Are We Speaking the Same Language? (Part 2)
12/15/14
By: Seth Kirby
In a previous blog entry we discussed the concept of “micro-language” and its relationship to insurance coverage disputes. In essence, this concept is a recognition that people ascribe different meanings to words and phrases based upon …
FINRA Puts the Vice Grip On Confidentiality Provisions Customer Settlements and Customer Arbitrations and Litigation
12/10/14
By: John Goselin
FINRA’s Notice to Members 14-40 revises the regulator’s position on the permissible scope and nature of confidentiality provisions that broker-dealers can agree to relating to the discovery process in legal proceedings or as a term in …
Outsourced Labor? Temps? – New Statutory Liability for Companies Using Contract Workers
12/5/14
By: Sandra McIntyre
On January 1, 2015, California Labor Code section 2810.3 becomes operative. It imposes civil liability on companies utilizing non-exempt workers provided by contractors to perform the regular and customary work of the company if the contractor fails …
11th Circuit Rules Cruise Lines Can Be Sued for Medical Malpractice
12/3/14
By: Laura Broome
The 11th Circuit recently ruled that cruise ships may be sued for medical malpractice, negating any reliance by cruise ship companies upon the defense of immunity in cases of medical malpractice. In Patricia Franza v. Royal …
After-School Drumming is Not a Nuisance (at least in New Jersey)
11/17/14
By: Wayne S. Melnick
As both an attorney and a drummer, this one caught my attention. Following a bench trial in Traetto v. Palazzo, a New Jersey judge recently ruled that a teenage drummer’s occasional afternoon practice …