Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
e-Discovery Costs and General Liability Coverage: Who Pays When the Rules Are Violated?
In today's litigation environment, particularly where lots of money is at stake, it seems that insurance coverage issues are always lurking in the background. These issues typically emerge where they are not expected and when there is no coverage in place to respond to the purported claim. See e.g., Port of Seattle v. Lexington Ins. Co., 48 P.3d 334 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002) (addressing and rejecting application of the 'sue and labor' clause in property policies to the recovery of expenses related to reprogramming computers in order to deal with the change to the Year 2000); GTE Corp. v. Allendale Mut. Ins. Co., 258 F.Supp.2d 364 (D.N.J. 2003) (same). See also Barry R. Ostrager & Thomas R. Newman, Handbook on Insurance Coverage Disputes '5.06[b] (12th ed. 2004).
Now come the new e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(5) and (b)(6); 26(a)(1)(B), (b)(2)(B), (b)(5)(B), (f)(3), and (f)(4); 33(d); 34(a) and (b); 35; 37(f); and 45. What do these amendments have to do with general liability insurance coverage? After all, these amendments address the disclosure, preservation, and production of 'electronically stored information' in civil cases ' not substantive coverage law. But, it is not what the amendments procedurally mandate that implicates liability coverage. Instead, it's what happens when those procedures are violated.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.