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November 04, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
The Application of Rule 702 And Daubert Challenges To Expert Witnesses In Large Property Damage Litigation: Getting Your Experts Past The Gatekeeper And Into The Courtroom - Cozen O'Connor Whitepapers - Large property losses resulting in substantial subrogation efforts grow from catastrophic damage or destruction to buildings, equipment and the economic injuries that result from those losses. The generic cause of such losses sometimes leads to first party coverage litigation, but pinpointing a specific cause is essential to the pursuit of subrogation claims. Proving third party negligence, or a product defect, as the
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November 04, 2010
Publication
Washington State Appellate Court Holds That Efficient Proximate Cause Under a First Party Property Policy is Ordinarily a Jury Question - Insurance Coverage Alert! - The recent Washington State Appeals Court decision Vision One LLC v. RSUI, — P.3d — (October 19, 2010, Division II) is a reminder that not all coverage issues can be resolved by a judge as a matter of law. Vision One was a general contractor developing a condominium complex in Tacoma, Wash. Vision One hired two concrete subcontractors.
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November 04, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Cigarette fires in fabrics: After 500 tests, these results, too, may be difficult to fathom - Fire Findings - Nearly a decade ago, we published an article in Fire Findings, Vol. 6, No. 1, about the likelihood of cigarettes igniting various forms of paper trash. For those tests, we placed lit cigarettes in trash and observed what happened.
Five times out of 300, flame ignition resulted, but the cigarettes simply burned out during the other tests. The results, to put it mildly, have generated a lot of comments over the years, as
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November 04, 2010
Publication - Government & Regulatory, Government Relations - Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies
2010 Midterm Election Analysis - Public Strategies Alert! - The election of 2010 is history – but was it historic? As with so many events that appear in retrospect to have been pivotal, we will not know the impact of the 2010 midterm elections until we have the opportunity to judge the policy and political consequences of that vote. In the short term, what does the new order in Washington mean for the upcoming lame duck session of Congress? What can we expect to come out of Washington in the next Congress?
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November 04, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Subrogation And The Ecomomic Loss Doctrine: A 50 State Survey - Subrogator - The generator in a $300,000 luxury motor home produces arcing which ignites engine oil and the resulting fire soon destroys the entire vehicle. Your insured's printing press is destroyed when the entire unit becomes engulfed in flames after a catastrophic failure due to a defect in its design. Soot covers the entire inside of a new vacation home after its furnace puffs back due to a malfunction in the HVAC system. A defect in the
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November 04, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Your Fire Expert On Trial: Daubert and The 2008 Revisions to NFPA 921 - Cozen O'Connor Whitepaper - As succinctly stated in the 2008 Edition of NFPA 921 §11.1 “Legal considerations impact every phase of a fire investigation.” Such considerations run the gamut from the constitutionality of entries into private property by public authorities; evidence retention or the spoliation thereof; and the qualifications and admissibility of testimony of those engaged in the fire investigation field.
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November 03, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
Insurer, Insured And Priority In Recovery Proceeds -Who Gets What and When? - Cozen O'Connor Newsletter - 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 03, 2010
News
Thomas G. Wilkinson, Jr., a member in the firm’s Philadelphia office, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s task force on the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice Report.
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November 03, 2010
News
Lisa Haas and Michael Heller Elected to GPCC Board
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November 03, 2010
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Subrogation & Recovery
Can Contribution Claims Be Asserted Against A Tortfeasor Otherwise Immune To A Direct Subrogation Action? - Cozen O'Connor Alert - 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’l, 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 party as a joint tortfeasor. Id. at *1. Instead of
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November 02, 2010
Publication - Intellectual Property
Patent Pools, Patent Misuse and Antitrust Rule of Reason Analysis - The Legal Intelligencer - The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) recently decided a very important case at the intersection of patent and antitrust laws. It presented the question of whether it was "patent misuse" to tie together, for purposes of licensing, a group of the patents owned by different companies who were competitors.
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November 01, 2010
Publication - Products Liability
The Difficulty in Certifying a Class Action Against Drug Companies - Life Sciences Alert! - Three cases decided over the past few months demonstrate the difficulty with certifying class actions by third-party payors (TPPs) against drug companies.
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November 01, 2010
Publication - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2009 would reduce the complexity of complying with state insurance regulations and tax regimes applicable to policies issued by nonadmitted insurers that cover risk exposures in more than one state.
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November 01, 2010
Publication - Construction Law
Given the myriad of research over the last decade, it is now fair to say that drug and alcohol use in the construction industry is a significant issue to all involved: workers, unions, trade contractors, developers and owners.
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October 28, 2010
Publication - Labor & Employment
We are pleased to present the latest edition of the Labor and Employment Observer. We hope you find this issue both useful and informative.
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October 25, 2010
Press Release
Cozen O’Connor Ranked Fourth in Nation For Summer Associates Program
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October 22, 2010
Publication - Products Liability
Investigational Devices and the Defenses that Protect Them - Cozen O'Connor Paper -
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October 21, 2010
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Naming John Doe: Suing a Fictitious Defendant to Further Your Investigation and Toll the Statute of Limitations - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Do you have a statute of limitations running out but the correct defendant is not known yet? It happens to everyone now and then. What do you do to avoid losing your potential subrogation recovery? This Alert discusses suing a "fictitious" Doe defendant to help preserve the subrogation case while conducting additional discovery.
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October 19, 2010
Publication
The United States Supreme Court to Consider the Reach of Personal Jurisdiction in Product Liability Actions - Litigation Alert! - On September 28, 2010, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in two product liability cases, J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, No. 09-1343, 2010 U.S. LEXIS 5747, *1 (U.S. Sept. 28, 2010) and Goodyear Luxembourg Tires, S.A. v. Brown, No. 10-76, 2010 U.S. LEXIS 5750, *1 (U.S. Sept. 28, 2010), which are to be “argued in tandem.” In both cases, state courts found that they had personal jurisdiction over foreign companies.
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October 19, 2010
Publication - Labor & Employment - Real Estate & Construction
On October 19, 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice in the Federal Register proposing to change the way in which the noise exposure standards for construction and general industry are interpreted, and modifying its enforcement policy accordingly.
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