LJN Newsletters

In-depth analysis of three recent cases.

As the use of fitness trackers and other personal monitoring devices becomes more prevalent, an increase in consumer litigation over them is inevitable. Because such devices are still cutting-edge in many respects, the opportunities for unexpected manufacturing and design problems is also high. And because some of the data involved may be highly personal, the risk of privacy breach claims is certainly not zero.

Individual corporate officers of pharmaceutical, medical device, food and related companies can be prosecuted for violations of the United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) under the Park Doctrine. Such prosecutions "tip off" plaintiffs' attorneys to possible areas of product liability litigation to bring against a company.

A "bank [making a secured rescue loan] had information that should have created the requisite suspicion ' to conduct a diligent search for possible dirt" ' i.e., whether the debtor had the right to pledge $312 million of customer securities, held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Jan. 8, 2016.

In light of corporate negligence's history with state courts, the question becomes: What types of duties have been found to flow directly from nursing homes, long-term and advanced-care facilities to a potential plaintiff, bypassing employees and agents entirely?

Despite over 150 years of Supreme Court precedent, even the most basic precepts of patent exhaustion doctrine remain unsettled. In Lexmark, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit grappled with the very foundations of the so-called "first sale" defense.

Specific jurisdictional flourishes notwithstanding, the duty to defend analysis typically involves some form of the "eight corners rule," whereby the four corners of the insurance policy are measured against the four corners of the complaint (and sometimes extrinsic evidence) in order to determine whether or not the claims set out in the complaint trigger the insurer's duty to defend.

In 1992, the American Bar Association implemented a policy to take action on sexual harassment in the legal profession ' stating that it was a "serious problem" constituting a discriminatory and unprofessional practice. According to the report, "lawyers play a special role in educating society about sexual harassment and eliminating it from the workplace.