On August 5, 2014, a Class Action settlement has been reached with Watts Water Technologies, Inc. and Watts Regulator Co. (“Watts”) regarding toilet Connectors with coupling nuts made with acetal plastic designed, manufactured, and/or distributed by Watts between 1999 and July 2009. The settlement covers the purchase and possession of a Watts toilet connector, as...
The Supreme Court of Texas recently revisited the concept of spoliation of evidence in Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge. The case involved a slip and fall at a Brookshire Brothers grocery store. In discovery, the grocery store produced a video approximately eight minutes in length starting just before the plaintiff entered the store and concluding...
An adjuster is notified of a new fire loss and goes diligently to work. He visits the site and interviews the insured. The adjuster obtains information on the damages caused by the fire as well as theories about how the fire started and potentially responsible third parties. He retains an origin and cause expert and...
With the explosion of the Internet over the past 20 years, some practitioners would say it was only a matter of time before courts started to take judicial notice of Internet evidence. With the proliferation of websites whose content is monitored for accuracy, more and more courts are doing just that. Courts are now willing...
It is hard to believe that summer is coming to an end and storm season will be upon us. It is never too early to be prepared for the property losses caused by high winds and winter storms. This blog explores the duty of electric utilities to trim trees and other vegetation around power lines....
A recent opinion out of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania illustrates the ongoing and vexing problem of determining whether documents created during an insurer’s early claims investigation are protected from disclosure in subsequent litigation under an attorney-client or work-product privilege. In Henriquez-Disla v. Allstate Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., 2014...
Most people have heard the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But, is the opposite true? If something was fixed, does that suggest it was broken in the first place. In many cases, evidence that a product’s design was changed can be compelling evidence that the original product was defective. Many states...
Consider this hypothetical: It is 2 a.m. on a Monday morning. John and Jill Smith are fast asleep in the master bedroom while their kids are asleep down the hall. John awakes to the noisy smoke detector and the smell of smoke coming from their master bathroom. John goes to the bathroom to see what...
The California Supreme Court, in Beacon Residential Community Association v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (2014) DJDAR 8787, recently held that an architect which serves as principal architect on a project owes a duty of care to future homeowners in the design of a residential building. Such architects owe that duty of care even when they do not actually...
The New Law Journal is likely to soon feature the following article by Rob Kay discussing the very recent English case of Emirates Trading Agency LLC v. Prime Mineral Exports Private Limited [2014] EWHC 2104 (Comm). The decision held that a clause which required parties to have friendly discussions prior to resorting to arbitration – a clause...
