Recent News & Publications
Search News & Publications
March 31, 2014
News - Products Liability
Jim Heller, chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Products Liability Practice Group, commented on GM’s recall of 1.6 million cars. Jim commented in a Reuters article picked up by many publications including CNBC.
Tweet
March 31, 2014
Press Release - Products Liability, Professional Liability
Cozen O’Connor has hired experienced commercial litigator William Walsh as a member, further expanding the firm’s litigation strengths in its Seattle office. Mr. Walsh has successfully represented numerous clients in court in a variety of areas, particularly with regard to aviation, products liability, and professional liability matters.
Tweet
March 31, 2014
Publication - White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled “Immaculate Suspension: Non-Analytical Positive Doping Violations from USADA to MLB,” Barry Boss and Rebecca Brodey, of the Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group, discuss a new era of combating drug use in baseball and other sports, one where athletes are increasingly suspended for doping violations not because of a positive drug test, but based on non-analytical evidence.
Tweet
March 31, 2014
Publication - Environmental Regulatory & Due Diligence - Climate Change
On March 28, the White House announced a set of new policy initiatives to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The Climate Action Plan—Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions (Methane Plan) outlines the administration’s plans for new regulations, voluntary efforts and measurement technology to reduce and track methane emissions.
Tweet
March 30, 2014
News - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes
In an article titled “NLRB ruling on Northwestern football players creates benefits challenges,” Jeffrey Pasek, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, discusses the National Labor Relations Board decision that Northwestern University scholarship football players are employees of the Evanston, Illinois-based private university.
Tweet
March 28, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance
Melissa Brill of the Global Insurance department discusses K2 and the Court of Appeals decision to reject the notion of coverage in this article published by Property Casualty360.
Tweet
March 28, 2014
Publication - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes
Everyone recognizes that college athletics are big business for the schools, but do they exploit the student athletes under the guise of amateurism? Thanks to a new decision out of the Chicago office of the National Labor Relations Board, we will likely find out if scholarship athletes will be treated as employees with the right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act. On March 26, 2014, the NLRB regional director concluded that the scholarship recipients on the Northwestern University football team are employees and ordered an election to determine if they desire union representation.
Tweet
March 28, 2014
Publication
In an article titled “Private Causes of Action: The Determinative Third Prong,” Menachem Kastner and Ally Hack, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss when a statute gives rise to a private cause of action and the applicable three-prong test. The article endeavors to capsulize the current state of the law, including its application in real estate cases, and to simplify the formula to be applied as to when individuals can and cannot institute private causes of action based on legislation passed, ostensibly, for the public benefit.
Tweet
March 27, 2014
Publication - Tax
In a four to three decision, the en banc Commonwealth Court held that a senior citizen’s estate was entitled to a rebate under the Senior Citizens Property Tax and Rent Rebate Assistance Act, 53 P.S. §§ 6926.1301-6926.1313 (the Senior Rebate Act), so long as the decedent met any of the claimant eligibility criteria under Section 1303 even if the decedent did not live throughout the tax year for which the rebate was sought.
Tweet
March 26, 2014
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
A massive, mile-wide mudslide in Snohomish County, Wash., devastated homes and lives, leaving at least 14 people confirmed dead and 176 people still missing. The slide near the hamlet of Oso descended from above the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, careening over the river, and rushing through homes and onto Highway 530 at about 11 a.m. on March 22. An enormous debris and mud field – 20 feet deep or more in places – still blankets much of the surrounding area and homes.
Tweet
March 19, 2014
Publication - Utility & Energy
In an article titled “Your Vulnerability and Emergency Response Plan – Friends or Enemies?” Michael Klein recommends – following the recent Elk River chemical spill in West Virginia – that every public water system consider doing at least two things: (1) review and update existing vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans; and (2) regularly train and educate employees with respect to the assessments and plans.
Tweet
March 19, 2014
Publication
In an article titled "Practical Tips for Maintaining Privilege With Consultants," Hayes Hunt and Arthur Fritzinger, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss how general counsel can protect confidential communications with outside consultants from disclosure.
Tweet
March 17, 2014
News
Andrea Hammel and Jared Bayer, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, recently obtained a favorable ruling on behalf of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The Pennsylvania Superior Court handed a win to Anadarko on Friday, March 14, ruling that oil and gas lease agreements remain valid in their original form even after the discovery of deed restrictions that require legal action to resolve. In a precedential ruling, a three-judge panel ruled that a 2006 agreement giving Anadarko E&P Co. LP access to oil and gas under a 62-acre property owned by Leo and Sandra Shedden remained valid as drafted, despite subsequent quiet title proceedings to clear the Sheddens from a previously unknown deed reserving half of the land’s subsurface rights.
Tweet
March 17, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
In a White House ceremony on Thursday, March 13, 2014, President Barack Obama signed a memorandum ordering the Secretary of Labor to “propose revisions to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations” governing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Although the president did not direct specific changes, he clearly stated that the goal of any regulatory changes would be to make more workers eligible for overtime pay under federal law. The president’s directive is
expected to lead to proposed rules that would require employers to pay overtime to millions of workers who are currently classified as exempt employees.
Tweet
March 14, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage - Real Estate & Construction
Construction companies operating in multiple jurisdictions are finding that standardized language used in typical liability policies is subject to considerably different interpretations from one state to another.
Tweet
March 13, 2014
News - Family Law
In an article titled “Can A Prenup or Postnup With An Infidelity Clause Deter A Husband From Cheating?” Jennifer Brandt, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Family Law Department, discusses prenuptial and postnuptial agreements with infidelity clauses. “I have had experience with infidelity clauses in prenups and postnups. My advice to clients is generally that they may not be enforceable, but that they can provide a deterrent for a spouse who would otherwise be unfaithful,” explains Jennifer.
Tweet
March 13, 2014
Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage, Technology, Privacy & Data Security - Insurance
On February 21, 2014, a New York state trial court judge ruled that Zurich American Insurance Company has no duty to defend the Sony Corporation in lawsuits relating to a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation network. This decision is among the first in the country to address coverage issues for large scale data security breaches. Judge Jeffrey Oing rendered an immediate decision after hearing oral argument, recognizing the issue’s importance and the likelihood of an appeal.
Tweet
March 13, 2014
Publication - Franchising
Susan Grueneberg, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Franchising practice group, wrote an article for International Franchising Law on the challenges that non-U.S. franchisors face when entering the U.S. market.
Tweet
March 12, 2014
Publication - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring
Barry Klayman and Mark Felger, members of Cozen O'Connor's Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Department, continue their discussion of the interpretation of survival clauses for contractual representations and warranties under Delaware law with a second article on the subject in The Delaware Business Court Insider. They note the court's surprising view on reps and warranties that the parties expressly agree are to survive indefinitely.
Tweet
March 12, 2014
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance
Recent criminal trials turned national media events, such as the Trayvon Martin and Casey Anthony trials, have highlighted modern jurors’ expectations for forensic evidence. Commentators have termed jurors’ expectations for forensic evidence the “CSI Effect.”
Tweet