<b><i>Practice Tip</b></i> Lone Pine Orders Increase Judicial Efficiency
June 27, 2008
In recent years, an increasing number of state and federal courts nationwide have issued 'Lone Pine orders' ' case management orders that require plaintiffs in mass tort litigation to substantiate their claims early in the litigation. Jurisdictions are split on whether to permit Lone Pine orders, which typically require plaintiffs to submit evidence, often in the form of expert affidavits or reports, of each plaintiff's exposure to toxic substances, each plaintiff's claim of illness, personal injury or property damage, and a causation link between the exposure and the injury.
Application of the Government Contractor Defense Affirmed in Agent Orange Cases
June 27, 2008
This article addresses the Second Circuit's decision affirming the application of the 'government contractor defense' to preclude the plaintiffs' claims asserted against the companies that had manufactured the herbicides. Under the government contractor defense, a private manufacturer is immunized from liability where it has made a product in accordance with specifications formulated by the government.
Twice the Remedy? Dual Recovery in Copyright and Trademark Law
June 27, 2008
In another Ninth Circuit case involving Microsoft Corporation, a district court ruled last fall that a software company is entitled to recover statutory damages under both the Copyright and Lanham Acts against those who sell and distribute counterfeit software, where the software maker suffers distinct injuries to different interests as a result of the infringement. <i>Microsoft v. Evans</i>. This Eastern District of California decision reflects what may be a growing trend regarding the issue of awarding statutory damages under both copyright and trademark law for a single act that violates aspects of both statutes.
Case Briefs
June 27, 2008
Alaska Supreme Court Enforces Pollution Exclusion
Supreme Court Ruling in Integrity Is 'Absolute' for Reinsurers
June 27, 2008
In a ruling that affects both insurance and reinsurance companies as well as policy-holders of insolvent insurers subject to the New Jersey's Insurer Liquidation Act, the New Jersey Supreme Court, in a 3-2 decision in a case of first impression, definitively excluded contingent claims that are 'incurred but not reported' from sharing in the distribution of assets of an insolvent insurer.
Global Warming Litigation
June 27, 2008
In-house counsel and executives within the railroad, logistics, and transportation industries need to be aware of an increasing likelihood of litigation-related to global warming. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 decision in <i>Massachusetts v. EPA</i>, suits have been filed seeking to impose liability on companies whose activities emit carbon dioxide. As additional suits arise, they will doubtless reach companies in the oil, electric power, auto, and railroad sectors. These developments raise an important question: Are companies in transportation-related fields adequately prepared for the acceleration of climate change-based tort cases that their industry will likely encounter in the near future?
Landlord Liability For Tenants Trading In Counterfeit Goods
June 26, 2008
In addition to targeting counterfeiters, copyright and trademark holders have started going after commercial landlords whose tenants deal in fake merchandise. It is felt that this new strategy is needed in part because the counterfeiting retailers possess very few assets that can be seized and liquidated to compensate the copyright or trademark holder.
Did 'Roommates.com' Nix Consumer-Generated Content?
June 26, 2008
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act essentially gives Internet service providers immunity from liability for publishing false or defamatory material as long as that material was provided by another party. In <i>Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com LLC</i>, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an earlier ruling that a commercial roommate-matching service may be liable for violations of the Fair Housing Act because of the manner in which the site elicits information from prospective roommates.
I Signed WHAT?!
June 26, 2008
The typical e-commerce 'Terms and Conditions,' the electronic equivalent of the fine-print contract that governs use of a sales Web site, creates such an unfriendly shopping environment that it makes the legendary 'No soup for you!' restaurant of the television situation comedy Seinfeld seem like the Welcome Wagon. Although I have often written about how the law affecting e-commerce firms ordinarily follows traditional law, the common e-commerce contract stands in stark contrast. Consider the following clauses from actual online agreements obtained in April and May ' and whether you have ever seen anything comparable in any real-world store, much less these Web stores' real-world affiliates.
