In the United States, there are only 6 jurisdictions that continue to bar recovery for a plaintiff if their own negligence contributed in any way to the cause of their injuries- Virginia, Maryland, South Dakota, Alabama, the District of Columbia and North Carolina. (South Dakota does allow recovery where the plaintiff’s negligence is slight in...
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently clarified its interpretation of the procedure for removing a case to federal court in Barbour v. International Union, No. 08-1740, 2011 WL 242131 (4th Cir. Jan. 27, 2011). Courts strictly construe the removal statutes, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441 and 1446, to limit the jurisdiction of federal courts. Doubts...
Property insurers are all too familiar with losses caused by defective products. Some product defects are isolated instances, affecting only one unit, but in today’s era of mass production and of use of component parts supplied by third-party vendors, defects that affect every unit of a particular product are commonplace. When a systemic defect is...
On April 21, 2011, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) announced a recall of about 1.2 million Marineland “Stealth” and “Stealth Pro” aquarium heaters. The subject aquarium heaters are Marineland “Stealth” brand heaters of various model numbers and wattages, sold through their parent company, United Pet Group. The heaters were sold at pet stores...
How far does California’s grant of immunity for the tortious acts of firefighters extend, and specifically, when can a fire department be liable for the negligent operation of its fire engine? The California Court of Appeal in Varshock v. Cal. Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection (2011) D057709 attempted to answer these questions in a...
Louisiana. Home of the Big Easy, Mardi Gras and drive-thru daiquiri bars. Louisiana is also home to a unique legal system called the civil code system, which the Pelican State inherited from French and Spanish settlers. Basically, a civil code legal system means that most of Louisiana law originates from codes and statutes, rather than...
A newly released study addresses the CSST failure scenario and suggests significant testing in an effort to “mitigate” it. The report, which is 267 pages is entitled, Validation of Installation Methods for CSST Gas Piping to Mitigate Lightning Related Damage. The report was issued by the Fire Protection Research Foundation, a group that consists of...
Lightning strikes and a water heater fails resulting in a fire. Is the subrogation investigation over? Not if the water heater failure involves a Gas Appliance Connector (GAC). GAC’s have properties similar to Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST). Recently, in a case tried by Cozen O’Connor, a jury imposed fault on a CSST manufacturer, finding...
A fire occurs in a garbage can causing damage to a home. Joe and John Smith, construction workers installing hardwood flooring in the home on and prior to the date of the fire, admit that they smoke each day near the job site. They further admit that they typically extinguish and then discard their cigarettes...
In February 2011, the Oregon Court of Appeals reaffirmed that the doctrine of "inverse condemnation" is alive and well in Oregon. Inverse condemnation claims do not require a showing of negligence, and instead arise by showing that a government actor (e.g. a city) “substantially interfered” with an owner’s right to use his or her property,...
