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This Week's Feature
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Hertz Corp. v. Friend – U.S. Supreme Court Adopts “Nerve Center” Test for Determining a Corporation’s “Principal Place of Business”
By Arissa Peterson and Kimberly D. Baker
Williams Kastner, Seattle, Washington
On February 23, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Hertz Corporation v. Friend, et al., 559 U.S. ___, 130 S. Ct. 1181 (2010). The Court held that a corporation’s “principal place of business” for determining federal diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 is its “nerve center,” or the “place where the corporation’s high level officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities.” Typically, this will be found at the corporate headquarters. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Breyer, the Court settled a long-standing split in the circuit courts as to what test to apply in determining a corporation’s principal place of business and adopted a uniform standard that offers a straightforward approach.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI News
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Women’s Substantive Law Committee
We are pleased to announce that the DRI Board of Directors voted unanimously to create a women's substantive law committee. DRI continues to show its commitment to the overall diversity of the organization and to the recruitment and advancement of women lawyers. The Women in the Law Committee will cater to DRI's 8,800 female members, but welcomes all. Evelyn Fletcher Davis and Cheryl E. Diaz will serve as the committee's inaugural chair and vice chair, respectively. They hope that many DRI members will join the committee and become active participants. The first official meeting of the Women in the Law Committee will be held during the Sharing Success Seminar, March 25-26, 2010, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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DRI’s Employment Law Seminar
Gain insights from experienced practitioners and professionals in the industry during DRI’s Employment Law Seminar, May 5-7 at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. This “must-attend” event will feature topics on the latest policy initiatives and enforcement guidance from the EEOC’S associate legal counsel, immigration law compliance essentials, litigation avoidance and early settlement, and more. Advance registration ends Thursday, April 15. Register online today or contact DRI Customer Service at 312.795.1101 for more information.
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From the DRI Library Series: Employment Law Trial Tactics
Looking for insights on trial tactics in employment law litigation? DRI’s Employment Law Trial Tactics presents 14 articles including hot topics on: motions in limine, bifurcation, trial motions, jury selection, effective opening statements, direct examination of the decision-maker, cross-examining the plaintiff, expert witnesses, hearsay, use of documentary evidence, use of demonstrative evidence, controlling damages, closing argument, and post-trial motions. The authors include many experienced defense attorneys and members of DRI's Employment Law Committee. To purchase this valuable resource for your firm’s library simply visit the DRI Bookstore.
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And The Defense Wins!
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DRI member Paul R Lynch, a partner with Craig & Craig at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, completed a four-day jury trial in the Circuit Court of Williamson County, in Marion, Illinois, on December 10, 2009, with a defense verdict in a case of claimed medical malpractice. Mr. Lynch represented Dr. Robert J. Michaelson, an anesthesiologist who was employed in 2004 by Brigham Anesthesia South, LLC.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI member Mary Goodrich Nix, co-managing partner of the Dallas office of Gordon & Rees LLP, obtained a summary judgment in an employment lawsuit brought in South Texas against a large oil testing and production company headquartered outside Corpus Christi. The lawsuit was filed after Gordon & Rees's client fired an employee for allegedly stealing gas from the company.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI members George Walker and Craig Campbell of the Mobile, Alabama, office of Hand Arendall LLC, recently obtained a voluntary dismissal with prejudice in a product liability action initiated by Greyhound Lines, Inc. against the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, followed by taxation of costs against Greyhound in an amount in excess of $23,000, as well as a negotiated $20,000 payment by Greyhound to resolve a Motion for Award of Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Other Expenses under 28 U.S.C. § 1927.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI members Matthew L. Johnson and William T. Young of Johnson & Bell, Ltd. recently obtained a favorable result in a premises liability case wherein the plaintiff claimed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome stemming from a fall inside a restaurant which occurred while the plaintiff, a 39-year-old beer delivery man, was transporting two kegs of beer plus a cylinder of beer up a ramp inside of the restaurant.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI members Karrie Clinkinbeard and Patrick Kenny, partners with Armstrong Teasdale LLP in the Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, offices, recently obtained a defense victory in the Tenth Circuit in an ERISA case. The case involved a claim for long term disability benefits. The plaintiff claimed that by September 12, 2000, she had become completely disabled as the result of a slip and fall injury several months earlier.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI member Gregory Gentry, a practitioner in Boston, Massachusetts, was a member of the team that secured a defense verdict in the retrial of a motor vehicle pedestrian fatality case. In the earlier case, handled by different counsel, the plaintiff had obtained a $1.5 million verdict against the defendant, an automotive leasing company. DRI member Mark Segalini of Morrison Mahoney LLP in Boston convinced the judge of the need for a retrial because of a faulty jury instruction which implied that the leasing company had an on-going duty to inspect the vehicle, despite long-standing Massachusetts law on bailments.
[FULL STORY]
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Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. trial attorneys and DRI members Edward C. Prieto, Peter J. Molinelli and James P. Clements teamed with Nebraska counsel recently to obtain a defense verdict on behalf of a regionally managed assisted living facility on claims of wrongful death and negligence. The case was tried before the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, where the estate claimed the resident was inappropriately admitted and retained in an assisted living facility.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI members Dave Kanter of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP in Chicago, Illinois; John MacNaughton and Seslee Mattson of Morris, Manning & Martin LLP in Atlanta, Georgia; and Bob Davies of Caulfield, Davies & Donahue LLP in Sacramento, California, recently prevailed on behalf of their clients in a three and a half week jury trial in Superior Court of Sacramento County, California. Mr. Kanter represented California Cascade, and Mr. MacNaughton, Ms. Mattson and Mr. Davies represented Home Depot.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI wants to hear about your latest victory! Send a short summary in Word format and a recent photo (.jpg or .tif attachment) of yourself to Barb Lowery by email (blowery@dri.org). Please note that it could take 2-3 months for your win to get published. Just as the defense victories continue to pile up, the same is true for the submissions!
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Legislative Tracking
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The Young Lawyers Legislative Subcommittee is led by Paul A. Wilhelm of Dykema Gossett PLLC in Detroit, Michigan, and co-vice chairs Joseph W. Ballard of Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop, P.C. in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Marie A. Trimble of Gordon & Rees LLP in San Francisco, California. Special thanks to these leaders, along with all of the other federal and state contributors. This week's tracking: federal, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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FEDERAL (Contributors: Darryl Thomas II – Larson King, LLP, St. Paul, MN, Michele Hale DeShazo – Kuchler Polk Schell Weiner & Richeson, L.L.C., New Orleans, LA)
TORT AND INSURANCE LAW
H.R. 4802: Risk Retention Modernization Act of 2010, to modernize the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 and expand coverage to include commercial property insurance.
• Seeks to decrease insurance costs and increase coverage availability, especially in areas prone to natural disasters, by allowing Risk Retention Groups (RRGs) to write commercial property coverage. Currently, RRGs only sell liability insurance.
• Updates the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, which permitted commercial groups to organize self-insured interstate RRGs. An RRG is a corporation or other limited liability association, functioning as a captive insurance company and organized for the primary purpose of assuming and spreading the liability risk exposure(s) of its group members (member-owners).
• Provides a federal dispute resolution (i.e., preemption) process in cases where RRGs believe they are being improperly regulated by non-domiciliary state regulators.
• Enhances governance standards and regulation for RRGs.
• 3/9/10 – Introduced in the House
MISSOURI (Contributors: Justin Assouad, David Deterding, and Kate Aplington – HeplerBroom LLC, St. Louis, MO)
LITIGATION
S.B. 985: Relating to pleadings
• This act modifies certain requirements relating to identification information in certain court pleadings, liens, notices of garnishment and writs of sequestration
• 3/9/10: Removed to the Senate Consent Calendar
S.B. 1060: Relating to assignment of judges
• This act allows a presiding judge in a circuit court to assign a judge to hear a trial in a felony case, even though that judge has previously conducted the preliminary hearing in that case.
• 3/4/10: Second read in the Senate and referred to the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
OHIO (Contributor: Douglas J. Feichtner - Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, Cincinnati, OH)
DISABILITY
H.B. 39: Relating to snow/ice removal
• To require the removal of snow or ice from special parking locations designated for persons with disabilities within 24 hours after the weather conditions causing the snow or ice ceases.
• 2/19/09 - Introduced to House.
• 3/10/10 - Committee Report.
INSURANCE
H.B. 384: Relating to off-label cancer therapy drugs
• Amend §§ 1751.66 and 3923.60 of the Ohio Revised Code to use the compendia adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether an insurer may exclude coverage for off-label drug usage.
• Update Ohio law to bring it in line with current federal guidelines that permit use of off-label drugs in cancer therapy (off-label drugs are those approved by the FDA for an indication other than what they are used for).
• 12/1/09 - Introduced to House.
• 3/3/10 - Passed House.
• 3/4/10 - Introduced to Senate.
[MORE]
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Quote of the Week
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If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down.
─Mary Pickford
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DRI Cares
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Are you or your law firm actively involved in community service or pro bono work? If so, DRI would like to hear about it. Please send a short article (750 words max) describing your involvement to Barb Lowery (blowery@dri.org). Representative submissions will be selected for inclusion in The Voice.
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DRI CLE Calendar
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Damages
March 17-19, 2010
Vdara, Las Vegas, Nevada
Toxic Torts and Environmental Law
March 18-19, 2010
Sheraton New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
Sharing Success─A Seminar for Women Lawyers
March 25-26, 2010
The Westin Kierland, Scottsdale, Arizona
Beyond the "Business Case": How to Customize Diversity Practices and Maximize Competitive Advantage
(webcast)
March 30, 2010
Product Liability
April 7-9, 2010
The Venetian, Las Vegas, Nevada
Insurance Coverage and Claims
April 14-16, 2010
InterContinental Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Are Written Litigation Holds Required to Avoid Sanctions?
(webcast)
April 14, 2010
Business Litigation and Intellectual Property
April 15-16, 2010
Hilton New York, New York, New York
Corporate Conduct: Emerging Sources of Civil and Criminal Liability Across Europe for Corporations and Their Directors and Officers
April 22-23, 2010
Le Meridien Piccadilly, London, England
Life, Health, Disability and ERISA Claims
April 28-30, 2010
Swissôtel Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Employment Law
May 5-7, 2010
Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, Arizona
Drug and Medical Device
May 20-21, 2010
San Francisco Marriott, San Francisco, California
Diversity for Success
June 10-11, 2010
Swissôtel Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
For all other seminars, webconferences and webcasts, click here.
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Construction Litigation Desk Reference
Punitive Damages: A State-by-State Compendium
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