Possible, Not Probable: Massachusetts Business Litigation Session Applies Broad Standard for Evidence Preservation
2/16/23
By Thomas K. McCraw, Jr., Esq. and Alexandra F. Held, Esq.
Both federal and state law impose an affirmative duty on defendants to preserve relevant evidence to a legal action involving their organizations—but when exactly does this duty begin? …
Massachusetts Appeals Court Rejects Double Taxation Argument
2/16/23
By Sean Andrés Rapela and Ben N. Dunlap
In Murrow v. Bd. of Assessors of Bos., the petitioner Murrow, a Boston taxpayer, asserted the City of Boston (the “City”) cannot tax both the common area of a condominium, owned …
Florida Supreme Court Finds Appraisers Cannot Have Pecuniary Interest in Outcome of Appraisal
2/15/23
By Jessica Cauley and Jonathan Schwartz
The Florida Supreme Court weighed in and resolved a conflict between district courts regarding appraised property claims and held that an insured’s public adjuster, who accepts an assignment on a contingent fee basis, is …
Buyers Beware: Massachusetts’s Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Oral Exclusivity Contract In Favor of Buyer’s Real Estate Agent
2/9/23
By: Jessica Gray Kelly & Ryan Giggi
On February 2, 2023, Massachusetts’s Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) upheld a real estate broker’s right to recover lost commissions after her clients breached an oral exclusivity contract and purchased a home on their …
CHATGPT AND COVERAGE B: What Copyright Liability Exposures Could AI Users Face?
2/9/23
By Alexia R. Roney and Matthew F. Boyer
Previously, we introduced you to ChatGPT and the concept of an AI Chatbot application here. This week, we discuss the legal exposure that comes hand-in-hand with the internet – copyright infringement, …
California’s Attorney General Is Investigating Mobile Apps’ Compliance with the CCPA
2/8/23
By: Robert Buckley
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s recent press release puts companies that are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) on notice that they should determine whether their mobile apps comply with the CCPA’s requirements. On …
Illinois Supreme Court Shifts BIPA Landscape with 5-Year Limitations Period Applicable to All Claims
2/7/23
By Pat Eckler, Amy Frantz, Glenn Klinger, Michael Sanders, and Jonathan Schwartz
Finding all claims under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 (“BIPA”), subject to a five-year statute of limitations, the Illinois Supreme Court’s …
New York’s 175-Year-Old Wrongful Death Statute Lives on
2/2/23
By Lisa R. House and Josh Ferguson
New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed the Grieving Families Act this week. The bill expanded who could recover for the wrongful death of a family member, the type of damages that could be …
Scathing Text Message to Employee After Maternity Leave Leads Ohio Law Firm to Part Ways with Partner
2/1/23
By Steve Forbes and Ashley Hetzel
A partner at a prominent employment law firm in Ohio fired off a scathing text message that created some reputational ripples within the legal community. A female associate, who had recently returned from maternity …
The Power of Rule 11 to Punish Bad Faith Litigation Conduct
1/30/23
By: Jessica Kelly and Christina Morgan
Lawyers and their clients are bound by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 and its state rule counterparts not to pursue frivolous claims. In Trump v. Clinton et al., Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of …
FCC Proposes new reporting rules for the telecom sector in response to increased data breaches
1/26/23
By Courtney M. Knight
On January 6, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) proposed new rules for data breach reporting in the telecommunications industry.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking recognizes that “[i]n the telecommunications industry, the public has suffered an …
Kentucky Adopts New Rules of Appellate Procedure
1/25/23
By: Christina L. Vessels
Effective January 1, 2023, Kentucky has new, stand-alone appellate rules embodied in the Kentucky Rules of Appellate Procedure (“RAP”). The prior rules governing appeal, found in Rules 72 – 76 of the Kentucky Rules of Civil …