Wearable Fitness Tracking Devices
April 01, 2016
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.
Park Doctrine Prosecutions of Corporate Officers Continue: Stay Alert!
April 01, 2016
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.
Seventh Circuit Voids Lien-Securing Rescue Loan
April 01, 2016
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>i.e.</I>, 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.
Nursing Homes, Long-Term and Advanced-Care Facilities
April 01, 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?
The Duty to Defend and the Affirmative Defense
April 01, 2016
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.
Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession: It's Time to Make It Stop
April 01, 2016
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.
Sharing Medical Device Mass Tort Actions
April 01, 2016
A medical device case poses numerous pleading problems. However, before one even reaches the pleading stage, there are major hurdles to consider. The major issue facing the plaintiff's lawyer during client intake is to decide which cases to file immediately and which cases can wait. This depends, of course, on the statute of limitations the lawyer determines will be applicable ' and that is no small task.
Class-Action Arbitrations in Oil and Gas Leases
April 01, 2016
On Jan. 5, the Third Circuit issued a decision answering the question of whether language in an arbitration clause referencing "the rules of the American Arbitration Association" was sufficient to rebut the presumption that the court, not the arbitrator, decided whether a class action arbitration was agreed to by the parties.
Cyber Insurance Litigation
April 01, 2016
On Sept. 9, 2015, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield announced a data breach that compromised about 10.5 million people's personal information, including Social Security numbers and medical and financial information. Excellus discovered the data breach during an investigation of its computer system. The breach had occurred on Dec. 23, 2013. A class action has already been filed, and Excellus is cooperating with the FBI.
