News from December 2020
Appeals court, over dissent, allows IRS `fishing expedition’ for law firm’s tax clients
A Texas law firm lost its fight to block an Internal Revenue Service summons seeking the names of clients who sought tax advice after one of them was caught hiding money offshore.
Business defense attorneys warn that dearth of Covid exposure lawsuits no barometer for what’s coming
Some prominent business defense lawyers, reacting to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report about the relatively paltry number of Covid-19 exposure lawsuits to date, say we are merely at the starting gate for virus-related injury claims.
Lawsuit: Costly teeth-whitening lights not an upgrade over cheaper options
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Expensive teeth whitening products are actually cheap lights that don’t offer the protection they promise, a class action lawsuit alleges.
Louisiana court decides if businesses can suffer mental anguish
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana construction company allegedly responsible for severing phone lines of three businesses while on contract with the city of New Orleans lost its appeal in a ruling that distinguished “mental anguish damage” from “inconvenience damage.”
Lawsuit calls bull on Under Armour's infrared products
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers are taking aim at Under Armour’s RUSH fabric, which purportedly absorbs heat emitted from an athlete’s body and “converts it into infrared energy that is re-emitted back into the body.”
Defendants defeat N.Y. lawsuit over woman trapped in elevator doors
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A New York appellate court granted the motions of a property owner, management company and consultant to dismiss a complaint, and all cross claims against them, stemming from an alleged elevator injury at a Fifth Avenue property in 2012.
Feds sue Delaware over pollution at Fort DuPont State Park
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – The United States is suing Delaware under the federal Superfund law over hazardous substances at a landfill.
Group of AGs, including Morrisey, file brief supporting NRA lawsuit against New York AG
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office recently joined a 16-state coalition supporting the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit against New York’s attorney general.
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Company sues to get into Maine's medical marijuana market
PORTLAND, Maine (Legal Newsline) – A company that wants to invest in Maine’s medical marijuana market is complaining about a residency requirement that gives in-staters an advantage.
Ohio malpractice suit rescued by savings statute, appeals court rules in reversal
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - An Ohio lawsuit alleging malpractice over back surgeries performed in 2011 can proceed after an appeals court reversed a lower court’s ruling that the action was filed outside the state’s four-year statute of repose for medical malpractice actions.
California sues to recover cleanup costs at Vernon smelter
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is suing NL Industries and other companies for recovery of cleanup costs at a metals smelter in Los Angeles County.
Ford could be held liable for accident victim's suicide
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Ford might be found liable for the wrongful death of a man who committed suicide after being injured by an automotive airbag, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in a decision advising a federal appeals court on a disputed question of state law.
BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS: Mike Krause Joins Bradley as Senior Advisor for Government Affairs and Economic Development
Bradley is pleased to announce that Mike Krause is joining the firm’s Nashville office as a senior advisor in Bradley’s Government Affairs and Economic Development practice groups.
REED SMITH LLP: J.P. Duffy ranked as a Future Leader for international arbitration work by Who’s Who Legal
Reed Smith’s James P. Duffy IV, an international arbitration partner based in New York, has been included in Who’s Who Legal’s list of the most prominent future leaders of the international arbitration market: Arbitration 2021 – Future Leaders – Top 10 Most Highly Regarded Partners for The Americas.
FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP: Crain’s New York Business Names Sarah Biser and Laurie Stanziale to Notable Women in Law List
Fox Rothschild LLP congratulates Sarah B. Biser and Laurie A. Stanziale, who were honored among the 2021 Notable Women in Law by Crain’s New York Business.
MCGUIREWOODS LLP: McGuireWoods’ Lauren Scott to Join Capital One
Lauren Scott, an associate in McGuireWoods’ Products, Environmental & Mass Tort Litigation Department in Richmond will join Capital One on Jan. 19, 2021, as a senior manager flex counsel.
MCGUIREWOODS LLP: Brackett, Hall and Terwilliger Selected for Who’s Who Legal: Investigations 2021
McGuireWoods partners Alex Brackett, Matthew Hall and George Terwilliger are recognized again among the world’s top government investigations lawyers in Who’s Who Legal: Investigations 2021.
Being protective isn't always being productive
If you’re wearing a mask, why would you care what everyone else does? You’re protected, right? Mask-less people aren’t going to infect you as long as you have your mask on, and you with your mask on are not going to infect them, so everything’s fine.
Walmart says feds' opioid lawsuit an attempt to shift blame from DEA failures
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Justice Department filed a long-anticipated lawsuit against Walmart, accusing the retailer of filling “hundreds of thousands” of suspicious opioid prescriptions that it should have blocked or reported to federal authorities.
Delaware court blocks Clubman talc maker from dragging former owner into asbestos suits
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - A Delaware court blocked American International Industries, a closely held cosmetics maker that is being sued over its Clubman talc brand, from dragging Clubman’s defunct former owner into asbestos lawsuits elsewhere around the nation.