Features
Competing Definitions of 'Mass Layoffs' Under the WARN Act
The Retraining and Notification Act ("WARN" or The Act) creates some uncertainty for employers because it contains two potentially conflicting definitions of the term "mass layoff" ' one that looks to a 30-day period and another that aggregates layoffs over a 90-day period. This article analyzes a recent ruling that addresses the problem.
Retaliation Claims
Part One of this article, which appeared in the June issue of Employment Law Strategist, discussed proof of retaliation claims. The conclusion herein addresses what conduct is protected.
Panel Affirms Award Against Wal-Mart in Disability Bias Case
Staking out an exception to the general rule that the requirement to accommodate is normally triggered by a disabled employee's request, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said an employer must take action "if the employer knew or reasonably should have known that the employee was disabled." <i>Brady v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.</i>, 06-5486-cv.
Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
Features
Does the FDAAA's Data Dump Compute? The Potential Impact of the FDAAA on Product Liability
This article describes some of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 provisions related to the expansion of information disclosure and discusses the potential effect of the provisions on product liability exposure.
Features
The Impact of New Vehicle Technology: Reaffirming Parental Responsibility in Automotive Safety Cases
Product liability litigation sometimes arises when children are injured in and around motor vehicles ' whether it involves a moving or non-moving vehicle. When evaluating responsibility, the acts, omissions, and fault of the caregiver, parent, or person responsible for the child must be considered. In defending this type of litigation, evaluating such responsibility is part of the overall analysis of the design and performance of the motor vehicle and whether having different or additional safety technology would have made a difference or resulted in a different outcome.
A Primer on Counterfeit Products: What Should A Company Consider?
What duty, if any, do companies have to police the marketplace and protect consumers against dangers arising from counterfeits? These counterfeits, a number of which are manufactured in China, are generally of a much lower quality and are manufactured without appropriate QA/QC mechanisms that many large companies have in place.
Features
Reading Patents in Depth
The first installment of this article discussed 'active' reading; understanding the structure of a patent publication; and understanding why certain words were used and others were not. This conclusion addresses how to obtain technical information.
Patent Application Foreign Filing Licenses: Export Control for Sensitive Technologies Described in Patent Applications
To protect national security, some countries require patent applicants to obtain a foreign filing license prior to filing a patent application abroad. The grant of a foreign filing license provides a governmental stamp of approval that the technology described in the patent application is available for export.
Decisions of Interest
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis 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.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›