9/16/21
By: Zachary E. Danner, Esq. Over the past several months, there have been numerous instances of significant data privacy breaches reported in the news. From Facebook, who experienced a data breach affecting over 540 million users, to Microsoft, Capital One, T-Mobile, and Volkswagon. These are all some of the largest companies in technology, communications, and transportation. …
Exculpatory clause in gym membership contract holds water in favorable NJ summary judgment ruling
9/15/21
By: Nicholas J. Hubner and William H Catto The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, affirmed a favorable summary judgment ruling for the defendant Life Time Fitness, Inc. (“Life Time”) against plaintiff-gym-patron on plaintiff’s negligence claim, and refusal to grant application to amend the complaint during oral argument. In Skarbnik v. Life Time Fitness, Inc., the plaintiff brought a negligence claim against Life Time,…
9/10/21
By: Amy B. Cowan In recent years, the Georgia Court of Appeals has consistently held that Georgia’s municipal ante litem notice statute requires that any notice of claim served upon a city must contain the specific amount of monetary damages sought stated as an offer of compromise which the city can accept. The Court’s most recent decision is no…
9/9/21
By: R. Victoria Fuller & Diandra Franks In Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc. v. Margarita Melendez, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) recently held that its 2020 COVID-19 statute of limitations tolling order tolled the statute of limitations for all civil actions, not just those actions for which the limitations period would have expired during the tolling period. In Shaws, the plaintiff was allegedly injured on September 3,…
9/8/21
By: Nicholas J. Hubner In Blue Devil LLC v. Ace Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 1:20-cv-12480, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166886, (D.N.J. Sep. 2, 2021), plaintiffs, comprised of seven related LLCs, brought seven breach of contract claims (one for each LLC policyholder), seven declaratory judgment claims, and a claim for regulatory estoppel, all related…
Illinois Chips Away at Use of Non-Compete Agreements for Low-Wage Earners
10/4/16
By: Timothy Holdsworth The political storm that has been brewing around the appropriate minimum wage amount now seems to have spread into the non-compete world. Last month, Illinois enacted the Freedom to Work Act, which prohibits employers from entering into non-compete agreements with workers that earn $13 per hour or less. Effective January 1, 2017,…
10/3/16
By: A. Ali Sabzevari A federal judge recently dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. of contacting consumers nationwide with unsolicited calls, finding that plaintiffs did not clearly show the mortgage lender made the calls in dispute. Filed in May, the lawsuit alleged that CrossCountry contracted with Direct Source to conduct a telemarketing campaign…
The Jury Did WHAT? The Recent Trend towards Large Verdicts in Personal Injury Cases
10/3/16
By: Andrew Treese The time may have come to ask whether we can continue to cling to the notion – it if was ever true – that evaluation of verdict range may be based upon some integral multiplier of special damages. More and more, seven and eight figure verdicts are being awarded in personal injury…
FTC Finds Data Security Practices Unreasonable, Even Without Evidence of Unauthorized Access
9/30/16
By: Matt Foree Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a significant decision in which it held that LabMD, a former clinical laboratory, engaged in “unfair” practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act because it failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for personal information stored on its computer network. The FTC…
Let’s Go to the Replay: Effective Use of Video Footage to Defend Constitutional Claims
9/27/16
By: Andrew Treese and Kevin Stone The 1989 premier of COPS, and more significantly the Rodney King incident in 1991, marked the beginning of a new era in law enforcement: the era of “policing on video.” Technological advances, combined with lower prices and the availability of state and federal grants, spurred law enforcement agencies across the…
U.S. DOT Issues Guidelines for Self-Driving Vehicles
9/27/16
By: Wes Jackson On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation ushered in the long-anticipated future of transportation with guidelines for “autonomous vehicles,” or self-driving cars (available here). The policy guidance focuses primarily on “highly automated vehicles,” (“HAVs”) or those that have automated systems that actually monitor the driving environment as opposed to merely conducting some part…
The Foundation to Deny Coverage May Have Cracks
9/26/16
By: Bart Gary and Brian Lake In Cypress Point Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Adria Towers, L.L.C., 226 N.J. 403 (2016), decided August 4, 2016, the Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed a Court of Appeals decision that a condominium developer general contractor’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies provide coverage for consequential damages stemming from its subcontractor’s…