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Litigating Awareness: Non-Economic Damages and the Unconscious Plaintiff
In most medical negligence cases, the most difficult damages for an attorney to forecast are non-economic ones such as pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. This difficulty arises from the nature of the damages themselves ' pain, suffering and enjoyment are inherently subjective experiences.
The criteria that a jury will use to evaluate those damages do not make the attorney's assessment any easier. In Pennsylvania, for example, with respect to pain and suffering, juries are simply instructed that “the plaintiff is entitled to be fairly and adequately compensated for all physical pain, mental anguish, discomfort, inconvenience and distress ' ” and with respect to loss of enjoyment of life, juries are instructed that “ plaintiff is entitled to be fairly and adequately compensated for the loss of his/her ability to enjoy any of the pleasures of life.” Pa. SSJI Civ. 4th Ed. 7.130; 14.170.
In assessing non-economic damages available to a particular plaintiff, attorneys are reduced to relying on imprecise assessments of how the plaintiff's case will play out at trial: How compellingly will the plaintiff or family members testify about the injuries? How skilled will the plaintiff's attorney be in arousing jurors' sympathy? What is the historic behavior of previous juries in the jurisdiction?
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.