In a case that has far-reaching ramifications because of the exponential expansion of cyberspace in general, and because of the growth of commerce over the Internet in particular, the New York Court of Appeals has rejected challenges by two major online retailers to New York’s “Internet tax,”[1] which requires collection of a sales tax on

Suppose that a company licenses a trademark ? or some other form of intellectual property ? from a company that owns a trademark (the “licensor”), the licensor files for bankruptcy protection, and the bankruptcy trustee exercises its rights under the Bankruptcy Code to “reject” (i.e., breach) the trademark license. What are the licensee’s rights and

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION – MASS TORTS & DEVELOPMENTS

Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Ford
No. 16, Sept. Term 2012 (Md. Feb. 26, 2013)

The Court of Appeals of Maryland has adopted standards for medical monitoring and fear-of-cancer claims in a pair of companion decisions regarding alleged exposure to methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene arising

 No Coverage Where No Written Agreement To Name City As Additional Insured

Harleysville issued general liability insurance policies to Bruno Grgas, Inc. and to Coastal Sheet Metal Corp., providing additional insured coverage where the insured and the organization seeking additional insured coverage agreed in writing that the insured add the organization as an additional insured. 

A federal district court in New York has ruled that the “wrongful acts” exclusion in a professional liability insurance policy issued to an accounting firm excluded coverage for claims against the accounting firm allegedly arising from fraud and misrepresentation by the firm’s clients.

The Case

Customers of Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. (“CCCC”) and Cambridge/Brighton Budget

A federal district court in Alabama has ruled that a law firm did not have an insurable interest in a commercial building that was destroyed by fire and it therefore granted summary judgment in favor of the insurer that had issued commercial liability and property insurance policies for the building.  

The Case

Guster Law Firm,

An insurance company that first sought to cancel an insurance policy based on an alleged misrepresentation in an application for the policy waived its right to subsequently seek to have the policy declared void ab initio, a federal district court in Connecticut has ruled. Moreover, the court also decided, the insurer was equitably estopped from

A life insurance carrier may rescind a life insurance policy that it issued after it received an application from the insured, performed a medical exam on the insured, and obtained a form from the insured that misrepresented that there had been no changes to his health since the medical exam, a federal district court in

A federal district court has decided that an insurance company’s “conclusory” allegations that applications contained false statements amounting to fraud were insufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. 

The Case

An insurance company alleged that there were false statements made in insurance applications and filed suit against Risk Placement Services, Gloria Lam, and Joan Vascones

The plaintiffs in this case brought a class action in federal court against Comcast Corporation and Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC, alleging among other things that the defendants had violated the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) which requires every employer “at least semi-monthly, to pay every employee all wages earned during the semi-monthly pay

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Optics Maker Burnt In Magnifying Glass IP Row Against Rival

Reprinted with permission from Law360. 

On January 22, 2013, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the Executive Budget for 2013-2014.[1]  The plan proposed, without the addition of federal aid, a $136.4 billion state budget, which is a 1.9% increase over the prior year. The major proposals, discussed below, focused on reduced spending and increased efficiency. 

Cost Cutting

The plan extended the 2%

Significant changes to New York’s Certificate of Need (“CON”) process are underway.  The Public Health and Health Planning Council (“PHHPC”) was charged last year by Governor Cuomo and Health Commissioner Shah with redesigning the CON system in light of the recommendations and requirements of both the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid Redesign Team.  PHHPC’s

An obscure provision in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“ATRA”) extends the time period to recover non-fraudulent Medicare overpayments from three to five years.  However, its impact on healthcare providers remains uncertain. 

Previously, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) was limited to recovering non-fraudulent overpayments by a three year limitation period

Since its enactment in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) has prohibited covered entities from using or disclosing a patient’s individually identifiable health information except either as HIPAA permits or requires or as the patient authorizes in writing.  Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a final