Runaway Prius in New York: Unintended Acceleration

After Tuesday’s highly publicized runaway Prius in San Diego, who knew we’d see another related incident so soon? This time, it’s in New York. In San Diego, California Highway Patrol officers were needed to slow down a runaway Prius on the Interstate. Tuesday’s runaway Prius incident was allegedly caused by the same unintended acceleration problem that’s been plaguing the auto-maker and was the subject of several recalls as well as a ... Continue Reading

IRS Tax Write Off for Local Property Taxes!

The Internal Revenue Service is assisting homeowners. Although the effect of this help is really only marginal, it still helps those taxpayers who pay real-estate tax, whether state or local. A quick primer on real-estate tax, for the uninitiated: The real-estate taxes in question are the taxes paid by property owners to their county, state or municipality. Generally, these taxes are paid twice a year and could run in the range of 0.5% to 2% of the home’s assessed real estate value. ... Continue Reading

Hesse v. Sprint Corp.

(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Communications Law, Consumer Protection Law, Tax Law) In a class action alleging that defendant Sprint Corp. unlawfully collected a Washington state tax from Washington customers, summary judgment for defendant is vacated and remanded where a prior class action settlement challenged Sprint’s billing of customers for certain federal regulatory fees, and the Washington plaintiffs’ interests were not adequately represented in that litigati... Continue Reading

Hesse v. Sprint Corp.

(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Communications Law, Consumer Protection Law, Tax Law) In a class action alleging that defendant Sprint Corp. unlawfully collected a Washington state tax from Washington customers, summary judgment for defendant is vacated and remanded where a prior class action settlement challenged Sprint’s billing of customers for certain federal regulatory fees, and the Washington plaintiffs’ interests were not adequately represented in that litigati... Continue Reading

Hesse v. Sprint Corp.

(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Communications Law, Consumer Protection Law, Tax Law) In a class action alleging that defendant Sprint Corp. unlawfully collected a Washington state tax from Washington customers, summary judgment for defendant is vacated and remanded where a prior class action settlement challenged Sprint’s billing of customers for certain federal regulatory fees, and the Washington plaintiffs’ interests were not adequately represented in that litigati... Continue Reading

Primiano v. Cook

(U.S. 9th Cir., Drugs & Biotech, Evidence, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Manufacturing, Product Liability) In an action against the manufacturer of an artificial elbow, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where the exclusion of plaintiff’s expert’s evidence was error as plaintiff’s expert, with a sufficient basis in education and experience, testified that the artificial joint “failed to perform in the manner reasonably to be expected in light of its nature ... Continue Reading

Primiano v. Cook

(U.S. 9th Cir., Drugs & Biotech, Evidence, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Manufacturing, Product Liability) In an action against the manufacturer of an artificial elbow, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where the exclusion of plaintiff’s expert’s evidence was error as plaintiff’s expert, with a sufficient basis in education and experience, testified that the artificial joint “failed to perform in the manner reasonably to be expected in light of its nature ... Continue Reading

Primiano v. Cook

(U.S. 9th Cir., Drugs & Biotech, Evidence, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Manufacturing, Product Liability) In an action against the manufacturer of an artificial elbow, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where the exclusion of plaintiff’s expert’s evidence was error as plaintiff’s expert, with a sufficient basis in education and experience, testified that the artificial joint “failed to perform in the manner reasonably to be expected in light of its nature ... Continue Reading

Fortis Corp. Ins. SA. v. Viken Ship Mgmt. AS

(U.S. 6th Cir., Admiralty, Civil Procedure, Commercial Law, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law, Transportation) In a maritime shipping case involving a claim for rust damage to steel coils caused by exposure to seawater during a journey from Poland to Ohio, judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) a ship manager charged with providing a Master, officers and crew, and performing various other ship-management tasks for the shipping vessel does not qualify as a “ca... Continue Reading

Fortis Corp. Ins. SA. v. Viken Ship Mgmt. AS

(U.S. 6th Cir., Admiralty, Civil Procedure, Commercial Law, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law, Transportation) In a maritime shipping case involving a claim for rust damage to steel coils caused by exposure to seawater during a journey from Poland to Ohio, judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) a ship manager charged with providing a Master, officers and crew, and performing various other ship-management tasks for the shipping vessel does not qualify as a “ca... Continue Reading