News & Of Interest

New York Court Permits Disclosure Of Social Media Activity In Personal Injury Lawsuit

Millions of Americans document their lives and activities on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. When a person becomes injured in an accident and files a personal injury lawsuit, should defendants be permitted access to plaintiff’s social media? In Gentile v. Ogden, the New York Appellate Division, Second Department, recently addressed this question in a case involving a...Read More

Surveillance Footage Key To Establishing Open And Obvious Defense (NY)

New York courts generally hold that a landowner has no duty to warn of open and obvious dangers. In Lebron v. City of New York, the Appellate Division, Second Department recently addressed whether an inspection pit that plaintiff fell into on the defendants’ property was an open and obvious, and not inherently, dangerous. The defendants introduced surveillance of the accident as evidence of...Read More

Ninth Circuit Upholds An Alternative Standard For Accrual Of Copyright Infringement Claims

Section 507(b) of the U.S. Copyright Act provides that a copyright infringement claim isn’t timely filed unless it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued. In the recent decision Starz Entertainment LLC v. MGM Domestic Television Distribution LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed when a claim generally “accrues,” and defined an alternative “accrual”...Read More

Minority Tolling Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a) Does Not Apply To New Jersey Wrongful Death Claims

In Monk v. Kennedy University Hospital, Inc., the New Jersey Appellate Division recently addressed whether the minority tolling provision in N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a), which allows minors to file medical malpractice claims until the age of 13, applies to wrongful death lawsuits filed on behalf of minor decedents or their estates. In that case, the parents of a deceased minor who died six months...Read More

Covid-19 No Longer an Excuse, New Jersey Court Rules

In Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company v. Arch-Concept Construction, Inc., et al., plaintiff Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company (“Hartford”) provided workers compensation insurance to Arch-Concept Construction, Inc. (“Arch-Concept”). Hartford sued Arch-Concept over unpaid premiums. The parties settled under the terms that Arch-Concept was required to pay $275,000 over twelve quarterly...Read More

New Jersey Supreme Court Looks Outside Pleadings in NJ to Deny Duty to Defend

In Norman Int’l, Inc. v. Admiral Ins. Co., No. 086155, 2022 WL 3220868 (N.J. Aug. 10, 2022), the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on the application of a county-specific exclusionary clause in an Admiral Insurance Company (“Admiral”) policy issued to Richfield Window Coverings, LLC (“Richfield”)—Richfield sells window coverings, blinds, etc., and also provides retailers with cutting machines to...Read More

No More Happy Meals – Court Finds Affirmative Duty For Franchise Restaurant To Protect Invitees From Third-Party Harm

In a recent presidential opinion by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Massaro v. McDonald’s Corp., 2022 Pa. Super. Lexis 320, 2022 WL 3036753 (Aug. 2, 2022), the court provided clarity on the affirmative duty of a property owner to protect a business invitee from intentional harmful acts of a third party. In Massaro, plaintiff, Thomas Massaro (“Plaintiff”) was assaulted by an allegedly...Read More

Federal Court Cracks Down On Discovery Orders (PA)

In a recent ruling from the Eastern District of PA, In re Zostavax, the Court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint for failure to comply with discovery deadlines. The complaint was part of a multidistrict litigation (“MDL”), related to a products liability claim to vaccine from defendant Merck. MDL litigation requires basic initial information necessary to move...Read More