Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduces anti-indemnity bill
9/23/21
By: Joshua Ferguson The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced House Bill 1886, legislation amending Act 164 of 1970, which relates to Indemnification Agreements in certain contracts. Like Act 164, the bill itself appears to cover agreements between ”architects, engineers or surveyors and owners, contractors, subcontractors or suppliers.” Beyond the limited Act 164, Pennsylvania does not have an anti-indemnity statute regarding contracts for the industries identified above. …
IP malpractice mitigation: What IP practitioners should do to avoid claims, conflicts, and calamities
9/22/21
By: R. Victoria Fuller and Jessica Gray Kelly Intellectual Property attorneys face malpractice risks unique to their specialty. Avoiding claims from clients and complying with the rules of professional conduct requires practitioners to exercise constant vigilance. Understanding both the circumstances that tend to drive claims, and the types of conflicts that trip-up IP practitioners, will help you mitigate your risk. Recent data trends show claims arise from foreign filings,…
The rule on joint representation conflict waivers for California lawyers has loosened up
9/21/21
By: Gregory T. Fayard Under the old rules of professional conduct attributable to California lawyers, whenever a lawyer represented more than one client, the safe protocol was to get an informed written consent from both clients to the joint representation because their interests could POTENTIALLY conflict. Potential conflicts always exist, right? So, for example, if…
U.S. to buckle down on crypto payments in ransom cyberattacks- A push against a booming criminal industry
9/21/21
By: Julia Bover The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Biden administration is “preparing an array of actions” to combat the ransomware epidemic by targeting the digital currency market as early as this week. Sanctions on cryptocurrency were discussed as being imminent, but the Treasury Department declined to comment for the story, leaving many to…
Who can you blame? Georgia Supreme Court decision regarding apportionment sends shockwaves through the legal community.
9/20/21
By: Aaron Miller The Supreme Court of Georgia on August 10, 2021 issued an opinion significantly limiting the apportionment statute in Georgia. The case, Alston & Bird, LLP v. Hatcher Management Holdings, LLC S20G1419, severely limits the situations in which a defendant can apportion fault to a non-party based on statutory law. The statute, O.C.G.A.…
Data breach “Safe Harbor”: Could New Jersey’s businesses be getting a reprieve from the onslaught of litigation stemming from data breaches?
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,…
Recent Court of Appeals decision highlights the specific requirements of Georgia’s ante litem notice statute
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…
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clarifies scope of the 2020 COVID-19 statute of limitations tolling order
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,…
U.S.D.C. for the District of New Jersey rules in favor of insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in yet another COVID-19 related loss of business income claim
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,…
District Court Dismisses Suit for Failure to Meet the Pleadings Requirements Under the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act
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…
