Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Insurers' Response to Nanotech Suits
Insurers, policyholders, and the plaintiffs' tort bar anticipate that nanotechnology claims may soon be a serious source of potential liability even though no lawsuits have yet been filed and great uncertainty exists about the adverse effects, if any, of exposure to nanomaterials. See Connie Germano, Managing the Emerging Risks of Nanotechnology, John Liner Rev., Summer 2008, at 30; Linda K. Breggin & Leslie Carothers, Governing Uncertainty: The Nanotechnology Environmental, Health, and Safety Challenge, 31 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 285 (2006); Ronald C. Wernette, The Dawn of the Age of Nanotorts, Prod. Safety & Liab. Rep., Apr. 2009; Stephen Goldberg, Nanotechnology May Be Tiny, But Exposures Could Be Huge, P&C Nat'l Underwriter, Dec. 7, 2009. Many commentators have encouraged policyholders and insurers to take steps now to assess exposures and implement risk management controls. See, e.g., Kristine L. Roberts, Nanotechnology and the Future of Litigation, Litig. News, Winter 2010, at 6, 7-8; Lloyd's, Risks: Lloyd's Emerging Risk Team Report (2007).
The vacuum of information concerning risks posed by nanotechnology and nanomaterials makes risk management planning difficult, if not impossible. See Robin Fretwell Wilson, Symposium: How Do We Develop Regulatory Policy in the Context of Limited Knowledge About the Risks, 34 J.L. Med. & Ethics 704 (2006); Breggin, supra. This article addresses that gap and explores the insurance implications of the likely “first wave” of lawsuits ' suits arising out of exposure to nanomaterials in the absence of evidence of actual physical injury or harm. It explores three scenarios where plaintiffs are likely to be exposed to nanomaterials in the near future. Nanotech suits are likely to raise many of the same coverage questions that apply to more traditional and well-known liabilities, but the uncertainty regarding nanotechnology's potential for harm and its unique nature mean that past experiences (and judicial decisions) provide only limited guidance.
Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office
A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.
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.
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes
“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.
Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.