The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that claims against a city by condominium buyers arose when they purchased their units, well before the effective dates of insurance policies that had been issued to the city. Therefore, there was no coverage for the buyers’ claims.  

The Case 

The City of San

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that absolute pollution exclusions in commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policies issued to a lead producer unambiguously barred coverage of claims alleging environmental property damage stemming from the insured’s operation of a mill.  

The Case 

Nadist, LLC, sued Doe Run Resources Corporation, the largest

A federal district court in Louisiana has ruled that a pollution exclusion barred coverage for allegations that damage to a house was caused by the accumulation of guano in and below the attic, which had become a bat roosting colony.  

The Case 

Michael Marcelle alleged that his home’s attic had been invaded and damaged by

A federal district court in Pennsylvania has granted judgment in favor of a homeowner’s insurer, finding that allegations that its insured trespassed on an association’s property, set fire to leaves, and damaged the property were excluded from coverage by the policy’s criminal acts exclusion.  

The Case 

A 22 year old student living with his parents

The United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit issued a significant decision with respect to individual liability of corporate officers and employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  In Irizarry v. Castimedes, (Torres v. Gristede’s Operating Corp.) the Court found that an individual owner of a corporation may be held to be an employer

It should be no surprise that the continuing growth of social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn has led to questions about its use by members of the legal community, including members of the judiciary. In fact, New York’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics[1] has just issued another opinion[2] exploring the ethical constraints

New York’s Highest Court Holds That Liability Insurer that Breached Duty to Defend Must Indemnify Insured for Judgment, Even if Policy Exclusions Would Have Negated Duty to Indemnify

The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that, when a liability insurer has breached its duty to defend, it “must indemnify its insured for the resulting

In New York State, a Will of a deceased person is given legal effect only after it is admitted to probate by the Court.  In the event someone objected to the admission of the Will to probate, i.e. a Will contest, the Court must consider four issues: (1) Did the Testator have mental capacity to

Sequestration and the IRS

Earlier this year, the previously little-known word of “sequestration” was catapulted to the forefront of the news because effective March 1, 2013 the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 mandated an approximate $1 trillion spending cut for federal agencies over a 10-year period.  So, what exactly is sequestration and how does

The “Obamacare” tax on net investment income came into effect on January 1, 2013 although the guidance on the regulations under Section 1411 is not effective until after December 31, 2013.

First and foremost – what is this new tax? Basically, taxpayers must add an additional 3.8% tax on the lesser of their net investment

Please click the link below to view the Trusts, Estates & Taxation – Spring 2013 Newsletter. Adobe Reader is required to view the bulletin. If Adobe Reader is not installed on your PC, click here to download and install.

Trusts, Estates & Taxation – Spring 2013 Newsletter

In 2009, Laura Symczyk, who had been employed by Genesis Healthcare Corporation as a registered nurse at its Pennypack Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, filed a complaint on behalf of herself and “all other persons similarly situated” – known as a “collective action” – that alleged that Genesis had violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that the absolute pollution exclusion encompassed carbon monoxide released in a home by a boiler that allegedly had been negligently installed. 

The Case 

Homeowners sued a contractor, alleging that negligence in the installation of a boiler led to the discharge of carbon monoxide in their home, which injured them.

An appellate court in Massachusetts has ruled that the pro rata time-on-the-risk allocation method adopted by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 2009 in Boston Gas Co. v. Century Indem. Co. should be applied to determine the extent of indemnity coverage owed by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company for claims brought against its insured, New England

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled, for an insurer represented by Mike Kotula of Rivkin Radler, that “qualified” pollution exclusions and “absolute” pollution exclusions in commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policies barred coverage of claims arising out of the cleanup of environmental contamination at a former fertilizer manufacturing facility. 

The