Month

July 2013
  In the throes of the dog days of Summer, a recent California decision has placed a chilling effect on voluntary dismissals. In Loong v Superior Court, 2013 DJAR 9593, the Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, held that a voluntary dismissal of an action constitutes conclusion of an action. Such a dismissal, therefore, provides...
Until recently, in Canada, there was a lack of consensus across the provinces regarding whether the settlement figure in Pierringer agreements was required to be disclosed. A Pierringer agreement is a type of settlement agreement whereby the plaintiff settles a claim with one or more co-defendants in an action while reserving the right to proceed...
In light of the recent news headlines involving NSA’s PRISM surveillance program, it probably should not surprise us, but big brother is watching You. For some time now, police in an increasing number of states across the country have been using “license plate readers.” These devices collect various amounts of data, including photographs, and time...
  Most attorneys and claims professionals are accustomed to thinking of a party’s retained expert as being the “property” of that party for the purposes of litigation, whether that expert is designated for testimony or as a non-testifying consultant. A 2011 decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, however, suggests...