Recent News & Publications
Search News & Publications
April 29, 2014
Publication - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage - Insurance
In Betzdolt v. Auto Club Group Insurance Company, a Michigan resident was allowed to proceed with a bad faith claim against her insurer in Florida, even though the insurer did not sell policies in Florida, did not deliver policies in Florida, and was not authorized to write insurance policies in Florida. Betzdolt arises in the context of a third-party liability case (car accident) in which the Michigan resident was being defended by the Michigan insurer in Florida.
Tweet
April 28, 2014
News
On Monday, April 28, Jennifer Brandt, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Family Law Department, was a guest on “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on the Fox News Network. Jennifer discussed the $2 million lawsuit that was filed against Valerie Harper by her former Broadway producer. The suit alleges that Harper hid her cancer from the producers and playwright of “Looped” until it had spread to her brain and forced her to drop out of the national tour of the production.
Tweet
April 28, 2014
Publication - Business
In an article titled, “The Freedom Industries’ Chemical Spill – It Didn’t Stay in West Virginia” published in the April issue of The Authority magazine, Michael Klein (Utility, Environmental & Energy, Washington, DC and Harrisburg, PA) discusses the ramifications of the recent Freedom Industries chemical spill and encourages public water suppliers to prepare for such an event by updating their vulnerability assessments, emergency response plans, and employee training programs.
Tweet
April 28, 2014
News - White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled “5 Tips For Delivering An Effective Direct-Examination,” Hayes Hunt, member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, shares his advice on presenting a successful direct-examination of a witness.
Tweet
April 28, 2014
News - Insurance Corporate & Regulatory - Insurance
Ken Levine, of the Insurance Corporate & Regulatory Group, was recently quoted in a Business Insurance article titled, "NAIC Urges More Reform on its Model Act Regulating Insurers." The article examines the praise and apprehension that The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is receiving for its decision to open its model act on regulating insurers. Ken offered his thoughts by stating, "It does need to be made more consistent among the states, but it needs to be flexible enough to fit the concentration of business within the holding company."
Tweet
April 25, 2014
News
In an article titled “Branding and storytelling help lawyers find and keep clients,” Jennifer Brandt, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Family Law Department, is mentioned regarding her recent panel discussion at the Lawyernomics conference in Las Vegas. Lawyernomics is a premier legal business and marketing conference that offers advice on creating a base of loyal clients that will help bring in additional clients and work. Jennifer’s panel discussion, titled “How to Build your Brand and Grow your Network,” included practicing attorneys who are successfully marketing their firms in different and interesting ways.
Tweet
April 23, 2014
Press Release
The Pennsylvania Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession named Cozen O'Connor to its "Honor Roll of Legal Organizations Welcoming Women Professionals." Cozen O’Connor was selected because of our programs and initiatives that help women lawyers continue and advance in their professional careers.
Tweet
April 23, 2014
Publication
When is it reasonable to rely on a fraudulent statement? Courts applying Pennsylvania law have answered this question in different and conflicting ways, as two recent decisions from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania illustrate. According to the court in Zenith Insurance v. Wells Fargo Insurance Services (E.D. Pa., Jan. 7, 2014), you are entitled to rely on a fraudulent statement no matter what, unless the statement's falsity is obvious on its face or you have actual knowledge of its falsity. Just a few months before, however, a different judge of the same court had expressed the opposite view in Fulton Financial Advisors v. NatCity Investments (E.D. Pa., Oct. 15, 2013): A victim of fraud cannot accept a fraudster at his or her word, but must exercise some degree of diligence in attempting to verify the statement.
Tweet
April 22, 2014
News - Intellectual Property
David Sunshine, of the Intellectual Property Group, was recently quoted in a National Journal article titled, "Here Are 1,400 Song You Might Never Hear Again on Your Pandora Station." The article explains how the music industry sued Pandora Media, claiming the internet radio service unfairly evaded paying millions of dollars on popular songs. David gave his opinion on the situation by stating, "The problem that [record labels] are going to face is, folks haven't been paying these royalties for a long time."
Tweet
April 21, 2014
Publication - Subrogation & Recovery
In 2010, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 was amended to provide new limitations on the discovery allowed for testifying experts in federal court cases. The most significant changes with regard to testifying experts, i.e., experts you intend to call at the time of trial, were that: (1) drafts of expert reports to counsel are no longer discoverable; and (2) communications between experts and counsel are no longer discoverable unless they relate to (i) compensation or (ii) facts, data, or assumptions provided by counsel that were considered by the expert. For subrogation professionals, these changes were positive as the amendments’ goals were to reduce costs and time spent on discovery of draft reports and an expert’s discussions or communications with counsel. The changes were further meant to streamline the discovery process and focus the parties on issues that were more central to the case, which was also good news to folks handling subrogation litigation.
Tweet
April 18, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
There are two trends that continue to gain steam in the employment law world: an increase in employee protections by the new Mayor De Blasio administration in New York City, and an increase in employment law claims made by interns. Both trends have come together in a new law affecting New York City employers beginning on June 14, 2014.
Tweet
April 18, 2014
Publication - Tax
The Commonwealth Court affirmed on several grounds an assessment under the Liquid Fuels and Fuels Use Tax Act. Luther P. Miller, Inc. v. Commonwealth, No. 550 F.R. 2009 (Pa. Commw. Mar. 20, 2014). The taxpayer raised three issues. The court rejected the argument that sales to bus operators that provided services to a school district were exempt from taxation as sales to political subdivisions, as addressed in 61 Pa. C.S. § 315.3.
Tweet
April 18, 2014
Press Release - Utility & Energy - Climate Change
Peter J. Fontaine, co-chair of the firm's Utility, Environmental & Energy Practice Group, helped secure a precedential decision from the Supreme Court of Virginia holding that the electronic correspondence of former University of Virginia faculty-member and climate scientist, Dr. Michael Mann, is exempt from disclosure under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act.
Tweet
April 16, 2014
Publication - White Collar Defense & Investigations
In an article titled "When Is It Appropriate to Prosecute a 'Faceless' Corporation?" Hayes Hunt and Thomas O'Rourke, members of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discuss the September 9, 2010 natural gas explosion in San Bruno, CA and the 12-count indictment charging PG&E with violations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act.
Tweet
April 15, 2014
Publication - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring
Simon Fraser discusses the decision in In re KB Toys Inc., in which the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a claim subject to disallowance under § 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code in the hands of the original holder is also subject to disallowance in the hands of a purchaser.
Tweet
April 15, 2014
News
Vincent Pozzuto recently appeared with representatives of the Alliance for Minority and Women Construction Businesses (AMWCB) before a caucus of the New York State Assembly in support of a bill aimed at reforming New York State Labor Law Section 240(1), otherwise known as the “Scaffold Law.” The AMWCB supports reform, as the current statute and its effects have driven up the costs of liability insurance, and made it increasingly difficult for AMWCB contractors to bid on high level projects.
Tweet
April 10, 2014
News
Hayes Hunt, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, was cited in a recent Forbes’ article titled ''House Committee Votes to Holder Lerner in Contempt, Others Push For Criminal Prosecution.'' Kelly Phillips Erb cites Hayes Hunt’s Fifth Amendment Fundamentals blog post; from his ''From the Sidebar'' blog
Tweet
April 09, 2014
Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment
On April 8, 2014, President Obama took two significant actions in the employee pay arena. He signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against their applicants and employees for inquiring about, disclosing or discussing pay information. He also issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue new regulations requiring federal contractors to provide compensation data to the federal government, broken down by gender and race.
Tweet
April 07, 2014
Publication - Intellectual Property, Technology, Privacy & Data Security
Camille Miller, co-chair of the Intellectual Property Department, and Chanel Lattimer, associate in the Intellectual Property Department, discuss how Microsoft has received mixed reactions in their efforts to fight online fraud.
Tweet
April 07, 2014
News - Family Law
Jennifer Brandt, a member of the firm's Family Law Department, was a guest on The Willis Report on the Fox Business Network today.
Tweet