Keen insight to shape the law

Illinois Court Finds Broker Not Vicariously Liable for Truck Driver’s Negligence and Reverses Jury Award 

We Do Not Negotiate With Terrorists – How Several States are Prohibiting Ransomware Payments 

Can legal malpractice claims survive statute of repose? The role of fraudulent concealment and equitable estoppel

Slippery Conditions in Pennsylvania Defense Slip and Fall Negligence Case

Supreme Court of Georgia affirms decision that cap on punitive damages is constitutional

Will external investigations for your organization be protected? Applying the attorney-client privilege in Texas

Res judicata dooms claim against Illinois real estate broker

California rejects “creative” collateral source theory of standing

Everything is Bigger in Texas: Can the Duty to Indemnify Be Broader Than the Duty of Defense?

California Court Declines Reformation of Insurance Policy

Tennessee’s new peer professional privilege

Minority Position: Vician v. Bingham Greenebaum & Doll, LLP

Feel the Kern 

Penn Medicine Challenging Largest PA Med Mal Claim Verdict

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Attempt to Make “All Persons” Liable for Service to Intoxicated People

Back-to-school driving cautionary tips from a lawyer’s perspective

Summer Cyber & Privacy Round-Up 

A sign of things to come: Fifth Circuit expands scope of employment practices protected by Title VII

The Seventh Circuit joins the Eleventh in deciding that the FAAAA preempts state law-based negligence actions

Eleventh Circuit holds one text message sufficient to establish standing in robocall case

COVID-19 immunity for health care facilities upheld in Illinois

ABA passes hotly debated amendments to Model Rule 1.16

In New Jersey, A Recall Notice Alone Is Insufficient to Trigger Lemon Law Claims 

Eighth Circuit finds insurance broker caused no damage to additional insured 

Punitive damages are now permitted to be sought in Illinois wrongful death and survival actions

Proposed EPA Superfund rulemaking on PFAS chemicals could spell major liability issues for insurers, businesses, and property owners

Don’t lose your right to arbitrate – separate provisions can permeate

Court of Appeals of Georgia Affirms No Continuous Representation Rule in Georgia

Risk-Pooling with JIFs: When Self-Insurance is Not Insurance

Illinois Appellate Court Says Broker Owes No Duty to Additional Insured

Insured’s Failure to Submit Proof of Loss May Not, Without More, Support Denial of Florida Claims

Tiebreaker or Deal-breaker? Order of Precedence in Construction Contracts 

Third Time’s a Charm: California Enacts Model Rule of Professional Conduct Rule 8.3 Snitch Rule 

What is a Health Care Liability Claim in Texas? A Tale of Two Cases

11th Circuit Supports Tolling of Federal Arbitration Act Timeframes in Certain Circumstances

Tossing Pharmacal Out With the Poolwater: Wisconsin Supreme Court Overturns Only Seven-Year-Old Precedent

Georgia Court of Appeals Rules Employee Non-Solicitation Provision Must Have Geographical Limitation

From Scripts to Sanctions: Defendants Dismissed With Help From Plaintiff’s Aggressive Parroting

SCOTUS Clarifies Need to File Post Trial Motions to Preserve Appeal

Sexually Explicit and Violent Music Blared Throughout the Workplace May Constitute a Hostile Work Environment Based on Sex

U.S. Supreme Court Expands Lands Available For Construction By Limiting The Clean Water Act

Running a background check? – Don’t run from these disclosures

Stay in Your Lane – Kentucky Supreme Court Cautions Experts Not to Stray Too Far Afield 

When is a Law Enforcement Vehicle in Use for Purposes of Waiving Sovereign Immunity Under Georgia Law? 

Business Associate Agreements: What You Need to Know

Lights, Camera, (Less Than an) Action!

FINRA Expels Broker-Dealer for Numerous Violations of Reg BI and FINRA Rules

The Price of Illinois Litigation Isn’t Going Down: Illinois Appellate Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge to Prejudgment Interest Law

NLRB Continues To Enter New Territory By Advising That Non-Compete Agreements Violate The NLRA

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Unleashing Georgia’s Dog Bite Liability

The Importance of Verifying AI-Generated Legal Insights

In Huzinec v. Six Flags Great Adventure, the Third Circuit weighs in on roller coasters, mobile devices, and the Federal Rules of Evidence

Texas is Latest State to Enact Crown Act

Supreme Court Affirms Exception to Notice Requirement for Certain IRS Summonses/Subpoenas

Class Action Against Class I Rail Operator, Norfolk Southern 

Georgia Laws Regarding Employee Time Off and Leave Get An Update

For the Record: Best Practices for Maintaining Personnel Records and Employee Files

Massachusetts Appeals Court Holds Insurer Delaying Payment of Defense Bills May Breach Duty to Defend   

Connecticut Decision Highlights That Rental Car Companies Cannot be Vicariously Liable for Renters’ Negligence

The End is Near: The Official End of the Pandemic Means Return to Normal for Regulatory Enforcement of Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute 

California Finally Mirrors the IRS By Allowing First-Time Penalty Abatement

A de novo Look at the FDA’s de novo Classification Process and Preemption

Take Two Advil While I Check ChatGPT – Using A.I. in Medical Diagnoses and Treatment 

Economic Slowdown: Layoff Speedup – 10 Commandments for Employers Considering Layoffs 

New Jersey Appellate Panel Holds Cyberattack Losses Not Subject to “Hostile/Warlike Action” Policy Exclusion

Minority Report: Kentucky’s Evolving Law of Foreseeability

“Make Sure To Get It In Writing”: An Idiomatic Anachronism In Today’s Complex Legal World

BEWARE THE BELIEF YOUR RESPONSE TO AUDITOR IS A COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME

Third-Party Litigation Financiers: A Trend Towards Automatic Disclosure

Tackling Unauthorized Messaging in the Financial Sector 

Important Principle of Insurance Law Reinforced 

What Constitutes an Adverse Employment Action in a Discrimination Claim? The District of Connecticut Weighs In

We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat – The Rise of AI-Enhanced Phishing Attacks

The Importance of the Case Within the Case in Legal Malpractice Actions 

Show Your Work! Massachusetts Appeals Court Holds Expert’s Opinion Insufficient in Legal Malpractice Case

Connecticut Appellate Court Expands and Provides Guidance for Wrongful Conduct Rule

Primary Jurisdiction Rarely Causes Severe Mental Anguish 

Important Update for Franchisors: California’s Most Recent Proposed Expansion to Joint and Several Liability

Exhaustion Not Required: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools 

Indiana Reaffirms Need for Insured to Read Policy in Win for Insurance Agent 

Beware of Unpaid Illinois Subcontractor Employees 

Outside Counsel Beware: Legal Malpractice Actions and Subrogation by Insurance Carriers Against Insurance Appointed Counsel

The Next BIPA?: Why Insurance Claim Professionals Should Pay Attention to GIPA

California’s Proposition 22 Survives … For Now

Appellate Opinion Reaffirms that Insurance Coverage Defenses such as Policy Exclusions are Not Subject to Waiver Under Georgia Law

FINRA’s $3 Million Dollar Fine Against Webull: A Reminder to Broker-Dealers of Due Diligence Obligations in Approving Accounts for Options Trading 

It’s About Time

Videos Don’t Lie: Illinois Appeals Court Revives Bodily Injury Lawsuit Based on Video Footage of Accident

Georgia Clarifies When an Exculpatory Clause will Apply to Preclude Liability

Real Estate Company Agrees to Settle Robocall Class Action for $40 Million 

Business and Legal Considerations for Nursing Homes: Bill of Rights, Fee-Shifting, and Damage Caps for Assisted Living/Long-Term Care Facilities Within FMG’s National Footprint

What Non-Union Employers Need to Know After NLRB Nixes Broad Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Clauses in Severance Agreements

Responding to a Growing Investment Advisor Industry

Supreme Court Limits Liability for Failure to Accurately Report Foreign Bank Accounts

Massachusetts Appeals Court Clarifies Scope of the Statute of Repose

The end of the Covid-19 public health emergency: impacts for hospitals, healthcare providers, and telehealth

To Arbitrate or Not to Arbitrate: That Is The Question

Supreme Court of Texas upholds order erroneously drafted by legal counsel as final judgment 

Overview of Midwest Sanitary, Inc. v. Sandberg, Phoenix, and Von Gontard, P.C.

Illinois Supreme Court Find BIPA Claims Accrue Upon Each Scan and/or Disclosure

Possible, Not Probable: Massachusetts Business Litigation Session Applies Broad Standard for Evidence Preservation

Massachusetts Appeals Court Rejects Double Taxation Argument

Florida Supreme Court Finds Appraisers Cannot Have Pecuniary Interest in Outcome of Appraisal

Buyers Beware: Massachusetts’s Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Oral Exclusivity Contract In Favor of Buyer’s Real Estate Agent

CHATGPT AND COVERAGE B: What Copyright Liability Exposures Could AI Users Face?   

California’s Attorney General Is Investigating Mobile Apps’ Compliance with the CCPA

Illinois Supreme Court Shifts BIPA Landscape with 5-Year Limitations Period Applicable to All Claims

New York’s 175-Year-Old Wrongful Death Statute Lives on

Scathing Text Message to Employee After Maternity Leave Leads Ohio Law Firm to Part Ways with Partner

The Power of Rule 11 to Punish Bad Faith Litigation Conduct 

FCC Proposes new reporting rules for the telecom sector in response to increased data breaches

Kentucky Adopts New Rules of Appellate Procedure

Class action alleges high levels of “forever chemicals” in Simply brand juice

ChatGPT: Has Artificial Intelligence Finally Defeated Alan Turing?

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Issues New Decision on Transgender Bathroom Use; Splits with Fourth Circuit

Judicial Hellholes

Geotracking Regulatory Trend is Expanding to Employers

Congress Passes Pregnancy-Accommodation Statute and Updated Nursing Mothers Law: What Employers Need to Know

The FTC proposes rule banning non-compete agreements

Five States Set to Expand Data Privacy Rights in 2023

Massachusetts Appeals Court Confirms Escape Route from Premature Notice of Appeal

Consumer Practices of Real Estate Company Leads to AG Suits in Multiple States

The National Labor Relations Board Expands Available Remedies for Labor Violations

Maine’s Statutory Limits on Government Immunity from Negligence Claims

Important Takeaways From The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination’s Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report

An Employer’s Primer on the Speak Out Act

Will Georgia Counties be Governed by Popular Vote?

Objectively False: Eleventh Circuit Highlights Importance of Body Cameras

Policyholders obtain rare wins in COVID-19 coverage cases against insurers

Feds Consider Carving Out Exceptions to the Buy America Act

Modular Construction Components: Claim and Defense Considerations

Is Time Rounding the Next Employment Practice to Fall in California?

Third Circuit finds no nexus between retailer’s mode of operation and water on store floor

FTX’s collapse and the push for centralized regulation of digital assets in the U.S.

Are we about to see the rise of the right to earn a living?

For the first time in more than two decades, Pennsylvania enacts new facility regulations for long-term nursing care.

First Circuit Court of Appeals Weighs in on ADA “Tester” Standing Split

California Further Expands Leave Rights for Employees Caring for Loved Ones

ALL ABOARD: TSA ISSUES NEW SECURITY DIRECTIVE TO TRACK  CYBERSECURITY EFFORTS BY THE RAIL INDUSTRY

“Quiet Quitting” and the Great Resignation: How Should Employers Respond? 

Police Training Reform Comes to Light in a California Courtroom

Storms and hurricanes: what can insurers do to improve outcomes for all on storm-related claims?

When it comes to Exclusions in Insurance Policies, Grammar will Make it Tense

California Court of Appeals Holds No Employer Liability for Hollywood Producer Whose Assistant Drowned at Social Event

The collision of The Onion and criminal prosecution creates perfect parody before the Supreme Court

With Greater Pay Transparency Reporting on the Way, California Employers Are Advised to Be Ready or Face Stiff Penalties

Seek, Never Hide: Massachusetts Federal Court Enters Rare Default Judgment for Plaintiffs After Defendants Fail to Comply with ESI Discovery Orders

I Now Pronounce You Joint Employers: The NLRB’s New Rule Would Expand Definition of Joint Employer

NHTSA probes Tesla crashes involving motorcyclist fatalities

Outbreak!: Why insurance claims professionals should pay attention to Monkeypox

California just enacted new law to increase the wages and standards for fast-food employees — and Opponents are already trying to stop it in its tracks

3rd Circuit finds data leaked on dark web “shaming” site inferred a “substantial risk” of imminent harm

Owners and contractors beware: Massachusetts Appeals Court strictly interprets the Prompt Pay Act

Employee or Independent Contractor? The Connecticut Supreme Court Weighs In

Connecticut Supreme Court finds that apportionment of prior owners of property following drowning death of minor is proper

Watch your step: New Jersey Tort Claims Act Summer law update

It’s Time to Makeup For Your Wrongs: California’s AG Declares First CCPA Enforcement Action Against Mega Retailer Sephora

Walmart Pregnancy Accommodation ruling puts pressure on Congress to act on The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

From Viking River Cruises v. Moriana to Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc.: The Arbitrability Of PAGA Actions In California Continues To Shift

Two Carolina Courts Reject COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

California Court of Appeal rules in favor of policyholder in COVID business interruption case

New tip credit rules hit PA restaurant and service industry employers

FINRA Seeks to Increase Control Over Expungement of Customer Dispute Disclosures

EEOC Updates COVID-19 Workplace Testing Rules: What Employers Need to Know

Maine Healthcare Workers Challenging Vaccine Mandate Cannot Proceed Under Pseudonyms

Music shutdown: Georgia gun laws shoot down Music Midtown Festival

Cyber insurance experiencing ‘Future Shock’

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds that Food Delivery App May Enforce Arbitration Agreement Against Drivers

PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEYS TAKE NOTE – A Voluntary Settlement Agreement May No Longer Bar A Legal Malpractice Action

New York’s New Sexual Harassment Hotline Could Lead To A Surge In Claims For Employers

Vega v. Tekoh: The Supreme Court Rules that a Violation of Miranda Rights Alone Does Not Give Rise to Damages Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983

Law Firm Ordered to Produce Client Communications Despite the Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine

Massachusetts high court holds that attorney’s fees awarded under G.L. c. 93A are not covered under commercial liability insurance policy as damages “because of bodily injury”

Major Questions for Chevron Deference and Future Environmental Regulations: The Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA

Managing Construction Claims Risk In The Age Of Gen Z and The Great Resignation

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Rules that Litigation Privilege Protects Attorney from Civil Liability in First Impression Case

Minnesota Just Made it Harder for Insureds to Claim ‘Bad Faith’

Pennsylvania Limits Risk Transfer for Snow and Ice Management Services

Massachusetts Appeals Court extends protections of the Statute of Repose

Supreme Court Clarifies Scope Of The “Transportation Worker Exemption” In The Federal Arbitration Act

Transition not substantial completion starts the clock: New Jersey amends statute of limitations for homeowner and condominium association construction defect cases

Coverage Doesn’t Stick in Teflon dispute

From property damage disputes to employment disputes, how the Supreme Court’s decision in Morgan v. Sundance impacts the fate of arbitration clauses

Persistent Risks and Regulations: New Health Advisories For PFAS

California Tort Law: Brown v. Taekwondo U.S.A. and the “no duty to aid” rule

Be Careful What You Post: Personal Jurisdiction in Internet Defamation Lawsuits

Supreme Court of Georgia adopts standard for obtaining a protective order to prevent the deposition of high-ranking corporate executives

Executive orders issued during the Covid-19 pandemic did not create an impossibility or cause frustration sufficient to shield restaurant owner from its obligation to pay rent

Eleventh Circuit Finds for Insurer in COVID-19 Case of First Impression in Georgia

A month into recreational cannabis sales, NJ Employers still lack guidance on drugfree workplace enforcement

Down It Goes! Illinois Prejudgment Interest Struck Down – What To Do Now

Massachusetts’ High Court Strikes Down Capital Gains Tax Levied Against Non-Domiciled Corporation on Statutory Grounds

Right result. Right reason? Kentucky federal court considers questions of intent under different parts of an insurance policy

Georgia Governor Reinstitutes Non-Party Apportionment

Changing Tides: WOTUS and the Jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act

The Connecticut Supreme Court finds that the “Litigation Privilege” extends to claims of “bad faith” based upon an insurers’ actions during litigation.

You Can’t Find Me Anymore: New Jersey Cracks Down on Employer Tracking

New York Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act Updates 2022

No more tears: Supreme Court rules damages for emotional distress are not recoverable under Title VI, Title IX, the Rehabilitation Act, or the Affordable Care Act

U.S. Supreme Court Addresses Parameters of Free Speech

Avoid These Practitioner Pitfalls When It Comes to Trade-Secret Misappropriation Trials

Employer overcomes religious-based challenge to vaccine mandate

Elon Musk’s planned purchase of Twitter reignites questions of open source code security

Res Ipsa Loquitur: The Massachusetts Appeals Court reverses Summary Judgment in favor of allowing “a chair” to speak for itself

Ohio Appellate Court addresses “Permanent and Substantial Deformity”

The Eleventh Circuit finds that a qualifying “excess judgment” for bad faith may be based on a consent judgment, rather than a verdict

Massachusetts High Court Issues Two Important Wage and Hour Decisions

Georgia Sparks Further Cannabis Debate

PAGA Manageability Requirement: A Split of Authority in California

New Bridge Projects Raise New Opportunities and Risk Considerations

Georgia legislature passes amendment to O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 impacting apportionment of fault against non-parties in single defendant cases

California court holds that board diversity law violates equal protection

Kentucky’s Supreme Court examines the punitive damage “multiplier” in a case of first impression

Supreme Court clarifies “favorable termination” requirement for malicious prosecution claims

Red flag: Ninth Circuit affirms summary judgment against football-related wrongful death claims

Ohio Appellate Court reviews standard for claiming peer review privilege

Considerations for accountants in responding to a subpoena for client documents

Five things California lawyers have to report to the State Bar

D.C. Circuit: The Second Most Important Court in America

Updating Your California Employee Handbooks in 2022

Significant Changes for Federal Contractors Likely Coming Soon

Protection of Private Information

SCOTUS has granted certiorari in The Andy Warhol Foundation case

Congress Imposes New 72-Hour Reporting Requirement for Cyber Security Incidents

Chubb unit beats virus coverage suit brought by NJ apparel company

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s pay discrimination settlement is a good reminder for companies to assess their compensation systems

Florida Bad Faith: If Insurers Try Sometimes, They Just Might Find, They Get Summary Judgment