For the most part, courts do not allow either technological or statutory limitations on speech, but they do allow such limitations on electronic commerce, which causes, at the least, more steps to complete a transaction online to meet compliance requirements.
Science tells us that most of an iceberg is hidden beneath the surface of the ocean. e-Commerce law tells us the same thing about Web-site development: The "Web front" that shoppers see can be dwarfed by the hidden, or invisible, "back office" ' the contracts, negotiations and software that make e-commerce Web sites possible. Yet it is that back office that can be the difference between a profitable site and one, like a true iceberg, that is merely adrift and fraught with potential hazards.
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
A bankrupt insured, particularly one with significant mass tort liability and assets primarily restricted to its insurance policies, should pay close attention to coverage issues during the bankruptcy proceedings to minimize subsequent difficulties in securing insurance recovery.
Last month, the authors discussed "substantial conflicts of interest" in various cases involving an insured's right to select its own defense counsel. Part Two herein continues this discussion
How is loss allocated when bodily injury or property damage occurs in several successive policy periods? Can the insured choose the policy that it wishes to cover the loss, limiting itself to one deductible and forcing a single year''s primary (and excess) policy to respond?
Who's doing what; who's going where.
Courts have occasionally concluded that a franchisor might be liable for the actions of its franchisee or for harm suffered on the premises of a franchisee. Rarely do these issues arise in the most common form of vicarious liability claim, those related to the actions of an employee, because franchisors have been very successful at writing contracts that make it clear that franchisees are employing their workers, not franchisors.
As recent litigation has demonstrated, the use of new communications devices with new capabilities is having an effect on how attorneys and their clients communicate, and, therefore, is raising issues in attorney-client privilege.
