News

Health Care

[12/03] Bionovo Announces Development Plans for Menopausal Hot Flash Drug Candidate, Menerba (MF101), Following FDA Meetings
[12/03] Group finds fewer toys with high lead levels

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Litigation

[12/03] Woman sues Tyler Perry for copyright infringement
[12/02] Court urged to side with power plants against fish

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Case Summaries

Health Law

[12/03] US v. Haj-Hamed
A sentence for distributing prescription drugs without a legitimate medical purpose is affirmed where, contrary to defendant's claims, the sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable.

[11/25] Tebo v. Tebo
In a suit alleging a civil conspiracy to have plaintiff involuntarily committed for mental treatment, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff did not produce evidence to show a agreement between the private and public defendants; 2) there was no factual dispute on the elements of a malicious-prosecution claim; 3) there was no basis for a per se negligence action against defendants-stepsons; 4) no material facts were in dispute as to whether defendants-doctors deprived plaintiff of due-process rights; 5) intentional infliction of emotional distress and malicious prosecution claims against defendants-doctors were not supported by evidence; and 6) defendants-doctors were entitled to immunity on negligence claims.

[11/21] US v. Armstrong
Convictions and sentences of multiple defendants for offenses relating to a scheme to dispense certain controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) are affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) expert testimony was not required to establish criminal violation of the CSA on the facts of the case; 2) defendant-registered nurse could be held liable for aiding and abetting under the CSA, even though she was not registered to dispense controlled substances; 3) aiding and abetting convictions could not stand on the CSA counts for which the alleged principal had been acquitted; 4) the jury charge was a correct statement of law; 5) evidence of tax evasion as a motive for under-reporting income was properly admitted; 6) there was sufficient evidence to support a money-laundering conviction; and 7) defendant-physician's sentence was reasonable.

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Injury & Tort Law

[12/02] Lawrence v. Graubard Miller
In a suit arising from legal proceedings surrounding the administration of an estate, denial of a motion to dismiss a law firm's petition seeking to compel the payment of legal fees is affirmed where the question of whether the retainer agreement at issue was unenforceable on the basis of unconscionability, either at the time it was entered into or in retrospect, was a factual one that could not be answered at the pre-answer motion stage.

[12/02] Kopsachilis v. 130 East 18 Owners Corp.
In a negligence action alleging that the owners of an apartment building failed to light a stairwell during a blackout, denial of defendants' motion for summary judgment is reversed where the statutory requirement that lights in fire-stairs be kept burning continuously was not a strict-liability offense, and defendants could assert a "knowledge and consent" defense contained within the statute.

[12/02] Greystone Homes, Inc. v. Midtec, Inc.
In an action brought by plaintiff-home builder against defendant-manufacturer for damage caused by plumbing fittings manufactured by defendant, summary judgment for defendant is reversed and remanded where: 1) a builder may recover from a product manufacturer for economic losses caused by the manufacturer's violation of the standards set forth in the Right to Repair Act through an equitable indemnity action; but 2) a builder may not recover for these losses through a direct negligence claim against the manufacturer.

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Insurance Law

[12/02] Paul v. Landsafe Flood Determination Inc.
In a suit alleging negligence and negligent misrepresentation in an erroneous determination that plaintiffs' home was not located in a flood zone, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where, under Mississippi law, the erroneous flood-zone determination was the kind of professional opinion, developed in the course of a party's business and supplied for the guidance of others in a transaction, on which justifiable and detrimental reliance by a reasonably foreseeable person might be shown to have occurred.

[12/02] Med. Mut. of Ohio v. k. Amalia Enters. Inc.
In a group health insurer's suit against parents, as well as one parent's employer and its CFO, for failing to disclose that parents' dependent son had a preexisting medical condition (hemophilia), summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where insurer's ERISA, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment claims were barred by a contractual limitations provision.

[12/02] U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp.
In a per curiam decision related to a commercial general liability insurance policy taken out by a general contractor, the following question is certified to state supreme court: Does the doctrine of Lex Loci Contractus apply to a dispute about coverage that involves a policy for comprehensive general liability insurance, made outside of Florida, that insure the operations of a contractor on a project located in Florida?

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