Easy Ways to Avoid A “Sack”: Adding Anti-Harassment Policies to Your Playbook
11/7/13
By: Jennifer Miller
The sports world is abuzz with news that Richie Incognito allegedly bullied his fellow Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin. According to some reports, Martin received “threatening, racially-charged texts and voicemails” from Incognito.
Stories like this should remind …
Suing a Medical Journal for Lost Medical Malpractice Cases: 1st Circuit Says No
11/4/13
By: Michael Eshman
In what the court called an “imaginative but unpersuasive” theory of liability, the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a claim brought by unsuccessful medical malpractice plaintiffs against the authors, authors’ employer, and publisher of an …
Third Circuit Requires Warrant for GPS Tracking by Law Enforcement
11/4/13
By: Brian Dempsey
Last year, the Supreme Court addressed the increasingly common use of GPS tracking devices by law enforcement agencies. By covertly attaching a GPS device to a suspect’s vehicle, officers can continually monitor the suspect’s movements. In United …
New Jersey Appellate Court Holds a Person has a Legal Duty to Avoid Sending Text Messages to Drivers Under Certain Circumstances
10/31/13
By: Abby A. Vineyard
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division recently held that, under certain circumstances, a person has a legal duty to avoid sending text messages to the driver of a motor vehicle. Kubert v. Best, No. …
The Reach of Georgia Apportionment Statute Continues to Expand
9/13/13
By: Stephanie Stewart
Georgia’s apportionment statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, has been making waves in the Georgia Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court as new opinions are being issued interpreting the game-changing statute. Previous cases have already held that the …
Google Glass: An O.R. Dash Cam?
8/16/13
By: William D. Ezzell
With the application of digital memory to point-of-view cameras, certain fields have undergone significant transformation. For example, dash cams in police cruisers provide authoritative documentation of what actually happened. The advent of Google Glass could very …
“NOT SO FAST”: THE GOVERNMENT PURSUES PRECLEARANCE BY OTHER MEANS IN THE WAKE OF SHELBY COUNTY V. HOLDER
8/15/13
By: Peter Munk
In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional the preclearance formula found in Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. Since 1965, Section 4 had dictated which states or jurisdictions were “covered” …
New Georgia Court of Appeals Case Affirms Spoliation Sanctions Against Plaintiff
8/1/13
By: Wayne S. Melnick
One of the largest areas of developing Georgia law in recent years is regarding spoliation of evidence and under what circumstances a court can and should sanction a party for allowing spoliation to occur. Generally, spoliation …
Do Arbitrator’s Always “Split the Baby?” Not this one.
7/29/13
By: Kamy Molavi
In 22 years as a construction lawyer after six years working as a construction project manager, I have heard and read numerous stories about arbitration awards that seems to represent a rough midpoint between the demands and …
LEED Version 4 Approved by U.S. Green Building Council
7/25/13
By: Matt Foree
The Board of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently approved version 4 of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. This version was the subject of lengthy commentary, delays, and controversy. The new version …
A National “Safe Harbor” to Reduce the Cost of Defensive Medicine?
6/18/13
By: Michael Eshman
The Center for American Progress recently proposed a “safe harbor” in medical malpractice litigation to reduce the cost of defensive medicine. The essential component of the “safe harbor” plan is the creation of clinical-practice guidelines …