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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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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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