THEMIS COURTHOUSE
Supreme Court Reins in Government Fraud Theories
The Supreme Court issued two opinions limiting the reach of federal wire fraud statutes. The decisions in Ciminelli v. United States, 598 U. S. (2023) and Percoco v. United States, 598 U. S. (2023) follow a trend of the Supreme Court overturning convictions involving conduct that could be considered unethical but does not fall within the defined categories of fraud or corruption.
The wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, criminalizes the use of interstate wires for “any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises.” The honest services fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, defines “scheme or artifice to defraud” to include a scheme to deprive another of the intangible right-of-honest services. Read the full article.
August 2023 • Source: John. H. Shaffery, Esq., Poole Shaffery
Rule 11 - An Underutilized Tool - One Defense Attorney's Thoughts
What to do? What to do? We’ve all heard that the defense bar tends to lag in its response to the latest-and-greatest strategies employed by plaintiffs’ counsel to bludgeon defendants and their insurers into settling claims that are winnable and enhancing jury verdicts beyond something resembling justice. Think Reptile. Think unanchored verdicts (i.e. waiving medical specials results in higher verdicts).
What if, in unison and across the country, we were to seek Rule 11 (or applicable state statute) sanctions more often, and even preemptively at the outset of litigation? What if, in unison and across the country, we conduct discovery in a sort of “Defense-Reptile” fashion – calculated to draw out potentially sanctionable conduct of the opposition. Of course, we would do so consistent with our ethical obligations and only when the facts of a case so warrant. Read the full article.
August 2023 • Source: Elizabeth R. Sharrock, Partner, Rhodes Hieronymus Jones Tucker & Gable, PLLC, with assistance of Scott Love, Intern
Maryland Increased the Jurisdictional Limits to Demand a Jury Trial From $15,000 to $25,000
On Tuesday, November 8 of 2022 Maryland voters voted to approve a constitutional amendment to increase the minimum amount in controversy that guarantees a jury trial from $15,000 to $25,000. This change went into effect as of December 4, 2022.
The $30,000 amount in controversy limit for District Court was not amended as part of the ballot measure meaning that cases with amount in controversy between $25,000 and $30,000 have the option of remaining in District Court for a bench trial or being pled up to Circuit Court for a jury trial. The Maryland Association for Justice, whose members are primarily plaintiff’s attorneys supported the measure along with the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). Read the full article.
August 2023 • Source: DeCaro, Doran, Siciliano, Gallagher & DeBlasis, LLP
Reshaping the Human Experience and Exploiting the Human Condition: The Disturbing Reality and Risk of Unregulated Technologic Developments
The most disturbing reality with emerging disruptive technologies is the absence of ethical and regulatory oversight. A Google whistleblower is claiming that Google built a machine that has human consciousness. Google immediately fired him and issued a press release that Artificial Intelligence (“A.I.”) is nowhere close to human consciousness. But how would the average human know? We don’t! Another disturbing technologic development is Deep Fake technology. Deep Fake software developers are hard pressed to articulate why this technology is helpful to humanity, yet forge ahead at light speed to get their products into the market. While the value of vehicle telematics to cell phone data tracking to reduce risk is well documented, there is still very little oversight and thought about the downsides and misuse of these technologies. It is critical that insurers and attorneys understand the risks presented by these emerging and disruptive technologies so that claims professionals and defense lawyers can begin to build strategies and initiatives to handle unique claims from the implementation of these technologies. Read the full article.
August 2023 • Source: Elizabeth S. Fitch, Melissa Lin, and Kyle James, Righi Fitch Law Group
Large, Well-known Massachusetts Franchisees Face Recent Labor Violations
Over the past three months, two national brands have paid large settlements to workers for labor violations at various Massachusetts locations. First, two Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees, located in central and southeastern Massachusetts, were fined a collective $370,000 for child labor violations. After a complaint to the Attorney General’s Office alleging that the locations were in violation of M.G.L c. 149, investigators uncovered over one thousand instances of violations of child labor statutes.
Between the two locations, the violations included employing minors after 8:00 P.M. without adult supervision, employment of 16- or 17-year-olds for more than nine hours a day, employment of minors earlier than 6:00 A.M., and failing to obtain valid work permits. Since January of 2022, the AG’s Office has issued 32 citations against various Dunkin’ franchisees, the majority being related to child labor violations. In sum, the violations have totaled over $560,000. Read the full article.
August 2023 • Source: Michael "Maz" Mazurczak, Melick & Porter, LLP
US Supreme Court Ruling to Make Philadelphia the Center of Personal Injury Litigation
On June 27, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in Malloy v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (600 U.S. ___ (2023))[1], that upheld a Pennsylvania Statute granting Pennsylvania State Courts general jurisdiction over all foreign corporations that register to do business in Pennsylvania. This ruling has the potential to drastically increase the number of cases that are filed in Pennsylvania, with a particular emphasis on personal injury cases.
The Mallory case involved a claim for damages due to illnesses that were allegedly caused by exposure to carcinogens. Plainitff was a longtime Norfolk Southern freight mechanic and worked for the company in Ohio and Virginia. While Plainitff lived in Pennsylvania for a period of time, he does not allege that he sustained any exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals while in Pennsylvania. Read the full article.
[1] Malloy v. Norfolk Southern was not directly handled by Zarwin Baum attorneys.
August 2023 • Source: Ross J. Di Bono., Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan Schaer Toddy, PC
Man’s Best Liability: A Brief Overview of Homeowner’s Insurance and Dog Bites*
The issue of insurance coverage in the event of a dog bite is becoming a more and more common problem as time goes by. The American Veterinary Medical Association has found that there are nearly 85 million dogs living in US households and according to the Insurance Information Institute dog bites make up approximately one-third of homeowners insurance claims and these claims have increased by ninety percent over the last fifteen years with a 2.2 percent jump from 2020 to 2021 alone. This makes sense considering the 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States. And these injuries can carry hefty financial consequences, as of 2021 the average award for dog bite cases (taking into consideration both settlements and trial verdicts) was $49,025. Read the full article.
August 2023 • Source: Michael "Maz" Mazurczak, Melick & Porter, LLP
Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2023 Attempts to Strengthen Penalties for Staged Commercial Motor Vehicle Accidents and Mandate Disclosure of Third-Party Litigation Funding
The Highway Accident Fairness Act (H.R. 2936)(118th Congress) was introduced by Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and cosponsored by Garret Graves (R-LA) and Mike Bost (R-IL) on April 27, 2023. The bipartisan legislation is intended to make it a federal crime to intentionally cause an accident with a commercial vehicle and to make a false claim for damages. The goals of the Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2023 is to “reduce unnecessary lawsuits, lower car insurance rates, and increase safety on our roads.”[1]
The three main goals of the Act include establishing criminal penalties for staged highway accidents involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), provide federal courts jurisdiction in cases involving accidents with truck crashes involved in interstate commerce and exceeds $5 million; and to require the disclosure of third-party litigation financiers.[2] Read the full article.
[1] “ Graves Introduces Legislation to Make Staged Collisions a Federal Crime” June 28, 2023 Press Release of Congressman Garret Graves.
[2] https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/4-new-trucking-bills-watch-congress.
August 2023 • Source: Ney J. Gehman and Trent P. Roddy, Perrier & Lacoste
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