Business vs Business disputes, e.g., IP, fraud, contract breaches, antitrust, whistleblowers, M&A, trade secrets, poaching.

Class Certification Evidence: Standards of Admissibility and Probative Value Among the Circuits

February 15th, 2023|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Complex Business Litigation, Mass Torts|Tags: , , |

Class Certification Evidence What Are the Standards of Admissibility and Probative Value Among the Circuits? Numerous splits exist among the circuits on two key certification issues: What is required to prove the elements for class certification and whether plaintiff's certification evidence must be admissible. Further, courts apply different admissibility standards to fact evidence than to expert evidence. Certain courts have issued clear guidance on these important issues, while others have remained circumspect, sending mixed signals. This is particularly vexing for defendants, who may be sued in more than one district or circuit. What is sufficient for class certification in one jurisdiction may be inadequate in another. With standards unsettled, counsel must anticipate and preserve the right to revisit class certification by preserving all objections and the factual record. Listen as the panel of class action attorneys discusses the standards of admissibility of evidence at certification and best strategies for leveraging ambiguities. Questions Addressed How can defense counsel preserve objections to admissibility? How can counsel leverage the law of other circuits in jurisdictions with no controlling precedent? What does how a court assesses evidence imply about its view on admissibility standards? Webinar Outline Fact evidence Need not be admissible Must be admissible Ambiguous Expert evidence Full Daubert analysis Limited Daubert analysis Strategies for managing and leveraging the uncertainty A Strafford production specially selected [...]

Greatly Exaggerated: The Impact of Bankruptcy on Mass Torts with Jennifer Hoekstra

January 12th, 2023|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Mass Torts|Tags: , , , , |

When large companies face massive mass tort litigation, one way they can survive is to file for bankruptcy protection and reorganize.  3M recently put its Aearo Technologies subsidiary into bankruptcy in the face of more than 230,000 claims that's its defective earplugs caused hearing loss.  When it came to filing bankruptcy 3M said Aearo was solely responsible for the product. But for several years of litigation 3M argued that it, as the parent, was solely responsible, not its various subsidiaries. That was a strategy that was beneficial to the company in multidistrict litigation. Why did 3M suddenly change course? What impact does bankruptcy have on claimants? Could corporations use bankruptcy law to neuter mass tort litigation for all eternity?  And how did the strategy sit with the federal magistrate judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation? Joining me to discuss this incredibly complex litigation is Jennifer M. Hoekstra, a partner with Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz. Jennifer has been involved in all varieties of complex litigation since 2007, focusing on mass torts, drug and device litigation, and others.  She has a J.D. from Tulane, which she earned while also completing a certificate in Environmental Law. She has actively served as trial counsel or an integral member of the trial team in several of the 3M Earplug trials securing nearly $300 million in compensatory damages [...]

Under Pressure: Courts and Lawyers Trying to Deal With It with Diana Manning

January 6th, 2023|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, News|Tags: , , , |

The pressure on trial lawyers, judges, plaintiffs, defendants, and court systems is only increasing. The backlog of cases in New Jersey, for example, nearly quadrupled between February 2020 and 2021, the first year of the pandemic, according to NJ Spotlight News (NJSN). The state is also facing a historic shortage of jurists, NJSN reported, “leading to overworked judges, huge case backlogs and nearly 7,000 defendants in jail without bail, some 500 of them for more than two years despite a law that essentially requires a trial within two years for anyone detained." As reported by NJSN, one court official told the state Assembly Budget Committee about the impact of the pandemic on the court system: “Buildings were closed to most in-person trials for more than a year, although other proceedings continued virtually. The business closures and high unemployment led to a housing crisis that resulted in more than 46,000 pending cases that involve landlord-tenant issues . . . . But with all courts open and staff back to work in person, it is impossible to eliminate the backlog of cases with so many open judge seats.” The problem is attributed to the state Senate, where the process is mired, even though the governor is making appointments. According to the National Counsel for State Courts, backlogs at one third of [...]

Policy Derailed: Can U.S. Antitrust Policy Toward Standard Essential Patents Get Back on Track by Jonathan Rubin

January 4th, 2023|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , |

The Author Jonathan Rubin (jrubin@moginrubin.com) is Co-Founder and Partner of MoginRubin LLP, a boutique antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, and class action law firm. Since 2001, he has focused his legal practice exclusively on antitrust and competition law and policy. As a litigator he has led trial teams in major antitrust cases in courts throughout the country. Rubin is a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal of Emerging Issues in Litigation. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Policy Derailed: Can U.S. Antitrust Policy Toward Standard Essential Patents Get Back on Track? "The failure to appropriately adjust the patent system to accommodate the competitive circumstances created when patents are incorporated into standards undermines the purposes of the standard-setting enterprise and impairs the utility and proliferation of standardized technologies. Without a course correction among the judiciary, the United States risks finding itself as a less desirable jurisdiction for pro-growth and pro-competitive patenting and standard-setting activities." Abstract: A consensus at the intersection of patent and anti-trust law was achieved after a series of decisions finding that in some circumstances owners of standard essential patents (SEPs) have an antitrust duty to [...]

Lawyers for Good with Tara Trask and Jason Flom

December 22nd, 2022|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, ELP, News|Tags: , , |

If you're feeling bad about being a lawyer, or just maybe tingling with the holiday spirit of giving back, this episode is for you. Listen to three professionals (well, maybe two "professionals") who deeply admire for the legal profession, the important role attorneys play in society, and all the potential they have to make the world a better place. When there is strife, there is a supporting organization, and with them are lawyers. Wrongful convictions. Voting rights. Environmental protection. The rights of women, people of color, workers,  LGBTQ, immigrants, asylum seekers.  Lawyers are in a unique position to do something about all of this. And they do. And we hope more will. Join me as I interview nationally acclaimed trial consultant Tara Trask and music industry star-maker Jason Flom. Tara Trask is the President of Trask Consulting, a boutique litigation strategy, jury research and trial consulting firm. Tara  focuses complex commercial litigation, from intellectual property to antitrust, from products liability to insurance, and oil and gas. She has extensive experience assisting institutions and individuals in matters involving regulatory enforcement and white-collar defense. Tara has been involved in more 450 jury trials. Music industry executive Jason Flom is  CEO of Lava Records, Lava Music Publishing, and Lava Media, LLC.  He is former  CEO at Atlantic Records, Virgin Records and Capitol Music Group. [...]

Data-Driven Legal Guidance with Ed Walters

November 26th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, News|Tags: , , , |

Today we’re going to talk about the weather. But only for a minute. Mostly we’re going to talk about the use of big data in the practice of law. There is a reason IBM acquired the digital assets of The Weather Channel, and it's not because they are climate nerds. They bought it to put weather data to work to “operationalize [the] understanding of the impact of weather on business outcomes.” Think about the economic impact of snowstorms, hurricanes, and even less dramatic weather conditions, or the impact on the durability of manufacturing or building materials as temperatures rise or fall outside the norm. While we all crave meteorological precision, we also crave precision when making legal and business decisions. Clients ask questions like these all the time: What is our case worth? What size award will we get? Where should I file? Will the judge grant summary judgment? Should I even bring this suit?  Lawyers will draw on experience to offer their best advice, providing ranges followed by caveats and usually preceded by the most lawyerly of lawyer answers: “It depends.”  As my guest points out, lawyers also get business-related questions. Business-related answers may begin with "it depends," but must end with a number. When a CEO asks how much revenue your project will generate, "more" is not the [...]

Medical Monitoring for Modern Times with Ed Gentle

November 1st, 2022|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, News|Tags: , , |

Medical Monitoring for Modern Times: Attorney and court-appointed neutral Ed Gentle shares his vision for a new paradigm for mass torts.  Marissa, a resident of a small town in Kentucky, learned that for some time her drinking water may have been contaminated with so-called "forever chemicals" or PFAS. It's really a collection of chemicals used in products like fire-suppression foam, cookware, stain-resistant sprays, and food packaging. A local public radio reporter covering the story asked Marissa for her reaction. "I was never informed," she said. "And now I'm worried, like, I hope I don't have issues some day in my life."   Marissa's concern is like that of many people who find themselves in this situation and is at the center of this episode. When a case like Marissa's goes to court, plaintiffs will seek a ruling that the responsible parties pay for years of medical monitoring. That means they are suing often without signs of an existing injury, and that defendants must pay for something when an injury may not arise. Attorney, author, and court-appointed case neutral, Edgar C. Gentle III, says  that approach is antiquated. He outlines a better way in his 2014 essay titled The Medical Monitoring Tort Remedy: Its Nationwide Status, Rationale and Practical Application (A Possible Dynamic Tort Remedy for Long Term Tort Maladies). Now he shares [...]

Federal Judge, Two Attorneys Honored for Excellence in Ethics in Complex Litigation

September 28th, 2022|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, HB Tort Notes, News|Tags: , , |

For Immediate Release U.S. Appellate Judge, Two Attorneys Honored for Ethics in Complex Litigation First-ever awards for ethics in complex litigation excellence will be presented Oct. 22, 2022. Nominations were evaluated by a committee comprising a federal judge, scholars, and litigators. Committee selected a current judge on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a plaintiff’s attorney, and a defense attorney. SAN FRANCISCO – Sept. 28, 2022 – Nominated for their contributions to ethics in class actions and complex litigation, the first-ever recipients of the Awards for Excellence in Ethics in Complex Litigation are: jurist, scholar, and teacher, the Honorable William Fletcher; preeminent plaintiff’s attorney Elizabeth J. Cabraser; and distinguished employment defense attorney Fred W. Alvarez. The awards will be presented at the inaugural Complex Litigation Ethics Conference on Oct. 22, 2022, held at the UC Hastings College of the Law in association with the college’s Center for Litigation and Courts. Program co-chairs Joshua P. Davis and Scott Dodson – both professors at UC Hastings – have assembled an exemplary faculty of leading jurists, litigators, and other subject matter experts. “In developing this program we wanted not only to educate litigators and stimulate discussion on the important and evolving ethical aspects of this practice, but also to honor those who have demonstrated leadership, scholarship, and dedication in promoting ethical [...]

Insurance Coverage for Digital Assets: Mitigating Losses in Cryptocurrency and Non‐Fungible Token Markets by Scott DeVries, Jessica Cohen-Nowak and Adriana Perez of Hunton Andrews Kurth

August 31st, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Companies and individuals are riding the ups and downs of cryptocurrency and NFTs—with losses and swings in the billions of dollars—but digital assets are not going away. Abstract: The risk of loss in certain categories may be mitigated by insurance, whether provided by tailored policies and/or under policies designed specifically for digital asset owners. Those with exposure to the digital asset sector should be attuned to the emerging marketplace for such insurance products. While it is early days for NFT-specific coverage, the rise of cryptocurrency has created a substantial marketplace for crypto coverage. Insurers are becoming increasingly able to model and assess risk, so more products are coming to market. That said, digital asset holders need to be able to select coverage that best suits their needs. In this article, the authors discuss the history and status of coverage for digital assets to assist readers in exploring how they might use insurance to mitigate risk in this emerging and rocky sector of global finance. "Over the course of a decade, the marketplace for cryptocurrency has increased from zero to an estimated $250 billion. However, only $6 billion in insurance coverage is currently available. It would be a gross understatement to say that there is a truly remarkable imbalance between market value and insurance capacity." Introduction Crypto [...]

The Environmental, Social, and Governance Police Have Arrived: Is Your Insurance Ready? by Robert D. Chesler and Dennis J. Artese

August 29th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Robert D. Chesler (rchesler@andersonkill.com) is a shareholder in Anderson Kill’s New Jersey office and is a member of the firm’s Cyber Insurance Recovery Group. He represents policyholders in a broad variety of coverage claims against their insurers and advises companies with respect to their insurance programs. Dennis J. Artese is a shareholder in Anderson Kill’s New York office and chairs the firm’s Climate Change and Disaster Recovery Group. Both are members of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. The ESG Police Have Arrived: Is Your Insurance Ready? "ESG has become a major initiative for corporate America. In particular, the environmental prong of ESG calls for companies to institute sustainability goals and to invest in environmentally friendly companies. This emphasis has both economic and popular support. Environmental sustainability will make companies better able to compete and make their businesses less risky." Abstract: The environmental, social, and governance movement is a positive one, but like many well-intentioned efforts there is room for abuse and risk. As corporations endeavor to earn accolades and good will for “doing the right thing,” they must also be [...]

Announcing the Complex Litigation Ethics Conference

August 25th, 2022|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, HB Tort Notes, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , |

A leading academic and practitioner, Joshua P. Davis (davisj@usfca.edu) is a nationally recognized expert on legal ethics and class actions, as well as on artificial intelligence in the law, antitrust, civil procedure, free speech, and jurisprudence. He has published more than 30 scholarly articles and book chapters on these subjects and is currently writing a book on AI titled Unnatural Law, which will be published by Cambridge University Press. He is Research Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law, and a Shareholder of the Berger Montague PC law firm and Manager of its new San Francisco Bay Area Office. Before taking these posts, for more than 20 years Davis was a tenured Professor of Law at University of San Francisco Law School, where he also served as the Director of the Center for Law and Ethics. Davis is also a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, published by Fastcase Full Court Press. Tom Hagy, Editor in Chief. An expert in civil procedure and federal courts, Professor Scott Dodson is the James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation and Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Hastings Law. He has published seven book titles, including The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Cambridge 2015) and New Pleading in [...]

Litigating a Claim to Recover Liquidated Damages by Laura Fraher

August 24th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Employment, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , |

The Author Laura C. Fraher (fraher@slslaw.com) is a senior attorney in the trial and construction group at Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram in Washington, D.C. She has extensive experience in civil litigation at both the trial court and appellate level. Competitive by nature, Laura played rugby for nearly 20 years. She puts this competitive spirit to work through her passion for the law and her clients. Education: St. John’s University School of Law, J.D., 2001, magna cum laude; SUNY College at Geneseo, B.A., Political Science, 1998. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Litigating a Claim to Recover Liquidated Damages: Enforceability Depends on Evidence of Good Faith Expectations "The tests and standards that courts apply to evaluate whether a particular liquidated damage provision is enforceable vary from state to state and it is imperative that litigants research and fully appreciate the particular standards that will be applied by the court in which they are litigating." Abstract: The liquidated damages provision in a contract is a useful mechanism for mitigating risk in the event one of the parties to an agreement breaches the contract, costing the aggrieved party sometimes significant difficulty and [...]

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