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September 01, 2011
Publication - Technology, Privacy & Data Security
Increasing reports of cyber intrusions, data theft and computer-system malfunctions have led a rapidly growing number of companies to purchase insurance coverage to protect themselves from technology and cyber-privacy risks.
As our technology-driven economy continues to evolve and businesses become more reliant on electronic communication and data storage, they are developing a heightened awareness that an unauthorized intrusion could endanger their tangible and intangible assets (including intellectual property) and, in many cases, their reputation and ability to conduct business.
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August 30, 2011
News
Peter Fontaine's article on Marcellus Shale published on PennLive
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August 30, 2011
Publication - Labor & Employment
Mandatory Poster for Union and Non-Union Employers Regarding Employee Rights Under NLRA - Labor and Employment Alert! - Today’s Federal Register includes a Final Rule promulgated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requiring all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to conspicuously post an 11-inch-by-17-inch notice advising employees of their rights under the NLRA, including the right to organize a union, and providing contact information for the NLRB in the event that any of these rights are violated. The rule also requires that the notice be posted
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August 30, 2011
Publication - Environmental Regulatory & Due Diligence
Use Acid Waters for Fracking - Patriot News - Pennsylvania's 200-year history of coal mining has left a legacy of polluted waterways that remains one of the state's greatest environmental challenges. More than 250,000 abandoned surface mines, many containing acidic water-filled pits, scar Pennsylvania's landscape. Acidic drainage from these abandoned mines-called acid mine drainage or AMD -often has a pH below 5.0, which leaches heavy metals from surrounding...
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August 30, 2011
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Utah's 'Machine Gun Fire' in Herriman Caused by National Guard Training Exercise - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - As long as wildfires continue to plague the United States, Cozen O'Connor will provide you with background information and investigation summaries of these devastating fires. One such wildfire ignited in September 2010 during a training exercise by the National Guard at Camp Williams in Herriman, Utah. Our latest alert addresses the current known information about the "Machine Gun Fire" in Herriman, Utah.
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August 29, 2011
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Texas Supreme Court Severely Limits Extracontractual Liability in Workers' Compensation Claims - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On August 26, 2011, in a highly anticipated decision, the Texas Supreme Court held in Texas Mutual Insurance Company v. Ruttiger that: (1) claims against workers’ compensation insurers for unfair settlement practices may not be made under the Texas Insurance Code; but (2) claims under the Texas Insurance Code may be made against workers’ compensation insurers which misrepresent provisions of their policies. Of critical import, however, the court emphasized that an insurer
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August 26, 2011
Publication
In a recent decision, a Pennsylvania trial court concluded that no privilege exists to prevent access to non-public social website information of personal injury claimants. Rather, the "paramount ideal" of pursuing truth favors liberal discovery of relevant information on social media sites.
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August 25, 2011
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
When Does an Insurer's Liability Under an Indemnity Policy Arise? - UK Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Insolvency can further complicate recovery efforts against third party liability insurers in England and Wales. In McIlroy v. Quinn (2011), the Court of Appeal permitted recovery against a liability insurer who issued a policy to a party that later became insolvent (under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act). This Alert reviews the decision in McIlroy and discusses future implications.
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August 23, 2011
Press Release
Cozen O’Connor Names Shareholders to Board of Directors
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August 22, 2011
Publication - Government & Regulatory - Insurance
Ninth Circuit Decision Interprets Arbitration Provision Narrowly - Maritime Alert! - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently issued a decision, Cape Flattery Limited v. Titan Maritime LLC, Docket No. 09-15682, holding that a dispute pertaining to liability for damage caused during the salvage of a vessel could proceed in court, despite the inclusion of an arbitration provision in the salvage contract. In light of this decision, we recommend reviewing the language of all contractual arbitration clauses
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August 22, 2011
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability - Insurance
Professional Liability: The Yaron Decision and Its Impact on Insurers - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On July 5, 2011, the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas published its decision in Yaron, et al. v. Darwin National Insurance Company, et al., No. 502, a declaratory judgment coverage action brought by two policyholders against their professional liability insurers. The court, in an opinion authored by Judge Arnold L. New, granted summary judgment in favor of the insurers, holding that they were not obligated to pay the policyholders’ defense costs in connection with an underlying action.
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August 19, 2011
Publication - Professional Liability
When Kovel Letters Spell Trouble for a CFO - BNA - Cozen O'Connor's Aaron Krauss writes in BNA's Accounting Policy & Practice Repot that an outside accountant's work can be privileged if the accountant is providing new services at the direction of a lawyer under a specific engagement letter with the lawyer. Aaron explains that if the accountant proceeds under a Kovel letter, the accountant will have done everything possible to protect the client's interests.
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August 12, 2011
Publication - Business, Tax
Bank Shares Tax Calculation Modified - Tax Alert! - The Commonwealth Court en banc dismissed exceptions from a panel decision and held that the calculation of Bank Shares Tax must be modified to cure a constitutional defect in the application of the tax to certain post-merger institutions. Lebanon Valley Farmers Bank v. Commonwealth, No. 698 F.R. 2005 (Pa. Commw. Aug. 4, 2011).
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August 11, 2011
News - Labor & Employment
David Barron was quoted in the Houston Chronicle's article ''Employees: Getting Revenge on the Boss'' regarding Facebook's role in the workplace.
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August 11, 2011
News
Cozen O'Connor Undergraduate Interns Featured in The Legal Intelligencer
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August 10, 2011
News - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring
Barry Klayman and Mark Felger featured in Delaware Business Court Insider
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August 10, 2011
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Third Circuit Opinion Splits Pennsylvania Product Liability Law - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - Is there a negligence component in strict product liability law in Pennsylvania? According to the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Covell v. Bell Sports, Inc., No. 10-3860 (3rd Cir., June 21, 2011 Slip Op.) there is. This Alert reviews the Covell decision discussing the current split in Pennsylvania about negligence concepts in strict product liability law.
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August 10, 2011
News
Ken Fisher noted as one of "The Top Lawyers in New York Commercial Real Estate Right Now" by The New York Observer
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August 10, 2011
Publication - Business, Tax
Declaratory Judgment on Hotel Tax Application May Proceed - Tax Alert! - panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a county could proceed with a declaratory judgment action seeking to establish that online reservation companies are subject to the county’s hotel tax. County of Lawrence v. Hotels.com LP, No. 2541 C.D. 2010 (Pa. Commw., Aug. 3, 2011).
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August 09, 2011
News - Government Relations - Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies
Cozen O'Connor's Mark Alderman, Robert Freeman and Howard Schweitzer Discuss S&P Downgrade on Philly.com
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