Case Briefing
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Reducing Frivolous Litigation
In the first installment of this article, published last month, we discussed the problem of frivolous lawsuits against drug and medical device firms and how state legislatures have been moving to curb frivolous suits in another arena - professional negligence - through the introduction of a requirement for an affidavit of merit. This month, we look at how the lessons learned in the case of professional negligence suits could be applied to reduce the filing of unfounded complaints against drug and medical device makers.
Videotaped Depositions: Goldmine or Curse?
Times have changed. Depositions, used at trial for impeachment purposes, are now more than just dry words on a page. Increasingly, they are on videotape and the courts are happy about that. <i>Weseloh-Hurtig v. Hepker</i>, 152 F.R.D. 198, 201 (D. Kan. 1993). Should lawyers feel the same way? Well, it depends on whether you are the attorney taking the deposition or if you are the one whose client's deposition is being captured on video. It can be a blessing or it can be the death knell for your case. Let's look at this developing trend.
Resolving Mass Torts with Bankruptcy Funds
The ongoing effort to resolve globally the problem of overwhelming mass-tort liability continues this year through legislation. A Senate bill to create a trust administered by the Department of Labor, funded by industry and insurance contributions, was voted down in April. Whether this proposed resolution ultimately fares better than those preceding it remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, the Rand Institute for Civil Justice reports that by the end of 2002, at least 56 companies had turned to bankruptcy to find the resolution and finality they needed to get back to their business. Others will undoubtedly follow before any global solution is ultimately reached.
County Planning Board Review and General Municipal Law Section 239-m
The right to adopt controls on the use of land in New York, although derived from the state's power, has largely devolved to local municipal governments through New York's Town Law and Village Law, and similar legislation for cities. There are areas, however, where the state still exercises control, frequently as general oversight in perceived problem areas -- coastal erosion and flood zones for example. The state also exercised its power, beginning in 1960, to allow for the creation of county-wide planning boards, to allow for the input of regional and county-wide considerations in local land use decisions.
Index
A guide to everything inside this issue, case by case.
