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For Defendants: Developing the Sophisticated User/Intermediary Defense
In defending silicosis claim lawsuits, defendants must try to demonstrate the knowledge and sophistication of the plaintiff. This can be challenging, however, when the plaintiff disclaims knowledge or claims reliance on specific information from his or her employer or suppliers. The “sophisticated user” defense generally focuses on the knowledge and sophistication of the employer as a corporate entity regarding the industry as a whole and the product or product's inherent hazards specifically.
There are good reasons to focus on several levels within the company. Co-workers of the plaintiff are likely to be less knowledgeable and sophisticated than people higher in the corporation, but securing admissions that people similarly situated to the plaintiff were aware of hazards will help undermine the credibility of a plaintiff who is feigning ignorance. Developing the knowledge and sophistication of the corporate employer, however, usually requires deposing people in management.
Discovery should focus on the employer's knowledge of the silica-silicosis connection. Defendants should particularly concentrate, however, on areas in which the employer has far superior knowledge ' where silica is used in the workplace and under what conditions. Since silica can be used safely with appropriate processes and controls, the focus should be on the nature of the workplace, an area as to which the employer has superior knowledge and the suppliers may have no knowledge whatsoever.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?