Defense Counsel Journal articles from January 2002

Defense Counsel Journal archives from January 2002

Substantive law committees spell IADC success.(International Association of Defense Counsel)(President's Page)
January 1, 2002... The International Association of Defense Counsel owes its success to the hard work of many people, but none more so than to the outstanding work and efforts of its substantive law committee chairs and vice chairs. Substantive committees...

Announcing the 2002 International Association of Defense Counsel Legal Writing Contest.
January 1, 2002... The IADC's annual legal Writing Contest is open to law students who at the time of the submission of their articles are enrolled in law schools approved by the American Bar Association or Canadian law schools listed in the Association of...

International Association of Defense Counsel Tenets of Professionalism.
January 1, 2002... 1. We will conduct ourselves before the court in a manner which demonstrates respect for the law and preserves the decorum and integrity of the judicial process. 2. We recognize that professional courtesy is consistent with zealous...

U.S. gears up September 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
January 1, 2002... In the aftermath of the hijacked airplane attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress enacted and the U.S. President signed into law the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (H.R. 2926; P.L. 107-42), Title IV of which...

Criminalization of negligent acts by employees of U.S. and foreign corporations: more and more, prosecutors in the United States and elsewhere are mounting criminal proceedings in traditional tort situations. There's cause to be wary.
January 1, 2002... WHILE the investigation of aircraft, maritime, train and pipeline incidents are normally regarded as the province of governmental administrative agencies, such as the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), increasingly they are...

Footing the bill: paying the legal costs of criminal proceedings: because of the possibility that insurance will not cover defense costs, corporate counsel must take steps to protect corporate interests.
January 1, 2002... FOR A corporation accustomed to having its in-house counsel handle legal affairs and its insurance carrier to provide outside counsel for matters routinely covered under its comprehensive general liability policy, the receipt of a subpoena or...

The MTBE controversy: defending mass tort claims: the forces of the plaintiffs' bar, commercial competitors, and "junk science" must be met "head on" with coordinated efforts.(methyl tertiary butyl ether)
January 1, 2002... A NEW tyranny is growing in the United States. It threatens not only domestic businesses, but also international enterprises on a global scale. Fueled by billions of dollars in settlements in the tobacco and other mass tort controversies,...

Privilege claims for the "Bliley" documents: mixed rulings imperil basic principles: when a Congressional committee compels production of documents and places them on the Internet, is the claimed privilege lost forever?
January 1, 2002... RECENT rulings by courts in the cigarette product liability litigation address a novel issue concerning the limits of attorney-client privilege and work product protection--the extent to which claims of privilege survive the compelled...

The duty of utmost good faith in insurance law: where is it in the 21st century? The historical background of good and bad faith continues to develop in English law, especially in two recent maritime cases.
January 1, 2002... THE duty of good faith in insurance law, first enunciated by Lord Mansfield in 1766 in Carter v. Boehm, predates the coming into existence of the United States. Yet, more than 200 years of English legal history have not solved all the problems...

Exploring the values at stake when environmental regulation meets admiralty: the framework that has enabled courts and legislatures to work together to prevent and control pollution should be nurtured and retained.
January 1, 2002... WHEN the Alaska Supreme Court decided Kodiak Island Borough v. Exxon Corp. (1) in 1999, it weighed state and federal statutory law against the common law of admiralty to decide that Alaska municipalities could sustain a claim against Exxon for...

Emerging DTC advertising of prescription drugs and the learned intermediary doctrine: even in the absence of a true physician-patient relationship, drug manufacturers can protect themselves by warning consumers directly.(direct-to-consumer)
January 1, 2002... OWING to the influx of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription medications, the learned intermediary doctrine should no longer absolve pharmaceutical manufacturers from liability for failure to warn claims because that advertising...

Annual survey of fidelity and surety law, 2001 -- Part I: this roundup of recent cases covers public and private constructions bonds, fidelity and financial institution bonds, and sureties' remedies.
January 1, 2002... I. PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION BONDS A. Bonds under Federal Laws 1. Procedural Federal government's suit against Miller Act surety for additional costs of completion barred by six year statute of limitations. United States v....

Six million times $3,500 doesn't add up to $75,000.
January 1, 2002... Try as they might, Ford and Citibank failed to convince the Ninth Circuit that a nationwide multidistrict action met the U.S. federal court jurisdiction floor of $75,000 in controversy. In re Ford Motor Co./Citibank (South Dakota) N.A....

Another nuisance theory fails to fly.
January 1, 2002... Joining other courts in the same conclusion, the Third Circuit, applying New Jersey law, held that firearms makers are not liable under a public nuisance doctrine for the manufacture and sale of handguns. In Camden County Board of Chosen...

Allegations fall short of advertising injury. (Lexmark International, Inc. v. Transportation Insurance Co.) (Illinois)
January 1, 2002... In Lexmark International Inc. v. Transportation Insurance Co., 2001 WL 1636680, 2001 Ill.App. Lexis 1463, an office printer company failed to prove that two insurance companies had a duty to defend under the advertising injury provisions of...

First Amendment protects Yahoo from French court.
January 1, 2002... In a case presenting novel and important issues arising from the global reach of the Internet, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed with Yahoo! Inc., a U.S. Internet service and content provider, that...

No case within a case in transaction practice.
January 1, 2002... In Viner v. Sweet, 112 Cal.Rptr.2d 426 (2001), the California Court of Appeal, Second District, held that the legal malpractice defense known as "case within a case" is not appropriate in a action charging negligence in a transactional, as...

IOLTA programs get mixed (good and bad) blessings.
January 1, 2002... Two U.S. Courts of Appeal have parted company on the legitimacy of IOLTA programs. The Fifth Circuit in Washington Legal Foundation v. Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, 270 F.3d 180 (5th Cir. 2001), held that Texas's program constituted...

Antics with semantics favors and/orian reinsurers.
January 1, 2002... Claims under general liability insurance occurring over decades cannot be wrapped up as a single "disaster and/or casualty" for reinsurance purposes, the New York Court of Appeals held in Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. v. Certain...