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A Word to the Wise
Discovery of electronic communications. Employees generally cannot live without it (if they hope to state a claim), but often cannot afford to pay for it. Employers can generally afford to pay for it, but resent paying to help a plaintiff make his or her case against them. This dilemma is only further exacerbated by the proliferation of electronic communications that has made the discovery of such information very time-consuming and expensive.
Dispute Resolution Gets a Makeover
Several governmental and regulatory bodies have announced new initiatives aimed at increasing access to their dispute resolution programs, strengthening the credentials of their neutral panels, and improving the efficiency of their dispute resolution processes. These decisions were reached, in part, after evaluating success rates and feedback relating to these dispute resolution programs.
John Gaal's Ethics Corner
Your ethics questions answered by the expert.
Jury Awards $5.2 Million in Disability Case
A jury awarded $5.2 million to a plaintiff whose former employer, a modeling agency, failed to accommodate her asthma, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and terminated her in retaliation for making complaints about smoking in the workplace. <i>Gallegos v. Elite Model Mgmt. Corp.</i>, No. 120577/00 (N.Y. Co. Sup. Ct. 5/14/03)
Direct Evidence Not Required in Mixed Motive Case
Last month, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a plaintiff must present direct evidence of discrimination in order to obtain a mixed-motive instruction under Title VII, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991. <i>Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa</i>, 2003 WL 21310219 (U.S. June 9, 2003) The Court unanimously held that direct evidence is not required.
Decisions of Interest
Cases of importance to your practice.
The JGTRRA of 2003: Financial Implications for Divorce
On May 23, 2003, the U.S. Congress approved the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) and, within a week, President Bush signed the act into law. JGTRRA reduces tax rates across the board, increases the Child Tax Credit from $600 to $1000, and eases the marriage tax penalty. It also reduces the tax on dividends and capital gains and increases write-offs on capital assets for businesses. Marriage-penalty relief directly affects married taxpayers, but what effect will the new law have on people going through divorce?
Legislature Overrides Pataki's Veto
Now that the New York State Legislature has overridden Governor Pataki's veto of the bill increasing compensation rates for court-appointed attorneys under Article 18-b of the County Law, a long-fought battle to drag state-funded attorney fees up to 21st-century levels may have come to a close. The increase will affect attorneys working on behalf of indigent criminal defendants, children in custody matters, and victims of domestic abuse.
Dissolving a Same-Sex Marriage
American gay couples have a new place to get married. In a landmark ruling last month in Ontario, Canada, the Court of Appeal held that it was unconstitutional to prohibit homosexuals from entering into same-sex marriages, thus opening the way for the first full-fledged same-sex marriage right anywhere outside of Europe. (The Netherlands has permitted same-sex marriage since December 2000, but only to Dutch parties. Belgium has allowed such marriages since January of this year.) The ruling has sent some gay American couples over the border to get marriage licenses and legalize their unions.
IN THE MARKETPLACE
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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