Publications
Did you ever wonder what it might be like if a patent lawyer were to live forever? A colleague of ours named Charles Yardley Chittick recently gave it a run, and in the process established a record of 107.67, not counting leap-year extensions. Born in Newark, New Jersey on October 22, 1900, he became a […]
Reprinted with permission from the: Franchise Law Journal (Spring 1997) pp.141-142 The nine-figure jury verdict in the Meineke Discount Muffler class action (1) is a bracing reminder that franchising is full of potentially catastrophic litigation risks. The verdict will almost certainly spawn a new generation of class action suits against franchisors, with particular emphasis on […]
The Indiana Supreme Court recently disciplined a lawyer because of a footnote in his appellate brief. The footnote described a lower court opinion as “so factually and legally inaccurate that one is left to wonder whether the [court] was determined to find for” the defendant “and then said whatever was necessary to reach that conclusion.” […]
This article first published in the Libel Defense Conter’s LDRC LibelLetter, March 2000. Reprinted with permission. In a First Amendment case of first impression in Connecticut, a Connecticut Juvenile Court (Dennis, J.) held that the public had a right to attend the juvenile proceedings against Michael Skakel for the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley in […]
Nearly Twenty-five years ago, a plaintiff’s attorney informed a United States District Court judge that he was “being humble enough to ask for about $5,000,000” in attorney’s fees for his representation of a proposed class comprised of former members of the United States Armed forces who could have essentially obtained the same relief—a retroactive pay […]
When confronted with a government investigation at her institution, university counsel may set upon a course of action – or fail to take action – in good faith and with no improper intent. Nevertheless, counsel may soon find her own conduct in responding to the investigation under scrutiny by a prosecutor or regulator suspicious of […]
I had the opportunity recently to spend some time in Israel. I spoke with many Israelis and Palestinians – Israelis who served in Beirut with Ariel Sharon; Maronite Christians in Jaffe; a young female manager of a sand-bagged café in Tel Aviv; and my Israeli driver. The driver traveled with me in the West Bank, […]
Legal Times September 20, 1999 vol. XXII, no. 18 WHITE COLLAR CRIME A Practice Focus Throughout the 1990’s, companies have increasingly heeded the government’s strong urging that they become good corporate citizens and self-police. Pivotal in that effort has been the implementation of corporate compliance programs designed to prevent and detect wrongdoing. In great numbers, […]
Man says girth cost him job at restaurant Joseph Connor of New Haven filed the lawsuit last year against McDonald’s, claiming that it discriminated against him, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act. Connor, who weights 420 pounds, charges that McDonald’s violated the laws when […]
Many Connecticut biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have successfully licensed technology from universities, particularly Yale University. Engaging in licensing transactions with American universities requires knowledge of laws relating to ownership of inventions made by university staff, various National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines and issues in patent law that affect the scope and value of licensed […]
Legal Times September 28, 1998 vol. XXI, no. 19 David B. Fein is a partner in the Stamford, Conn., office of Wiggin & Dana, where he heads the firm’s white collar defense and internal investigations practice group. Fein also teaches a class on investigations at the University of Connecticut Law School, where he is an […]
Another milestone was reached Sept. 25, in Bilski v. Kappos, likely the most important patent law case in more than 20 years. On that day, the U.S. Solicitor General, representing the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court stating that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit should […]
The U.S. Supreme Court’s highly publicized Title VII decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, 129 S. Ct. 894 (2009), holding that a city cannot discard the results of a race-neutral promotional exam that had a racially disproportionate impact on minority firefighters, began its life as a series of unpublished decisions. The district court’s “path-breaking opinion” was […]
As part of the Tort Reform Act of 1986, Connecticut’s legislature required for all medical malpractice complaints a certificate signed by the plaintiff’s lawyer that a reasonable inquiry into the merits of the claim was made and that there is a good faith basis for the lawsuit. In 2005, the legislature bolstered that effort by […]
Retirement benefits often make up a significant portion of our client’s net worth. As a non-probate asset, retirement benefits pass at death pursuant to the owner’s beneficiary designations on record with the plan administrator. Although we educate and advise our clients on beneficiary designations that complement their estate plan, not all clients implement this advice […]
Tackling the question of whether an employer may deduct errant bonus overpayments from the base salary of exempt employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held, in Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness, Inc., 566 F.3d 618 (6th Cir. 2009), that actual deductions for mistaken bonus payments violate the salary-basis test and therefore […]
Health care reform has taken center stage everywhere – from legislative caucuses to editorial pages, cocktail parties, classrooms, late night talk shows, and even the blogosphere. With health care reform bills pending in Congress, we can expect this tend to dominate well into 2010. As of this writing, the House had passed one health care […]
By any measure, Judge Conner lived a full and most-productive life. Born before the birth of our Association, he grew up as our fledgling Association’s reputation grew. We may wonder what was it about the man that catalyzed his productivity over such a long haul. His intellectual curiosity comes fore-most to mind. He loved to […]
In 1130 A.D., Bernard of Chartres is reputed to have said: “We are like dwarfs standing [or sitting] on the shoulders of giants, and so [are] able to see more and farther than the ancients.” In 2009 A.D., our Association marked the passing of three IP giants — Lorimer P. Brooks [NYIPLA Pres. ’75-’76], William […]
A foreign investor considering the tax implications of an investment in US real estate typically focuses on US federal income taxes and ignores state and local taxes. There are a number of reasons for this, first and foremost of which is that federal tax rates are substantially higher than those charged by states and localities. […]
For several years now, employers have been plagued by an ever-increasing volume of wage-related claims. These claims are well-suited for litigation on a class-wide basis because: 1) they typically involve employer policies or practices of general application; 2) although each individual claim ordinarily raises the specter of a modest monetary award, when litigated collectively the […]
There is much to learn from our predecessors in our profession. This is especially so to the extent we can see and touch artifacts from our “past” that were part-and-parcel of their “present”. Thanks to the good graces of our Association’s Board member, Phil Shannon, we have an opportunity to do a virtual Star Trek-ean […]
Roughly half of all leading franchisors’ franchise agreements contain arbitration clauses requiring the franchisor and franchisee to arbitrate, rather than litigate, their franchise-related disputes. Numerous franchisors have touted arbitration as a superior means of resolving disputes, and some lawyers representing franchisees have cautiously, if perhaps somewhat begrudgingly, acknowledged certain of its benefits to franchisees as […]
Catherine P. Baatz, an associate at Wiggin and Dana, gave this presentation on “Medical Appeals: Understanding the Proposed Regulations.”
The death of an owner of a closely held business may create a tax liability that can cripple the business. Generally, federal estate taxes are due nine months from the date of death. But Internal Revenue Code section 6166 allows estates that consist of a required percentage of one or more “closely held businesses” to […]
In an Oct. 25, 2005 decision, a Connecticut District Court denied an insurance company’s motion to set aside a $2.3 million verdict on the plaintiff-agent’s wrongful termination claim, concluding that company’s relationship with its independent sales agent constituted a franchise under the Connecticut Franchise Act, §42-133e et seq. (“CFA”).
The Americans With Disabilities Act, commonly referred to as the ADA, generally prohibits employers from using qualification standards or other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities. As a practical matter, however, employers often find it necessary to test job […]
Joseph Schumacher, a partner in Wiggin and Dana’s Conshohocken, PA office and Chair of its Franchise & Distribution Practice Group, and Ronald T. Coleman, co-authored a book entitled, Annual Franchise and Distribution Law Development 2005 . A review of the past year’s judicial development in franchise and distribution law Written by two seasoned professionals, this […]
It is high time to reconsider the rule that temporary injunctions are not appealable in Connecticut. Consider the following story that a lawyer friend recently shared with me. A managed care company terminated a physician and promptly sent letters to its members informing them that the company would no longer cover the physician’s services. The […]
Upon discovering corporate misconduct, in-house or outside counsel are often faced with a difficult recommendation to senior management as to whether or not to self report to the government. While voluntary self-disclosure is frequently the best long-term approach, it can be a hard sell to corporate management. The disclosure will likely lead to a lengthy […]