Publications
In general, once a jury has been discharged, the trial judge cannot recall the jury to reconsider the verdict it rendered. The reasoning behind this principle is that jurors may have discussed the case with others or been exposed to outside influences and may no longer be able to act fairly and without prejudice. In […]
For entities that are required to comply with HIPAA, staying abreast of recent HIPAA developments is an essential risk management strategy. Given the complexity of the HIPAA regulations, the fast pace of technology development, and the austere ramifications of a violation, it may be difficult to decide how to best allocate compliance resources. Taking stock […]
Aimed at reducing the exorbitant costs of discovery, and accelerating the pace of litigation in general, the latest amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure became effective on December 1, 2015. Five years in the making, they are widely viewed as comprising “the biggest change in discovery and case management in at least 15 […]
Employers looking to heighten available protection of valuable trade secrets are welcoming the arrival of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, a federal statute that went into effect May 11. The DTSA permits trade secret owners to file misappropriation claims in federal court, but only those owners who first implement some important changes to confidentiality agreements […]
The U.S. Supreme Court cast a shadow over software patents with its landmark decision in Alice Corp. Pty Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S. Ct. 2347, 2355 (2014). As Justice Clarence Thomas bluntly put it, “[s]tating an abstract idea while adding the words ‘apply it with a computer’” is not enough to invoke patent […]
Prior to 2008, the law of bad faith in New York seemed fairly well established. A claim for bad faith against an insurer, which might give rise to extra contractual compensatory damages, could only be maintained by demonstrating ‘gross disregard’ to the interests of the policy holder.2 However, in deciding the Bi-Economy and Panasia cases […]
Introduction With the rapid progression of technology, companies both large and small are increasingly doing business on a global scale. These companies often consider a global strategy to protect their intellectual property, which is central to their goal of maintaining a large global presence. While treaties such as the Madrid Protocol and Patent Cooperation Treaty […]
On Dec. 10, 2014, the Second Circuit decided United States v. Newman, 773 F.3d 438 (2d Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 136 S.Ct. 242 (2015). The court held that in order to prove that a tipper of insider information received in exchange for the tip a personal benefit sufficient to create liability, the government must offer […]
Courts and scholars have long debated the propriety of judges doing their own research and fact-finding, a debate that has intensified in recent years with the ease of internet research. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has been at the epicenter of that debate. The controversy boiled over last month in a […]
“We cooperated with them, not realizing we were the target,” said Vera Sung, a director of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, about the bank’s interactions with prosecutors at the start of a two-and-a-half year investigation that led to the bank’s indictment, trial, and finally, acquittal this past June.1 The prosecution, led by the Manhattan DA’s office, […]
This past summer yielded a slew of activity on the wage and hour front, including newly proposed regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that will, if finalized, severely restrict the scope of the overtime exemptions for so-called white-collar workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). There was also a Second Circuit […]
In early 1978, I wrote an Op-ed piece for the New York Times describing the 1977 landmark ‘‘Chevymobile” settlement by forty-four state attorneys general with General Motors in which it was alleged that GM had failed to disclose the substitution of Chevy engines in 1977 Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Pontiacs. In my Op-ed, I had predicted […]
Your client is “Speedboard,” a Missouri corporation with its principal place of business in New Haven, Connecticut. Your client manufactures skate boards and sales are world-wide. The plaintiff is a 35 year old father who “borrowed” his son’s board for a “joy ride.” During that ride the board unexpectedly gathered speed, the father lost his […]
One of the more difficult and somber tasks that judges and juries face is determining noneconomic damages in a wrongful death case. Measuring the value of a person’s life, and the appropriate damages for the loss of that life, raises many ethical and philosophical dilemmas. As if this responsibility were not challenging enough, recent wrongful […]
This article was originally printed in the Fall 2015 issue of the Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association’s newsletter The Defense. The Supreme Court will soon decide an important issue of agency law: whether the doctrine of apparent authority applies to actions sounding in tort.1 This issue has been in flux ever since the Appellate Court stated […]
Hackers interfere with a GPS signal, causing a vessel’s onboard navigation systems to falsely interpret position and heading. Somali pirates employ hackers to infiltrate a shipping company’s network to identify vessels in the Gulf of Aden carrying valuable cargo. Hackers cause a floating oil platform to list to one side. These and other similar incidents […]
The market for “biosimilars”—generic versions of federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved biological drugs—which is an over $100 billion industry, is rapidly growing. Indeed, it is expected to be the single fastest-growing biologics sector in the next five years. By some accounts, sales of biosimilars are expected to reach $6.22 billion by 2020 from […]
As plaintiffs continue to search for the “deep pocket” in negligence claims, direct liability claims against hospitals will inevitably continue to grown and expand. Historically, hospitals have been named as defendants in medical malpractice lawsuits predominantly based on claims of respondeat superior, whether (1) employment/actual agency, (2) apparent agency/ostensible agency, or (3) non-delegable duty. These […]
Financial regulators, struggling to keep up with the onslaught of new threats to the public’s sensitive financial and personal data, have spent the last few years examining corporate cybersecurity practices, policies, and procedures and communicating their expectations to executives. This year, expect regulators to hold companies accountable for their cybersecurity failings. Since CFOs play a […]
The False Claims Act (“FCA”) is undergoing an identity crisis and entities doing business with the government should take notice. Decisions this year by the First, Fourth, and Seventh Circuits have magnified a split among the federal appeals courts regarding what conduct actually constitutes a false claim under the FCA. At the center of the […]
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965), the landmark case that recognized a constitutional right to privacy. Although the case is well known, the history leading to this important decision is not. The challenged statute in Griswold was championed by none other than Phineas T. Barnum, the founder […]
Introduction As the number of data breaches and federal and state enforcement actions for privacy and security violations reach new heights, Connecticut's highest court has added fuel to the fire in a decision that paves the way for individuals to use Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violations as a basis for state negligence […]
Introduction Recent years have seen an exponential growth in Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology. The availability of UASs for ordinary consumers has grown at a similar rate, with UASs available on the Internet for as little as $300. Likewise, the commercial application for UASs has become increasingly apparent to the private sector. Insurers, for example, […]
Introduction Unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”), also referred to as unmanned aircraft systems (“UASs”) or drones, have been operating in the United States and abroad for over two decades. Previously, however, UAVs were relegated to limited, governmental uses—principally for military and federal law enforcement purposes. For example, as well-documented, the U.S. military has used drones for […]
The past few years have seen monumental changes to U.S. patent law. Indeed, anyone who has not recently litigated a patent case will discover a game with changed fundamental rules and strategies. The days where a holder of a marginal patent can rest assured that the presumption of validity, the cost of litigation and favorable […]
Editorial
Introduction Unlike many countries, the United States does not have a single overarching legal regime governing cybersecurity. Instead, there are a multitude of federal statutes and regulations governing cybersecurity – as well as legislation and regulatory oversight by state authorities.1As a result, enforcement actions for data security failures can originate from many sources. However, among […]
In early 1978, I wrote an Op-ed piece for the New York Times describing the 1977 landmark “Chevymobile” settlement by forty-four state attorneys general with General Motors in which it was alleged that GM had failed to disclose the substitution of Chevy engines in 1977 Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Pontiacs. In my Op-ed, I had predicted […]
For the most part, healthcare providers (e.g., treating physicians and prescribers) typically are not sued in products liability litigation involving patient injuries from allegedly defective medical devices or prescription drugs. This article discusses the considerations that influence the decision whether to sue the provider, including the potential consequences on the testimony of providers at depositions […]
The Supreme Court of Texas ruled on February13, 2015, that BP is not entitled to coverage as an additional insured under insurance policies Trans-ocean procured for the Deepwater Horizon. In re Deepwater Horizon, Relator, 2015 WL 674744. We previously wrote about the insurance coverage dispute concerning subsurface pollution that resulted from the 2010 oil spill […]