errors. Under the Notice’s transition rules, if certain document compliance errors are corrected by December 31, 2010, the affected employee may avoid incurring any income tax or penalties (other than income tax on amounts actually received).
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November 08, 2010
Publication - Business
2010 End-of-Year Estate Planning: Planning Ahead to Confront Uncertainty - Private Client Services Alert! - It is now common knowledge that the federal estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) are repealed for 2010. Along with the repeal, the federal gift tax rate for 2010 is decreased to 35%, a significant reduction from the prior top rate of 55%. The provisions of the law creating the repeal and the reduced gift tax rate will “sunset” on December 31, 2010.
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November 08, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Implications of the Genzyme Decision: Loss Under a D & O Policy - Insurance Coverage Alert! - Recently, in Genzyme Corp. v. Federal Insurance Co., 2010 WL 3991739 (1st Cir. 2010), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit construed the definition of loss in a D & O policy and a so-called “bump-up” exclusion that precluded coverage for claims seeking an increase or “bump-up” in the consideration for the company’s securities.
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November 05, 2010
Publication - Government & Regulatory, Government Relations - Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies
The first U.S. chief operating officer? - Washington Post - Mark Alderman and Howard Schweitzer, along with former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), call for a new, statutory position in the White House in their Washington Post opinion piece, “The First U.S. Chief Operating Officer?”
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