$4,683,653.03. That’s the total amount of the bill that the Federal Circuit stamped “due and payable” by MarcTec, a medical device maker, in MarcTec, LLC v. Johnson & Johnson and Cordis Corporation, 664 F.3d 907, in a decision handed down on January 3, 2012. $3,873,865.01 of this amount was for attorneys fees awarded under the “exceptional… Read more »
Factual Background Claimant had sustained occupationally-related cervical and lumbar spine injuries on June 6, 1997 and on March 31, 1998, and had incurred another work-related cervical injury on September 3, 1998. After the 1998 injury, claimant never returned to work. At that point, he was fifty-one years old and had been a twenty-year employee of… Read more »
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1980 and 2007, the number of Americans who speak languages other than English at home grew by 140 percent. Correspondingly, there has also been an increase in non-English speaking workers in the U.S. labor force. Linguistic diversity can present both opportunities and challenges for employers. Over 30 states… Read more »
After two trials resulted in acquittals for three defendants, hung juries as to seven others and no convictions, the United States has given up on what it had originally touted as “the largest single investigation and prosecution against individuals in the history of DOJ’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).” On February 21,… Read more »
On February 17, 2012, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the conviction and 24-year sentence of former prominent Democratic fundraiser, Norman Hsu. United States v. Hsu, No. 09-4152-CR slip op (2d Circuit 2/17/12). Hsu raised funds for former Sen. Hillary Clinton and other marquee Democrats, and became what is known… Read more »
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced that retaliation charges accounted for the highest overall percentage of private sector complaints in fiscal year 2011. Employers, therefore, must be on the lookout for those “magic words” spoken by an employee that may qualify as a protected activity triggering a subsequent claim of retaliation. An… Read more »
Factual Background of Case In June 2007, the Oakmont Country Club, near Pittsburgh, hosted the annual U.S. Open Golf Tournament. Employer provided certain services at this U.S. Open, and hired Claimant to work there. Claimant’s assigned job duty was to watch an open tent with a Lexus vehicle on display inside. His shift was from… Read more »
Gaetan J. Alfano, a partner in the law firm of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP, has been appointed as Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention. The Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention evaluates judicial candidates to help voters make decisions about candidates for judicial… Read more »
On December 22, 2011, an equally divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court dramatically extended liability for negligent infliction of emotional distress (“NIED”) to “special relationship” breach of contract or breach of fiduciary duty cases, in Toney v. Chester County Hospital, —A.3d— (Pa. 2011), 2011 WL 6413948. The decision exposes health care providers to liability where there is a… Read more »
