Volume 17, No. 4, December 2011
Offices: Tampa, Florida •
Practice Areas: General Liability •
Authors: John W. Heilman
Florida – Civil Practice/Settlements, Key Points:
There are two "clocks" or "faucets" that are critical for statutory proposals for settlement.
Statutory proposals can be effective, even against the indigent plaintiff.
There are two "clocks" or "faucets" that are critical for..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 4, December 2011
Offices: Jacksonville, Florida •
Practice Areas: General Liability •
Authors: Pamela St. John Lynde
Florida – Civil Practice/Mediation, Key Points:
For insurers, the most important thing about mediation is that it requires a representative of the insurance carrier for any insured party who is not such carrier's outside counsel and who has full authority to settle up to the amount..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 4, December 2011
Volume 17, No. 3, September 2011
Offices: Roseland, New Jersey •
Practice Areas: Employment Law •
Authors: Ida M. Fuda
New Jersey - Employment Law, Key Points:
If sufficiently severe, a single comment can be enough to prove a hostile work environment under the New Jersey LAD, but only in "a rare and extreme case."
An ambiguous insult alone against a plaintiff of a protected class is..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Cherry Hill, New Jersey •
Practice Areas: Workers' Compensation •
Authors: Angela Y. DeMary
New Jersey - Workers' Compensatio, Key Points:
Section 31 and Fiore control issues of occupational heart claims.
Section 31 defines a compensable occupational disease.
Fiore provides three requirements for proving a compensable occupational heart disease claim.
The..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Jacksonville, Florida •
Practice Areas: Architectural, Engineering and Construction Defect Litigation
Florida - Construction Litigation, Key Points:
Statutes of repose, unlike statutes of limitations, impose even more stringent and concrete time limitations for a claimant to bring a cause of action against the defendant.
A claimant's right to bring a cause of action may be..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Roseland, New Jersey •
Practice Areas: Employment Law •
Authors: Bruce A. Seidman
New Jersey – Employment Law, Key Points:
Constructive discharge is not necessary as a threshold to prove a CEPA lost wage claim.
CEPA distinguished from LAD in proofs necessary to prove lost wage claim.
On June 9, 2011, a sharply divided New Jersey Supreme Court (4-2..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Securities and Investment Professional Liability •
Authors: Joel Wertman
Federal – Securities & Investments, Key Points:
Changes to the FINRA Discovery Guide applicable to public customer disputes will alter parties' discovery obligations in the near future.
The new Guide will modify the original 14 lists of presumptively discoverable items into..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation •
Authors: Gregory W. Fox
Pennsylvania – Contract, Key Points:
Truthful statements alone do not give rise to a claim for intentional interference with contractual relations.
It is appropriate to look to the Restatement in analyzing claims for intentional interference with contractual relations..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Authors: Peter S. Miller
As I believe everyone knows, our firm was founded to serve the litigation needs of the insurance industry. As we have evolved, we have expanded our litigation capacities in many ways. We now not only serve the litigation needs of the insurance..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Asbestos and Mass Tort Litigation •
Authors: Timothy D. Rau
Pennsylvania – Environmental & Toxic Torts, Key Points:
Defendants in asbestos cases in Pennsylvania may invoke the provisions of the statute of repose, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §5536, as a defense to liability for harms that occur later than 12 years after the original construction that caused the..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Casualty
Diane Magram (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) obtained a unanimous defense verdict in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County. The matter was originally tried in July 2009. The plaintiff appealed, and the matter was reversed and remanded..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: King of Prussia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Appellate Advocacy and Post-Trial Practice
Audrey Copeland (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) successfully obtained the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's affirmance of a termination of workers' compensation benefits in favor of the employer, secured by Frank Wickersham (King of Prussia). At the..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Appellate Advocacy and Post-Trial Practice
Audrey Copeland (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) successfully obtained the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's affirmance of a termination of workers' compensation benefits in favor of the employer, secured by Frank Wickersham (King of Prussia). At the..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Privacy and Data Security
Whether it is the dependence on laptops and smartphones or sophisticated networks that connect employees of large corporations around the world, technology is a now a significant part of everyone's life. Nearly every day we hear about sensitive..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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The article Undue Hardship: The Employer's Burden Under the ADAAA written by Ronda O'Donnell and Lee Durivage (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), was recently published in the Labor & Employment Supplement to the Legal Intelligencer.
Sharon O'Donnell..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Orlando, Florida •
Authors: Cynthia Kohn
Orlando, also known as "The City Beautiful," is located in Central Florida and is a year-round vacation destination for stateside and international travelers. The Orlando office is ideally located within blocks of the state courthouse serving Orange..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Litigation •
Authors: Patricia A. Monahan
Pennsylvania – Bad Faith, Key Points:
Although the work product doctrine does not attach to an attorney's file after the subject litigation concludes, an insurer defending a bad faith action must make a showing of relevancy in order to discover plaintiff's counsel's file..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: General Liability •
Authors: Jason Banonis
Pennsylvania – Civil Practice, Key Points:
A social media user's indiscreet postings are pertinent to prove the truth or falsity of the claim.
Any expectation of privacy with regard to Facebook and MySpace is unrealistic.
The possibilities for finding relevant..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Offices: Wilmington, Delaware •
Practice Areas: General Liability •
Authors: Tracy A. Burleigh
Delaware – Discovery, Key Points:
Medical records do not constitute proper expert disclosures under the Delaware Superior Court Civil Rules.
A party's failure to comply with the court's scheduling order may result in monetary sanctions and, ultimately, dismissal..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 3, September 2011
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Volume 17, No. 2, June 2011
Offices: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania •
Practice Areas: Health Law •
Authors: Ronald M. Puntil Jr.
Pennsylvania - Health Law,
KEY POINTS:
Methadone does not cause impairment of an individual's cognitive function.
Pennsylvania law established that physicians may not be held liable for injuries suffered by third persons in automobile accidents caused by..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 2, June 2011
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