Alderman To Be Appointed to Advisory Board of National Air and Space Museum

News

Alderman To Be Appointed to Advisory Board of National Air and Space Museum

Foreign Arbitration Clauses Invalid Under Carmack [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

Foreign Arbitration Clauses Invalid Under Carmack - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Foreign arbitration clauses are more prevalent than ever in commercial contracts. However, in interstate shipping contract claims under the Carmack Amendment, foreign arbitration clauses have recently been found invalid. This Alert reviews the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Smallwood v. Allied Van Lines, Inc.

Thailand Flood Losses [Cozen O'Connor White Paper]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

Thailand Flood Losses - Cozen O'Connor White Paper - Thailand’s two principal river systems are the Chao Phraya and the Mekong. There are a number of other smaller rivers which run through Thailand and drain into the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. The Mekong drains into the South China Sea. Beginning in July, Thailand’s rivers have been flooding. The floods have caused 506 deaths and an estimated $5.1 billion in damage. According to government reports the flooding has affected almost 15 million acres of land in 58 provinces.

Ed Weisz quoted in The Wall Street Journal

News - Intellectual Property

Ed Weisz quoted in The Wall Street Journal

In Wake of Wal-Mart Case, Class Actions Still Alive and Well [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication

In Wake of Wal-Mart Case, Class Actions Still Alive and Well - The Legal Intelligencer - In Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes, The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a grant of class certification. The case involved allegations of discrimination against women, and the Supreme Court said that the case involved too many individual claims, circumstances and factual analyses to be litigated on a classwide basis.

Colorado Statute Concerning Insurance for Construction Defects Does Not Apply Retroactively, but Property Damage Caused by Poor Workmanship is an Occurrence [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Colorado Statute Concerning Insurance for Construction Defects Does Not Apply Retroactively, but Property Damage Caused by Poor Workmanship is an Occurrence - Insurance Coverage Alert! - 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Colorado statute regarding insurance for construction defects does not apply retroactively, but that any property damage caused by poor workmanship may nevertheless qualify as an “occurrence” so long as the resulting damage is to nondefective property. Greystone Const., Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Case No. 09-1412 (10th Cir. Nov. 1, 2011).

Cozen O’Connor Trademark Group Number One in Pennsylvania

News - Trademark & Copyright

Cozen O’Connor Trademark Group Number One in Pennsylvania

District Court Disqualifies Counsel After Party-Appointed Arbitrator Discloses Panel [ABA Litigation News]

Publication

District Court Disqualifies Counsel After Party-Appointed Arbitrator Discloses Panel - ABA Litigation News -

Creative Anti-Counterfeiting: Solutions for Combatting Counterfeiting Online [ACC Docket: The Journal of the Association of Corporate Counsel]

Publication - Intellectual Property

Creative Anti-Counterfeiting: Solutions for Combatting Counterfeiting Online - ACC Docket: The Journal of the Association of Corporate Counsel - A recent study on Internet traffic reported that websites featuring pirated digital contents or counterfeit goods were visited 53 billion times last year, representing 146 million times every day, of which 87 million visits were to websites selling counterfeit goods, such as prescription drugs and luxury items. This article discusses ways brand owners can protect their intellectual property rights through monitoring, enforcement and preventive measures to combat online sales of...

Corporate Liability for Human Rights Abuses by Foreign Operatives? U.S. Supreme Court to Consider if Victims Can Recover Damages from Corporations [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Corporate Liability for Human Rights Abuses by Foreign Operatives? U.S. Supreme Court to Consider if Victims Can Recover Damages from Corporations - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On October 18, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to consider whether corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for acts that take place outside of the country. Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, S. Ct. Dkt. No. 10-1491. The Supreme Court arguments will most likely be heard in early 2012, followed by the Court’s written decision sometime before the Court’s term ends in June 2012.

Mark Felger quoted in The News Journal

News - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring

Mark Felger quoted in The News Journal

David Barron Quoted in Bloomberg Businessweek

News - Labor & Employment

David Barron of the Houston office was quoted in Bloomberg Businessweek in an article titled, ''Promoting Employees Without Increasing Pay,'' regarding the legal problems potentially involved with the practice, specifically in the form of wage-and-hour lawsuits.

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Office Depot's Claim for Defense Costs Incurred During Voluntary Compliance with an Informal SEC Investigation [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Office Depot's Claim for Defense Costs Incurred During Voluntary Compliance with an Informal SEC Investigation - Insurance Coverage Alert! - In an unpublished per curium opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed that Office Depot’s Executive and Organization Liability policy did not cover defense costs incurred in voluntarily responding to an informal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry, nor costs incurred in conducting an internal investigation and audit triggered by a whistleblower complaint over alleged accounting improprieties. Office Depot, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. et al.,

Manage ESI Dangers With Targeted Collections [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication

State Immunity Laws and the FTCA [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

State Immunity Laws and the FTCA - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Have a claim involving a federal government agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)? Is the federal agency asserting an immunity defense under state law? If so, it's necessary to analyze whether a state law immunity defense can be raised by a federal agency. This Alert discusses state immunity laws in the context of FTCA tort claims.

Deciphering the NLRB's Stance on Social Media Issues [New York Law Journal]

Publication - Labor & Employment

The National Labor Relations Act was enacted in 1935 to protect trade unionists from unfair labor practices by employers, and afford employees a greater ability to organize and collectively bargain. Social media entered the scene approximately 60 years later, when society (including the labor work force) recognized the ease and benefit of engaging in collective activity without ever leaving one's computer keyboard.

Act Now On Favorable Gift and Estate Tax Planning Rules [Private Client Services Alert!]

Publication - Business

Act Now On Favorable Gift and Estate Tax Planning Rules - Private Client Services Alert! - Estate, gift, and GST exemptions were increased to $5,000,000 for 2011 and are scheduled to increase to $5,120,000 in 2012 due to an inflation adjustment. Also, the transfer tax rate was reduced to 35 percent. However, the 2010 Act contains a “sunset provision” which will reset the exemptions to $1,000,000 and the tax rate to 55 percent effective January 1, 2013 unless Congress takes further action.

Tenth Circuit 'Dishes Out' Important Opinion Addressing the Scope of Advertising Injury Coverage for Patent Infringement Claims [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Tenth Circuit 'Dishes Out' Important Opinion Addressing the Scope of Advertising Injury Coverage for Patent Infringement Claims - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On October 17, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit issued a much anticipated decision addressing the scope of “Advertising Injury” (AI) coverage for patent infringement claims. Dish Network Corp. v. Arch Specialty Ins. Co., No. 10-1445, __ F.3d __ , 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20955 (10th Cir. 2011), rev’g, 734 F. Supp. 2d 1173 (D. Colo. 2010). The court, applying Colorado law, reversed an order from the District of Colorado that granted summary judgment to the insurers.

Blockbusters Loom as Supreme Court Term Begins [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication

Blockbusters Loom as Supreme Court Term Begins - The Legal Intelligencer - It is surely tempting to summarize the Supreme Court's upcoming term in the voice of Charlie Brown's teacher: " Wah wah, wah wah wah wah , health care, wah wah wah wah , health care." The court's anticipated consideration of challenges to the Affordable Care Act would be momentous in any term; it becomes especially important when it occurs in the midst of the next presidential election.

Court Issues Significant Ruling Regarding Personal Injury Claims in the Deepwater Horizon Litigation [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Court Issues Significant Ruling Regarding Personal Injury Claims in the Deepwater Horizon Litigation - Insurance Coverage Alert! - In a recent Alert, we advised of an important decision affecting maritime interests and their insurers in the multidistricted Deepwater Horizon litigation currently pending before Judge Barbier in federal court in New Orleans. (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, MDL No. 2179.) On October 4, 2011, Judge Barbier rendered yet another significant decision, this time relating primarily to personal injury claims.