Bringing a lawsuit is often a relatively simple procedure. You identify the defendant and properly serve process on the person or organization (or, possibly both) who you believe to be responsible for the event that damaged...more
Governmental Immunity - Under Texas law, school districts are generally immune from suit and liability unless the legislature expressly waives governmental immunity. Generally, absent an express legislative waiver, such as...more
Obermayer is excited to continue its “GovCon Examiner Live” webinar series in 2021. Over the course of the next 12 months, our experienced government contracting attorney Maria Panichelli will bring her popular GovCon...more
On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tanzin v. Tanvir, holding that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) permits litigants, when appropriate, to obtain money damages against federal officials in their...more
Obermayer is excited to introduce its new “GovCon Examiner Live” webinar series, your resource for the fundamentals in government contracting and small business procurement. Over the course of 12 months, our experienced...more
Years in the making, the first global report on the Environmental Rule of Law (ERL) was issued by the United Nations Environment Program and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in January 2019. The report is a...more
According to the highest court in the state, Georgia state government does not have an inherent obligation to protect citizens’ personal or sensitive data like social security numbers or status on the unemployment rolls. This...more
The Supreme Court of North Carolina recently held in Meinck vs. City of Gastonia that a city’s lease to a non-profit arts group in connection with a downtown revitalization project was a “governmental function”, which...more
Many public agencies and utilities have easements for water or gas pipelines or electric transmission lines. Those easements typically contain express rights to construct, operate, and maintain the facilities, including...more
In a digital-age David versus Goliath case, Dr. Luc Bessette has come head-to-head with the Quebec government in a battle over rights to a technology solution that provides shared access to critical medical information...more
South Carolina lawmakers are debating legislation that, if passed, would greatly affect liability burdens on government-run healthcare providers as well as affecting the limits recoverable against charitable hospitals and...more
The Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (PSTCA), 42 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 8541, et seq. generally provides local governmental agencies in Pennsylvania with qualified immunity for tort liability. However, this statute...more
Those who follow hospital and health system M&A activity know that the market has been “frothy.” We all see the high profile, “sexy” deals that appear in the news headlines but, for every large deal, there are myriad smaller...more
TDY Holdings v. United States, et al., 872 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2017) - TDY brought suit for contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against the U.S. government...more
An increase in bike paths and lanes could lead to an increase in claims against municipalities. Bike riding may have many benefits for the rider and for the environment. However, as recently reported in The Los Angeles...more
As another State legislative cycle begins in 2018, there is a municipal liability issue that deserves attention regarding the liability protections extended under New York law to emergency vehicle operators. When a vehicular...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court decision allocating 100% of CERCLA response to costs to a U.S. military contractor, where both the U.S. and the contractor were liable parties. TDY Holdings,...more
Last week, a United States District Court in Arizona held that the United States was an “owner” of Navajo Reservation Trust Land for purposes of CERCLA liability. See El Paso Nat. Gas Co. v. United States, 2017 WL 3492993 (D....more
In 2011, Pasadena was hit by a powerful storm carrying hurricane force winds that injured more than 5,000 City-owned trees, 2,000 of which were uprooted. During the course of the storm, an approximately 110 foot tall Canary...more
Corporations firing employees normally must explain why. All corporate lawyers recognize that affirmatively pleading "advice of counsel" as an employment case defense normally waives privilege protection, but the risks can...more
It is not uncommon, in the litigation of a federal construction claim, for the Government to produce gigabytes of electronic data, amounting to thousands and thousands of documents, in response to a motion for the production...more
We previously reported on a case where the EEOC was hit with a $4.7 million judgment in attorneys’ fees and costs for pursuing a frivolous class action. (See blog post EEOC Silent on Sanctions) This week the Eighth Circuit...more
Two recent court decisions serve as reminders of government liability for patent infringement claims: IRIS Corp. v. Japan Airlines Corp., Case No. 10-1051 (Fed. Cir., Oct. 21, 2014) (Prost, J.) and SecurityPoint Holdings,...more
Ever since the Federal Circuit’s 2010 decision in Precision Pine & Timber, Inc. v. U.S., the controlling standard for the government’s duty of good faith and fair dealing has been in flux. Prior to Precision Pine, it was...more
In a ruling last month (California Department of Toxic Substances Control v. Jim Dobbas, Inc., et al), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California held that the Department of Toxic Substances...more