Contending with Title III of the ADA: Tips for Property Owners and Managers
With the recent adoption of new Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") Accessibility Guidelines, it seems likely that real property owners and managers will soon see an increase in the number of ADA-based lawsuits as both private plaintiffs and the Department of Justice seek to enforce compliance with the various changes and new provisions. This article provides a basic guide to some of the more important elements of this type of litigation, particularly cases brought by private plaintiffs.
Understanding Affirmative Action Obligations as a Landlord, Tenant or Government Contractor
Given the plethora of government regulations spawned in the 80s and 90s, Executive Order 11246 (the "Order"), signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, may appear to be relatively ancient history. Nevertheless, compliance with this far-reaching rule remains as essential today as it did when the Order was issued. Similarly, it continues to catch unwary federal contractors by surprise. Under the Order, companies that hold federal contracts or subcontracts in excess of $10,000 are prohibited from discriminating against employees and applicants for employment in hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, and national origin. This aspect of the Order is generally widely understood. What is often overlooked, however, is that these contractors are also subject to certain affirmative action requirements. While the Executive Order has been on the books for nearly 40 years, many companies still find themselves in uncharted territory with respect to their coverage under affirmative action regulations.
In the Spotlight: Internet Technologies Meet HVAC Components
Internet technologies are poised to revolutionize the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry by enabling HVAC components to communicate not only with each other but with other building systems controls as well, and even with the enterprise business systems that have become essential to running large corporations, nonprofits and agencies.
Digital Images: Don't Blink or You Will Miss Them
The use of digital cameras to create and preserve images has evolved from an expensive, often specialized process to a common practice embraced by the general public. As the use of digital photography has become commonplace, so too are digital photographs being increasingly offered as evidence. Courts generally have accepted digital photographs for the same purposes as traditional photographs: to support testimony and sometimes to take its place as "pictorial testimony." Digital photographs, however, are far more easily altered and manipulated than traditional film photographs, and such changes may be more difficult, if not impossible, to detect.
Online: Everything You Need to Know About Daubert
For everything you ever wanted to know about <i>Daubert</i>, visit <i>www.daubertontheweb.com.</i> The home page will direct you to a variety of links, which include: "Source" (the <i>Daubert</i> opinion); "Progeny" (Supreme Court cases interpreting <i>Daubert</i>); "Procedure" (cases resolving challenges to <i>Daubert</i>); "Fields" (decisions by fields of expertise); "Substance" (the <i>Daubert</i> worldview); "Circuits" (more than 650 appellate decisions); "States" (selected state decisions); "Tactics" (things to try); "User Forum" (to ask a question or state a view); and a Blog.
Recent Trends in Punitive Damages Awards
The Supreme Court's decision in <i>State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell</i>, 538 U.S. 408 (2003), addressing punitive damage awards was a culminating moment in a decade of high court jurisprudence reigning in multimillion dollar runaway awards. Following the decision, there was a flurry of activity by the Supreme Court itself, and in many lower courts, to remand, conform, and examine current cases in light of the Court's new guidance. With several exceptions where the compensatory damages are nominal or the conduct is particularly reprehensible, court after court is quoting the high court's language regarding ratios and remanding or reducing awards with double-digit ratios. The reasons vary, but include factors such as whether the plaintiff suffered physical or economic injury, the degree of the defendant's determined reprehensibility, wealth, and the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages. In general, the most successful strategies used by defendants to reduce punitive awards are: 1) under the reprehensibility guidepost, to exclude collateral evidence based on an insufficient nexus between the alleged bad conduct and the injury suffered by the plaintiff; and 2) to focus on the ratio between compensatory and punitive damages when it exceeds a single-digit ratio.
Practice Tip: Last Things First ' How Starting with Jury Instructions Can Help Trial Preparations Fall into Place
We have all been there. That settlement conference that you think is going to resolve the case does just the opposite. Opposing counsel's parting words are "we'll see what a jury has to say about that." So there you are, a few weeks before trial with a to-do list that has just increased tenfold. Motions <i>in limine</i>, witness lists, exhibit lists, jury questionnaires and trial briefs all need to be prepared in the coming weeks. The facts of your case begin to play over and over again in your mind like a waking dream (or nightmare).
Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
