Publications

Effective October 1, 2001, Connecticut’s probate courts will have expanded ability to remove and replace fiduciaries, and beneficiaries of Connecticut estates and trusts, including individuals and charitable corporations, will not need to establish that a fiduciary’s performance is inadequate before obtaining a new fiduciary.   Prior Law Generally Required Cause   Prior to Public Act […]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued revised enforcement guidelines which give employers increased leeway in asking applicants about reasonable accommodation of a known disability prior to making a job offer. The guidelines replace more restrictive interim guidelines issued by the EEOC in May 1994. These new guidelines should hopefully provide employers with a […]

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld an award of punitive damages in a Title VII case where no actual or nominal damages were awarded. Title VII provides recovery for punitive damages where the plaintiff demonstrates that the defendant “engaged in a discriminatory practice … with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally […]

After less than an hour of deliberation, a jury awarded damages to James Mullins, a 57 year old employee of Pfizer, Inc. who claimed that Pfizer representatives lied to him when he asked about the possibility of an early retirement incentive plan in the near future. When asked, Pfizer representatives denied any intention to announce […]

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a field directive outlining its procedures for processing employee benefit plans that were not timely amended under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Most plan sponsors had until the end of the 1994 plan year to submit plans to the IRS for approval of their tax-qualified status. For those […]

Long used in the equipment-financing arena as a way to secure off balance sheet financing, the synthetic lease is now recognized as a viable real estate financing option. As its name implies, the synthetic lease is a hybrid form of financing, combining the financial reporting advantages of an operating lease with the tax advantages of […]

Public Act 00-89, An Act Concerning Fair Market Value of Brownfields,which became effective on May 26, 2000, requires that when redevelopmentagencies (which can include local and regional school districts,regional pollution control authorities, and a variety of communitydevelopment agencies) take property by eminent domain, the amount to bepaid to the property owner is the fair market […]

In the last issue of the Employment Advisory, we reported the case of Schaffer v. Ames Department Stores, (see “Connecticut Federal District Court Holds Supervisors Are Not Liable Under Title VII” ) the first case in Connecticut to hold that supervisors could not be held individually liable for violations of Title VII. Subsequently, the individual […]

The Ellerth-Faragher Defense As many employers know, under Supreme Court rulings, an employer may avoid liability in a sexual harassment case by establishing: 1) that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior; and 2) that the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities […]

In this new practical advice feature, we will endeavor to highlight a particular area of employment or benefits law. Using a question and answer format, we hope to share some insights about commonly asked questions or little known legal requirements in an effort to help our clients fully comply with the ever growing web of […]

The Second Circuit recently ruled in Eisenberg v. Advance Relocation &Storage, Inc. that an individual classified by her employer as anindependent contractor was nevertheless an "employee" for purposes ofrelevant anti-discrimination laws. In determining whether a worker is anemployee within the meaning of state and federal anti-discriminationlaws, the Court held particular weight should be placed on […]

You may be familiar with the common practice of an attorney enteringinto agreements with parties to a closing whereby the attorney holds aportion of the closing proceeds in escrow pending resolution of someissue such as a needed repair. Typically, upon completion of the repairor expiration of the time allowed therefor, the escrowed portion isdistributed to […]

Privacy Requirements Have Your HIPAA Privacy Compliance Strategy Defined, Budgeted and Under Way When extending the compliance deadline for the electronic transactions and code sets regulations, Congress specifically stated that it was not extending the April 14, 2003 compliance date for the privacy regulations. Privacy generally is the most expansive of the HIPAA requirements and […]

Security Requirements Understand the Proposed Requirements and Address Them Where Appropriate in Privacy Implementation The HIPAA security regulations are still in proposed form, as originally published on August 12, 1998. (Available at www.aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/bannerps.htm#security.) These proposed regulations outline general HIPAA-required security measures, including administrative, physical and technical safeguards. It is generally believed that the final security […]

Electronic Transactions and Code Sets Requirements File Compliance Plan by October 15, 2002 to Extend Compliance Deadline These regulations and associated implementation guides establish standards for certain electronic transactions, such as electronic billing, and data elements for these transactions to standardize the electronic exchange of health information. (The final electronic transactions and code set requirements […]

ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS AND POTENTIAL IMPACT ON IMPLEMENTATION TASKS On March 27, 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued proposed regulations that would modify certain standards in the Privacy Rule. These proposed modifications are contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”). Most significantly, the NPRM would permit health care providers […]

Below are just two examples of the ongoing conflict between the research community’s need to publish and the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry’s need to maintain the confidentiality of the studies it sponsors during drug development. Immune Response Corporation’s HIV Drug Remune Immune Response Corporation (“IR”) recently entered into arbitration in a dispute with the University of California […]

Connecticut Public Act 05-251, signed by Governor Rell on June 30, 2005, makes substantial changes to Connecticut’s estate, gift and succession taxes. The changes are generally effective retroactive to January 1, 2005.

In 2007, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted significant legislation affecting the energy and utilities sector. The session addressed a variety of topics including electricity and energy efficiency, cellular towers, water company infrastructure and competitive video service, among other measures. The following is a summary of public acts we believe are likely to have an impact […]

Education expenses have soared over the past several years. According to collegeboard.com, the 2005–2006 average cost of tuition and fees at a private U.S. college was $21,235, up 5.9% from the previous year. The rising costs of education have led many to seek ways to help family and friends meet these obligations with minimal adverse […]

Several recent United States trial court holdings have opened up possible “loopholes” for the use of research tool patents and compounds for research use without infringement liability. In Bayer AG v. Housey Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Court held that liability for infringing imports and sales under 35 USC §271(g) applies only to products derived from patented […]

Many current biotechnology developments are research tools that enable a drug developer to discover a drug product. Examples of research tools include high throughput screening technologies and other assay methods, cell lines, monoclonal antibodies, reagents, animal models, clones and cloning tools, laboratory equipment and machines, databases and computer software. Since the research tool’s patents may […]

On May 28, 2003, President Bush signed into law the “Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003” (the “Act”). Although not as large as the $726 billion tax cut originally proposed by the Bush Administration, the $350 billion Act is still the third largest tax cut in history and contains many aspects and […]

On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed into law the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), which aims to cut nearly $11 billion from Medicare and Medicaid program spending over the next five years. Buried within this extensive law are several provisions that, when pieced together, indicate that the federal fraud, waste and abuse spotlight […]

The 2005 legislative session was, once again, active and resulted in significant legislation of interest to the utility and regulated industries. The June special session produced the Energy Independence Act, which significantly affects utilities operating in Connecticut and the agencies regulating them. The following is a summary of bills that we believe could have a […]

On June 23, 2004, President Bush signed a bill that substantially modifies individuals’ and corporations’ potential exposure for antitrust violations – increasing the maximum sanctions in certain circumstances and reducing penalties in others. The bill (Pub. L. No. 108-237) includes two parts, the “Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004” and the “Standards […]

Proposed regulations and a proposed revenue procedure recently issued by the Internal Revenue Service would, if finalized in their current form, apply Internal Revenue Code section 83 to the receipt of a partnership interest as compensation for services rendered to the partnership. While section 83 had previously been applied to situations in which corporate equity […]

Recently, venture capital firms have become more careful with investments, frequently choosing to focus on their existing portfolio companies. As a result, cash constrained biotech companies with no public market must consider alternative forms of fundraising such as government funding, equipment financings, licensing opportunities and other strategic alliances with corporate partners. Government Funding and Public […]

On December 12, 2007, the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (“Department” or “DPUC”) issued a final decision on the rate application filed earlier in the year by Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut (“Aquarion” or the “Company”). The final decision approved an overall revenue increase of $19.3 million, or about 16.7 overall. The following is […]

Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION II. BILLS PASSED AND SIGNED INTO LAW 1. AN ACT CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE LONG-TERM PLANNING COMMITTEEPublic Act No. 99-28, effective May 27, 1999 2. AN ACT CONCERNING PETS IN ELDERLY HOUSING Public Act No. 99-50, effective October 1, 1999 3. AN ACT CONCERNING CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES Public Act […]