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What Should You Know About the Rules of Evidence?
February 09, 2004
Bankruptcy lawyers who rarely visit a courtroom may think they do not need to worry about the rules of evidence. Yet evidentiary rules can provide critical protections. In a typical case or negotiation, lawyers create and circulate tremendous amounts of information -- much of which would be potentially damaging if obtained by other parties. To protect this information, bankruptcy lawyers need to be familiar with the rules of evidence and how courts have interpreted these rules.
Official Committee Members: Fiduciary Duty Liability
February 09, 2004
Members of official creditors' committees in Chapter 11 cases owe a fiduciary duty to the entire body of unsecured creditors. <i>See Woods v. City National Bank</i>, 312 U.S. 262, 268-69 (1941). As fiduciaries, committee members should have undivided loyalty to those they serve, free of any conflict of interest. <i>Id</i>. The imposition of such a broad duty to unsecured creditors generally might be otherwise unremarkable, except that committee members themselves obviously have significant selfish interests in the outcome of the bankruptcy case.
Render unto Caesar
February 09, 2004
A 70-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for a bowel resection. Following surgery, the patient's condition worsened considerably; He spent months in the ICU on a ventilator, was fed through a gastrostomy tube, and his mental status waned. After some time, it was suspected that his deteriorating condition might be related to sepsis from a bowel perforation. Subsequent surgery confirmed this diagnosis. Attempts to repair the perforation failed, and, ultimately the patient died. Medicare paid the patient's medical bills, which exceeded $500,000. The patient's family commenced a lawsuit, alleging that the surgeon's negligence caused the bowel perforation. During the litigation, the Medicare Trust Fund sent a correspondence to the patient's estate, asserting a claim of reimbursement for the benefits Medicare paid from any recovery that the estate might obtain.
Med Mal News
February 09, 2004
A roundup of news items that may affect your practice.
Verdicts
February 09, 2004
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
<i>Voir Dire</i> of Expert Witnesses
February 09, 2004
<i>Voir dire</i>, or a preliminary cross-examination that takes place prior to the direct examination of an opposing expert's qualifications, is a useful, often under-appreciated, tool to preclude, limit, or discredit expert testimony. We addresses only evidentiary <i>voir dire</i> in this article, not <i>Daubert/Frye</i> hearings regarding the admissibility of scientific evidence.
A Word to the Wise
February 09, 2004
The employment-at-will doctrine is the bane of the plaintiffs' bar. Exceptions under New York law are rare and strictly construed against the employee. More than just a shield, the at-will doctrine has been a seeming impenetrable wall insulating employers from liability. Is there ever an instance where an employee can invoke the at-will doctrine for his or her benefit? Just ask Seth Brody.
Decisions of Interest
February 09, 2004
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
New York County Supreme Court Initiates 'Telephonic' Appearances
February 09, 2004
Commencing Jan. 5, 2004, the civil branch of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, may permit attorneys to make certain court appearances by telephone in participating parts.
Spam At Work Gets Another Look
February 09, 2004
In our August 2003 issue, Jay Waks and Joshua Abraham reviewed the issue of workplace spam in their article entitled "A New York Perspective on Workplace Spam." Messrs. Waks and Abraham addressed in detail the controversial California Supreme Court decision on the topic that held that an employer had failed to satisfy the harm element in a trespass to chattel action where its former employee "spammed" it with 175,000 emails. <i>Intel Corp. v. Hamidi</i>, 30 Cal.4th 1342 (2003). A New York trial court recently revisited the employee spam issue in the post-Intel landscape. <i>School of Visual Arts v. Kuprewicz</i>, Index No. 115172-03, (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 12/22/03) (Richter, J.). The court's ruling affirms the validity of the Waks-Abraham view of the state on New York law on the troubling topic of workplace spam.

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