Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Today's economy depends heavily on the enormous range of products that are sold daily to consumers. Indeed, consumer demand for both the necessities and conveniences of life ' everything from lawn mowers and ovens to trampolines and espresso makers ' drives many manufacturers constantly to develop new products to sell. In today's litigious society, however, virtually every product sold represents at least the potential for product liability exposure. Jury awards and settlements frequently make headlines ' everyday household appliances, such as coffee makers, fryers, and blenders, have yielded damage awards or settlements as high as $2.25 million. Injuries from lawn mowers have generated awards or settlements as high as $2.6 million. Even furniture has the potential to yield awards or settlements in excess of a million dollars. Moreover, product liability exposure has ruined certain industries, <i>eg</i>, asbestos, and small companies without adequate insurance protection could face bankruptcy from a single product recall.
Features
In July, New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that same-sex couples have no right to marry under the New York state constitution. The 4-2 decision, which upheld four Appellate Division decisions that had declined to extend the right to marry to same-sex couples, marks the end of the judicial battle in New York over same-sex marriage. Because the appellants raised no federal issues, they cannot appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The opinions of forensic evaluators in child custody cases carry the potential power to change lives by force of law. Too often those opinions are received in evidence without serious examination of whether they are based upon demonstrable knowledge as opposed to subjective beliefs and idiosyncratic value judgments. Intellectually empty proclamations, such as 'the opinion is helpful' or 'I'll take it for what it's worth' usher these potent utterance into evidence in all too many courtrooms. The notion that an opinion that is not demonstrably valid can be helpful and ought to be admitted 'for what it is worth' is as illusory as it is foreign to evidence doctrine.
As with many things in law, there is a mental checklist. When a client calls seeking advice regarding a new product liability lawsuit, you run through the product liability checklist. What is the product? What is the product used for? What warnings accompanied the product? When was the product manufactured? How did the product allegedly cause injury?
The $10.1 billion judgment entered against Philip Morris in an Illinois state court in 2003 received national attention, as did the reversal of that judgment in December 2005. <i>Price v. Philip Morris Inc.</i>, No. 00-L-112 (Ill. Cir. Ct. March 21, 2003), <i>rev'd</i>, No. 96236 (Ill. Sup. Ct. Dec. 15, 2005). Less well known, however, is the theory under which the plaintiffs won their judgment at trial. Unlike the plaintiffs in some other large tobacco verdicts, the plaintiffs in Price did not claim personal injury or wrongful death. Instead, the plaintiffs alleged that Philip Morris deceived them into believing that 'light' cigarettes were safe and caused an entire class of people to pay more for the cigarettes than they should have.
Features
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code was enacted on Oct. 22, 2004 in an effort to regulate executive pay practices through the federal tax system. Failure to account for ' 409A's impact can seriously and adversely affect the economics of employment agreements, severance agreements, and other similar plans or other arrangements providing for a deferral of compensation. Consequently, this article details how ' 409A applies to these arrangements.
Features
On June 14 of this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published for comment in the Federal Register proposed rules outlining recommended procedures for employers to follow in response to receiving Social Security mismatch notices. In promulgating the proposed rules, DHS outlined a new enforcement position ' namely, that no-match letters are relevant evidence that can put employers on notice about the immigration status of employees.
The Baby-Boomer generation entered the practice of law in unprecedented numbers, carrying lofty expectations and the collective willpower to engender unprecedented billable hours. Now this tsunami of active lawyers is moving toward senior status, phase-down and retirement. Despite the complex emotions engendered by retirement, the Baby-Boomer generation of lawyers ' and the law firms in which they have participated or help build ' <i>must</i> plan their future.
Features
Last month, we discussed HIPAA, Security Breach Notification Laws, and Safeguarding Personal Information. We conclude with a brief analysis of electronic privacy issues.
