Expert Witness Liability: An Expanding Field
March 03, 2004
Expert witnesses have become a necessity in virtually all litigation, from medical malpractice to products liability to family law cases. Technical understanding of disputes is required for juror determination in this increasingly technical world. Damages need to be calculated using expert data; professional standards and their application to any medical malpractice action require expert opinion. But what happens when the side hiring the expert loses, or the independent evaluation doesn't come up with the hoped-for answer? Increasingly, what happens is the disappointed party sues the expert. In some cases, the experts have immunity to lawsuit, but in an increasing number of instances, they simply do not.
When to Conduct Voir Dire of Expert Witnesses
March 03, 2004
Last month, we discussed tactical considerations when challenging expert witnesses' qualifications. This month, we focus on the optimal time to conduct <i>voir dire</i>.
Med Mal News
March 03, 2004
National news of interest to you and your practice.
Recent Developments in Executive Compensation
March 02, 2004
Although executive compensation has been the subject of evolving reform for several years, the bright spotlight of public attention is now focused on this issue, due in part to the bursting of the stock market bubble, the collapse of Enron, and a number of other highly publicized corporate scandals. The image of executives enjoying excessive compensation packages as revenues and earnings decline, and stock values of the companies they manage plummet, is a dangerously common stereotype.
Bullies in the Workplace
March 02, 2004
Bullying isn't just a playground issue. In an era of declining unionization, job insecurity, and the global profit squeeze, bullying has become a serious workplace problem, even though workplace bullies usually prefer memos, informal disciplinary meetings and grinding criticism to spitballs. Left unchecked, on-the-job abuse adversely affects both employers and employees. Current legal theories, though, are inadequate to address this recent phenomenon.
Investors May Be Liable to WARN Act Plaintiffs
March 02, 2004
Major investors in companies that commit violations of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act may not be immune to liability, according to a federal court sitting in the Southern District of New York. <i>Vogt v. Greenmarine Holding, LLC</i>, No. 02 Civ. 2059 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 1, 2004). Relying on Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, the court denied a motion to dismiss the claims of a class of plaintiffs who were terminated by a bankrupt company against the investors in the bankrupt entity.
What Private Companies Need to Know About Sarbanes-Oxley
March 02, 2004
Sarbanes-Oxley" and "public company" are so often spoken in the same breath that one can easily forget the implications of the new statute for organizations that are not publicly held. Those implications may be profound and may appear in many different guises, some of which are outlined below. One deserves particular attention: Sarbanes-Oxley will expand dramatically the protections afforded by law to whistleblowers employed by private companies who allege retaliatory discharge or reprisal in the terms of their employment.
Internal Control Reports: The Next New Thing
March 02, 2004
Many public companies have already begun to prepare for compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Act). Management and directors may not be clear on the framework for Section 404. Although Section 404 does not require disclosure in Annual Reports for the calendar year-end 2003, requisite lead times suggest that by now companies must be working diligently on compliance planning.
