Crucial to any division of the marital residence (or other assets) is an understanding of the tax consequences attendant thereto. Unfortunately, relevant tax issues are at times not addressed by the parties or the court, resulting in further litigation over the allocation of tax debt.
The rule against hearsay often presents roadblocks for counsel in contested custody and visitation cases, especially where the custodial parent frequently remarries or lives with a new partner. Understanding the rule and its implications is critical to the effective representation of a client in a custody matter.
When child custody is contested, there are times when aggressive litigation is unavoidable. In such circumstances, how one approaches the litigation can vary substantially from case to case and from attorney to attorney.
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Recent developments in this key arena.
In the medical malpractice arena, the decision whether or not to arbitrate a case is an important one. Going through the arbitration process and allowing the case to be determined by an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, rather than trying the case and allowing the outcome to be determined by a civil jury, can have advantages and disadvantages to both the physician and the patient.
Does the increased scrutiny on drug products for evidence that they cause suicidal thoughts mean that suits seeking damages for such thoughts in drug consumers have a better chance at success? An in-depth discussion.
Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a directed verdict based on Daubert principles in a shoulder dystocia case. The court reasoned that the expert's testimony was 'unreliable' because of improper use of the 'differential diagnosis' method and the fact that he made unsupported leaps from assumed facts to conclusions without evidentiary or medical/scientific support. Here's an analysis of the court's thinking.
In a stunning turnaround today, separate appeals courts in New Jersey and Texas reversed verdicts against Merck from some of the earliest trials involving the now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.
